[turtlea]

Minimed CGMS is merely a hoax thing.

You will exhaust all your effort and time if not your life, in order to seep through CGMS benefit claimed to provide. MiniMed CGMS working with pump 522/722 is really dismally lame.

After these two weeks' intensive second try in May and lots of decent effective good help from this forum literally,
(my first try of CGMS is in Feb 2008, and it was a complete dismissal)
I got CGMS to work more properly this time.
CGMS is very demanding, subtle.
In order to derive any useful results from it, I will need to monitor MUCH MUCH MORE closely myself, MORE than I normally
do without aid of CGMs. If I can do that, my control will be just fine. CGMS does nothing to you unless you INTIMATELY know
what you have been doing with when to calibration, bolus, carbs,
timing, every nuances of managing your condition !!!

Shame for MiniMed that even do not point out how limited if not almost impossible to use CGMS in addition to
so many glitches such 'weak signal", constant false low/high alerts...

Check Sensor Feature Guide on
its Sensor Accuracy on page 47: it is dreadful. What's the use of CGMS if you can not be more active or can not be with "poor" eating habits ??
How many of us can eat at the same time every day and same food
and do the activities at the same time ??

No wonder I still couldn't get Aetna to cover CGMS, who has kept on insisting CGMS is experimental.

To me, CGMS is pretty close to nothing. It is no where to compare with using pump. Often many kind people compare CGMS learning curve
as learning using the pump. Pump is a real thing that works as
you expect. CGMS is bogus.

I guess I am about to drop the hike to this CGMS FALSE "promised land".

Hope there is such a thing next generation of CGMS coming soon.

Ironically,
Imagine if insurance does not pay current CGMS, maybe
Minimed will feel more urgent to invest in rolling out a TRUE
useful CGM.

BTW, I often wonder if we can stick to a regular schedule of activities, meals of set food choice and amount daily,
we can do very well control of our glucose level, couldn't we?

I wonder how people in this forum (with good sense of CGMS)
deal with their meals, activities, daily routines or how they manage them for their type 1 condition.
Could you be very flexible with food, activities with the aid of CGMS?
What are the major changes and monitoring your activities with and without using CGMS?

Turtlea

[belyro]

Wow. That's really unfortuate that you've had such a bad experience with the CGMS. I don't blame you for wanting to ditch it if your experience was that bad.

I started on the CGMS about a month and a half ago, and I LOVE it! I don't know how I lived without it. I don't do anything differently than I used to without it except enter my meter BG into my pump 2-3 times daily. My schedule, eating habits, activity levels, etc. haven't changed at all. I've definitely found limitations of the CGMS (e.g. it won't catch a super-fast rise or super-fast fall in glucose levels), but overall it's provided me with a much greater sense of security in my BG levels than I've ever had before and it lets me feel comfortable with letting my levels run lower than before without worrying about an unnoticed hypo....especially at night. Plus, it makes it SO much easier to find BG trends that I need to deal with. I pay out-of-pocket for it, and I intend to keep doing so as long as I have to because I love it so much.

That said, I know that some people do have a LOT of difficulty making it work for them, including some of our other DF members. It's really unfortunate. Hopefully they'll continue to work on the technology (and other similar technologies) so that they can come up with something that works more consistently for everyone.

In the meantime, though, I'm EXTREMELY happy with mine...and I know there are a number of others on here who are too (Duck? Noel? Chime in here!)

Sorry it's been such a bad run for you.

[xucub]

I believe I have posted this elsewhere, but I too believe that the MM continuous monitor is terrible and believe it should be taken off the market. (I actually filed a complaint with the FDA re. my findings and dissatisfaction.)
I too was finding that I was testing MORE often with the monitor than without because I was trying to check its accuracy or at least determine if there was some correlation between my finger stick numbers and the monitor. (By the way, no relationship exists.)
I talked to MM several times re. this, and it seems like all i got was a series of excuses....May not be accurate during periods of rapid rises in blood sugar or during periods of rapid falls...Many not be accurate for 2-3 hours after a meal....may not be accurate 2-3 hours after any bolus...monitors can be up to 20% off (not my experience....yada, yada, yada.
It seems like the only time that consistently meets the qualification above is overnite/morning upon arising. But found that to be inaccurate. I typed a summary for my endocrinologist showing that, even pre-breakfast, results were up to 60% different. I am looking at that summary now and, as an example, I see where the continuous monitor is showing a 182 and my finger stick shows a 118. Major difference!!
I actually got myself in trouble a few times by treating apparently high numbers from the continuous monitor only to find that my real blood sugars were in an appropriate range. (Of course, MM says never to eat or take insulin based on the numbers on the continuous monitor---so what is the point of the monitor then??
I have also advised the insurance company (anthem) of these issues so perhaps they can put pressure on MM to get the problems corrected.

[steamfan261]

My experience has been the diametric opposite of what you report. My CGMS has been consisitently, superbly accurate. Usually within +/- 10 of my meter. I've no idea why you experienced what you did, but I am extremely pleased with the Medtronic CGMS. It has been accurate, reliable and I consider it a very, very valuable tool.

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by xucub

...monitors can be up to 20% off (not my experience....

The only part I'll disagree with is about the meters. I've done significant testing with several meters - lately with BD link, Aviva, Ultra 2, Advantage, Contour, and a Contour link. They are at best a guess. All are at least 10% off and I'd bet money I could show close to 20% variances with most.

