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Has anyone used a CONTINOUS BLOOD GLUCOSE monitor?
Question : Has anyone used a CONTINOUS BLOOD GLUCOSE monitor?
hi. im a 17 year old type one diabetic (diagnosed in ’93). since i am unable to feel hypoglycemia, my doctor wanted me on a continous blood glucose montor. i want to know: is it worth the cost? how has it affeced your life?
blood glucose monitor
Best answer:
Answer by sunflower352
It is worth the cost for several reasons: the more people buy these machines, the more money goes into research to make them better, and of course, you get additional information (especially at night when you can be awakened by an alarm) to help control your diabetes. And as we all know, with T1 controll is the name of the game.
They are expensive (if you have a Paradigm pump the starter kit is $ 900) and insurance won’t cover them or the sensors so it will be totally out of pocket. You will also still need to do finger sticks even though you have the CM. The FDA approved them provisionally~meaning they still aren’t totally reliable. They have to be calabrated a lot too.
Bottom line~ if we could afford one, my son would have one. Good luck and good health.
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#2 written by suzanne_una 1 year ago
If you have hypo unawareness then you have a good chance your insurance will cover a CGMS for you. I just started a DexCom 7 plus system last week because of hypo unawareness. It is not perfect (doesn’t always match what your glucometer says) but you can see trends and catch lows. I can already see after less than a week of using it that I need to adjust my insulin on my pump in the afternoons. I also can see how certain foods affect my sugar better. For example, last night I had a fatty dinner and I went low an hour after dinner then high 3 hours after dinner. I ate a low fat meal tonight and my insulin and food did just what it was supposed to with no lows. I can already see that this will really help me get better control of my diabetes. Plus I am not as nervous to drive my car now because of the CGMS. Now I know if I am going low so I can avoid it.
The biggest downside is having to carry around a receiver so you can see what your sugars are doing. You have to be within feet of it for it to read. With the DexCom it has to be within 5 feet of the sensor. The sensor that you attach to your body is no big deal, it doesn’t hurt and is pretty small.
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My cousin started using a glucose monitor, she said it was worth cost since it let her be able to monitor herself. Made her feel more independent and not that difficult to use.
Good Luck!