[koblenz]

Anyone ever been on one of those Constant Glucose Monitors?

I am going to be hooked up next Friday for 3 days. My CDE wants to "fine-tune" my lantus & Novolog before I start my pump training in a few months. She also said she likes to put her patients on one every few years as a sort of check-up.

I have to be VERY strict with my carbo counting, exercise and such during this period, but I guess it is supposed to be a great way to get a "better picture".

I have noticed since joining here that this seems to be a great place to vent and fish for ideas and comments.

... so I will be needing some good come backs to the "borg" and "Darth Vader" jokes I will certainly be getting at work.

[JasonSmithMT]

Ah yes ... the Borg joke. That was the first thing my partners at work came up with. Still looking for a good come back. Haven't got the Darth Vader one yet.

My guess is that those kind of jokes are real likely for those of us in the IT field. I have a MM 512 which has RF communication built in and my partners are already trying to figure out what the right RS232 command they can send over 916.5 MHz to put my pump in Suspend mode. UGH!

I haven't been on cgms but it would be a great way to fine tune your doses. I've heard of several doctors who take this approach. Good luck.

Jason

[Shalyndria]

Wow you have a great CDE, koblenz! Sounds like she's actively interested in seeing you achieve your optimum control. The legwork that you do now will also make the transition to pumping much easier.

I've never been on a CGMS but I'd love to try one. We've discussed them several times before, so you might want to use the forums search engine to read the past posts (if you haven't already).
Good luck and let us know what you think of it when you're finished!

Shy

[Belinda]

I have been on a CMGS twice. My endo like yours likes to hook his patients up every so often.......(not in the summer again due to the don't get it wet problem and I love the pool). The thing he told me is to do what I normally do. Don't change anything due to the fact that I am wearing the CMGS. This will and did give him an accurate view of the carb ratio. For example.....pasta kicks in alot later for me, so I ate it and did what I normally do when I eat it. This is where we discovered it kicks in two/half hours later due to this handy device....so just do what you normally do, keep records of it like your suppose to and enjoy the results....it is not a bad thing to see and gives you a better view of how your body works. Keep us posted.

[am1977]

I'm with Shy. I have always been interested in trying this myself, just to get a little insight into my blood sugar readings. I've run it by my Endo, but he isn't so enthusiastic about it, don't know why, but I'd still be interested in seeing the results of the monitoring.

Let us know how it goes for you and what you find out. Hopefully, it will be helpful to your treatment plan.

[Belinda]

I think I will ask in October if I could wear one again..it has been a while since the last hook up....

[koblenz]

Thanks for the advice gang!

Yeah Shy, being new to diabetes, I think I lucked out getting this Endo / CDE combo. However, I did interview several in my med group before picking this one; but of course at that time, I didn't know what the heck I was doing.

I get hooked up on Sep 17th and disconnected on Sep 20th. Sep 20th is also my first pre-pump "consultation".

I will post the results and my impressions on this thread! Stay tuned.....

[Dewey]

Hey Koblenz,

I have been on a CGMS, and it was pretty cool. I wore it for a 72 hour period, and got the results printed out and given to me at the endo's office. One thing I didn't like was the fact that it wouldn't show the results to me, but I knew that going in (as it was in the trial phase). If not for the price, I'd certainly look into owning one. It's kind of a glucowatch and sleep sentry all in one (only it's invasive...). Good luck, and please do keep us posted!

[gettingby]

Never been on one but I sure would like to know how it goes.
Cin

[UCOChick]

I have been on the CGMS twice. The first time went great, no problems and my results helped a lot with changing my insulin intake. The second time I wore it, which was a month later, the system kept messing up and the infusion set wouldnt stay put. I eventually took it off and said...Find another guinea pig...so frustrating when you are a full time college student and you have to fix the CGMS every 10 minutes

[JasonSmithMT]

UCOChick - I'm curious are you using or have you used an insulin pump? I've never used CGMS but from what I gathered I envision the insertion to be very similar to a infusion site. I wonder if the CGMS insertion is more difficult to maintain than an infusion site insertion.

Jason

[koblenz]

Update Jason...

I just received an appointment reminder e-mail from my CDE and she included the following in the e-mail:

"You will have a small plastic cannula under your skin in you abdomen that is attached to a small device (about the size of a pager) for 72 hours. It will measure blood glucose every 3 minutes for the 3 days and you cannot disconnect from it during that time. At the end of the three days, the device is downloaded to the computer and we get a three day read out of blood sugar values."

I will let you know the details when I get it attached on Friday.

[UCOChick]

No I have not used an insulin pump, I should be recieving it soon though. The insertion is exactly the same, but for some reason, since I am an athletic person, the CGMS didnt want to work with me during that I guess.

[nantomsuethom]

Thomas wore a CGM a couple of weeks ago. I would definitely have him wear it again. His CDE called the other day and changed his basals. Since the change in basals he has not felt those sudden drops. Its only been a few days, hopefully it stays that way.
He also wished he could see the # on the meter.

[JasonSmithMT]

Koblenz - let us know how the CGMS goes.

UCOChick - Good luck with the pump. I think you will love it. Hopefully you won't run into problems keeping your insertion site inserted.

Jason