[Jenn L]

Just waiting for the trainer to show up.I tried one a few months ago, it would not sink. EEK! We will see....

[Gary_W]

Good luck, Jenn.

I've never tried a CGMS; they are pretty rare beasts this side of the pond. I thought I was doing well to get a pump funded. My basal needs seem to change every 3 weeks or so, so I would surely benefit. I've just finished cranking the night-time basal by a couple of units (big difference as I only do about 30 a day) and I now need to take it waaaay back down again as I dropped 4.5mmol in the night (81 in US numbers). At least with the wonders of the pump I can very easily fix this.

British CGMS - A course of Leeches. Pull off a leach (no, not in that way) and induce vomitting onto a test strip. Repeat every 15 mins. Jobs a good 'un. (last sentance is Engish (the real kind) for 'that's it totally does the job, dude).

Gary

[Jalama]

Originally Posted by Jenn L

Just waiting for the trainer to show up.I tried one a few months ago, it would not sink. EEK! We will see....

Are you trying the CGM for permanent use or is this to get a base reading prior to setting up a pump? Just curious because this is what my diabetes educator nurse and doctor want me to do prior to starting the pump. I wondered if this was a normal course.

quote from Gary: Pull off a leach (no, not in that way)
I am embarrassed to say how long this took me to get, but I'm still snickering...

[Jenn L]

Been on the pump for a few weeks, after a bit of a break, now trying the cgms for a permanent addition to the family.

[poodlebone]

How did the insertion go? I've been using them for about 5 weeks now and really like it. I've had a couple of iffy sensors. One didn't give any reliable info for 3 days and I kept thinking about pulling it, but on the morning for Day 4 it started working perfectly!

If you find that the readings are off, give the sensor time. Sometimes it can take a day or two (or three!) before it really settles in. There is no way I'd change it every 3 days. My CDE said to go a week per sensor but if one is working really well I leave it in longer. A few I've had to pull sooner.

[Jenn L]

The insertion went great!! The first few readings were a bit off, but I expected that. We will see how today goes, but I think I'm already in love. My trainer also said to leave it in as long as it's working well. Have you been on an airplane with it? My trainer said you don't really have to turn it off....

She also showed me an article where mimi-med is designing a unit that will giva a cgms user audio and visual readings via a car dashboard set up. Cool toys for Diabetics are so great!

[poodlebone]

I haven't flown while using the sensors. I was at a Minimed class right before I started and the MM nurse running the class (also a T1 using the sensors) said that she hasn't turned hers off. She said that she trained a pilot recently and he told her that he doesn't turn his off either and it doesn't cause problems.

My CDE told me I would have to turn it off but I don't think I'd bother. I think they say you actually have to remove the transmitter, not just turn off the function on the pump. They also say you should turn off any meters that send results directly to the pump but I bet most people haven't done that either.

I read something about that car. I wonder if insurance would cover it?!

[Coppernob]

Congratulations Jenn - I love my sensor and I hope that you do too. Good luck.
I was interested about your info re the car dashboard set-up - how cool is that!
When I flew to and from the UK last month, I did turn my sensor off (because I am a rule follower to the max!). However it was a pain as I ran very high at one point and didn't discover it until I happened to test. Had the sensor been on, I would have seen it going up and thus acted on it much sooner. So if people tell me that I can leave it on, I will be very happy.

[Busy Betty]

How do you keep a sensor on for 7 days? After 5 or 6 days, my transmitor dies and has to be recharged.

[Gigem99]

The transmitter dies after exactly 7 days(168 hrs). I carefully lift the tape, disconnect the transmitter, re-charge it, then re-connect. It will then wait to ask for an initial calibration after 2 hours - second 6 hours later - just like a new sensor.

I am on day 9 of my current sensor - it has been a really good one. I will probably change it on day 15. I'm tempted to try to leave it in for more than 20 days, but the scars I get after 2 weeks scare me to where I don't want to leave it in longer than that.

[pmackin]

I've seemed to connect my senor's performance to Isig values below 6-7. Does this make sense to anyone? Also, when the values are lower (say around 3), my readings are very low. Most recently, I went below 40, lost the sensor and the Isig is below 4. The helpdesk only tells me to replace the sensor (I'm in the 4th day and it worked fine earlier today). Any wisdom is welcome!

[Gigem99]

Originally Posted by pmackin

I've seemed to connect my senor's performance to Isig values below 6-7. Does this make sense to anyone? Also, when the values are lower (say around 3), my readings are very low.

This is very much a YMMV thing. The critical thing is what they call 'calibration factor' - which they choose not to document. It is the BG divided by the Isig. Since the help desk told me about it several months ago, I've been trying to figure out what my optimal calibration factor is - and in my case it is about 6-6.5.

That means that when my BG is 100-120, my Isig is 15-20 (when the sensor closely matches my BG). I know of a couple of other users whose best calibration factor is about 10 - thus when their BG is 100, their Isig is 10.

The reason this is important, it can give you a clue whether or not to trust the SG (sensor glucose) value. It doesn't matter whether my BG is 60 or 200, if I know that the calibration factor is within target, I can trust the sensor reading.

For that reason, I am very comfortable doing correction boluses without checking my BG's. I will not, however, trust this to do a meal bolus. I still always check before eating, but that's about the only time I check my BG anymore. This is NOT something I recommend - without knowing your system and your body extremely well.

BTW, when my Isig gets as low as 3 (and usually when its below 5), I know it's time to change the sensor.

[Gigem99]

I forgot to add that the calibration factor must be between 1.5 and 20, or you will get a "calibration error" when you try to calibrate.

[Kendall]

I am going to be getting the MM CGMS in a few weeks. Could you explain this Isig thing and how it relates to caleibration? I have never heard of it before. I know that calibrating at the right time (when BG is stable) is important. I would love your input to help things go smoothly when I start.

[Beowulf]

When you want to use a BG as a calibration do a little math first. Take your BG reading and divide it by the ISIG. If that answer falls between 1.5 and 20 then you are safe to calibrate. If it is outside that range, you will get a CAL ERROR from the sensor.

This isn't something that MM advertises and it isn't in the manual. They think that this will somehow confuse people. I mean come on!?!? The MM sensor trainers are told about it, but are discouraged to share the info. Go figure. But hey, do the math and it works!!

Beo