[Funnygrl]

I had very similar frustrations and stopped using it. It was ridiculously wide off, sometimes by over 200. Then I hear abotu people who actually use it to replace finger sticks. Scares the crud out of me. And I hate how Carelink uses huge squares to mark fingersticks on the chart. It makes it look a lot closer than it is.

[Keezheekoni]

Put me in the spot for people whose CGMS works wonderfully. As long as I calibrate it at a good time, I'm gold for the rest of the day...

I haven't changed my testing habits. I was always a little OCD on testing, up to 12 times a day, a lot of times more.

[NoelD]

Originally Posted by Keezheekoni

Put me in the spot for people whose CGMS works wonderfully. As long as I calibrate it at a good time, I'm gold for the rest of the day...

I haven't changed my testing habits. I was always a little OCD on testing, up to 12 times a day, a lot of times more.

Sounds a lot like my experiences too, except I test less now. 4x a day does it now.

[turtlea]

yes, we need to tell the FDA seriously

I thought the CGMS is helping you with your flexible schedule of activities and easy way of doing meals. Obviously it does not work in THOSE circumstances as I have experienced
and as it is stated very clearly in Sensor accuracy of Guardian RT readings on
the Sensor Features User Guide.

I should have known better but we are not informed of its limited capability. It markets itself as the savior of our type 1 in the meantime
when every insurance coverage is a struggle. Some people in the world know better obviously. We are the strugglers consumed by this lame if not lousy technology. I'd demand my money back from MiniMed.



Turtlea

[turtlea]

it is just a joke. Read the Sensor Feature Guide on its
Accuracy you will find you mistreat yourself badly.
and you have been cheated for 100% or you
come from a horrible control before and thought
this CGMS got you a little control while it was
actually NOT except displaying those dreadful #.

Experienced and knowledgeable people should
get the lame FDA to take all CGMS off the market
and PROTECT consumers.

Turtlea

[turtlea]

Keezheekoni & NoelD & ...,

Originally Posted by NoelD

Sounds a lot like my experiences too, except I test less now. 4x a day does it now.

I bet that you have mostly good daily schedule of
activities and regular meal times, and meal amount.

If I have set schedule, doing the same thing at the same time
eating the same thing, same amount at the same time daily,
my control will be perfect anyway. My control
had been non-diabetic (HbA1c 5.5 plus and minus, my endo
was shocked with my control in the Palo Alto Medical F.
where there are thousand of diabetes patients)
for the first 5 years of my type 1 because I simply just
did the set schedule.

What are your daily activities and meal times and amounts
like ??
What are your HbA1c now and before CGMS?
In what way have you improved with the aid of CGMS?


Turtlea

[Keezheekoni]

Originally Posted by turtlea

I bet that you have mostly good daily schedule of activities and regular meal times, and meal amount.

What are your daily activities and meal times and amounts like ??
What are your HbA1c now and before CGMS?
In what way have you improved with the aid of CGMS?

I don't have a schedule. I hate schedules. The only schedule I'm on is to make sure the kids get to school on time in the morning... I don't eat the same things everyday... Sometimes I eat out for lunch, sometimes I don't. I'm a stay-at-home-mom, so my days vary.

My daily activities include housework, running errands (in my new convertible!), being my dh's secretary, maintaining the family social calendar, accounting, etc...

My last A1c was skewed a bit because the week before I had it done I was ill with the flu. However, it was 6.4%. Usually I have tight control in the mid-5's. I haven't had my A1c done since CGMS since I had it done about a week prior to receiving the CGMS.

I don't know that I've improved as yet with it, however I'm able to catch swings and correct for them with CGMS, without having to actually test on my fingers. It's been working quite well for me, without testing to see if the number is truly in that range, since I calibrate at times when I know I'm flat and not changing rapidly (usually right after waking and right before bed are the times I calibrate).

I'm sorry that it's not working for you and you feel the need to get the FDA on Medtronic's rear. If I were you, I'd absolutely complain. I just hope it makes you feel better.

[marchez]

Why is that we have black or white here? It either works perfectly or is completely useless.

I have also consistently experienced lost sensor and inaccurate readings with no success and zero value from CGMS.

Are we dealing with a manufacturing problem or are we dealing with human based anatomical profile that some how impacts the performance of the technology?

[Alice]

That is one question I have also...why some love it...and some are very disappointed...not much in the middle. I'm going to wait til the practicality improves to spend my insurance money on these devices. I've only used one (MM) a few years ago from the doctors office...she had paid $5000 for it and seemed disappointed I wouldn't use it every 3 months...(to help pay for it?)...

I thought it would be much more beneficial...instead I had to defend my written meter numbers to her. The CGMS was off by as many as 50-75 points sometimes. Not good enough for me.

But, I'm happy many are satisfied with the new models. I'm just waiting a bit longer. I'm terribly excited by the progress, really, I am...

[RobiJo]

You obviously like to start flamers.... so I'll add my $35 worth.

I'm extremely satisfied and
I will continue to pay OUT OF POCKET for these supplies. Sure there are glicks but it's a science and it will continue to improve. Peeing on a strip wasn't very accurate either (hours behind), but that's what was available at the time. I have very flexible mealtimes and activities.

I have dropped my A1c from 8.7 to 6.8 since I started using the sensor last August. I test with a regular meter about the same amount as I did before. (6-10x day). Hardly a hoax.

I feel sorry for you because you are so negative about it, but I guess for some the glass is ALWAYS half empty.

Oh and just for the record---113meter/112sensor right now. It hasn't been more than 10 points off all day. Again hardly a hoax.