Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

So here’s a quick update on my latest clinical trial. Okay, maybe not so quick, but I’ll try to make it as succinct as possible.

Officially, I’ll be testing the new Dexcom CGM, the G5. Not sure at this point when I’ll be hooked up to the G5. It’s a 32 day trial. For now, I’m wearing the G4 version, which I will continue to wear for the length of the study. This week, I’m traveling back to Charlottesville to go through a series of tests. On the day of testing, I’ll have an IV in my arm. I’m not sure what all of the tests will be, but I understand part of it will entail getting my glucose up over 200 mg/dL quickly, then dosing me with insulin to bring me back down quickly. I don’t know more about it than that, but I should have a couple of stories to tell later.

The team will measure the results, taking blood samples throughout the day. That’s probably the reason for the IV.

In addition to all of that, four days of the trial will be “insulin sensitivity days”, which involve eating exactly the same meals and snacks, at exactly the same time, throughout each of the four days. So if I’m eating instant grits and turkey sausage for breakfast at 6:00 in the morning (true), then a ham sandwich for lunch at 12:15, and a granola bar as a snack at 3:00, I have to eat exactly that, at exactly the same time, on the other three days too. The hard part for me is the Stouffer dinner I picked out. Easy to do the carb count, but I’m spoiled… I am not a fan of boxed dinners.

What’s the upshot of all this testing? Let me answer a question with a question: Did I mention this version of the G5 is specifically designed to speak to UVA’s artificial pancreas technology? I know I’m connecting dots that are not even on the chart yet, but in short, if these tests are successful, it should help clear the way for at-home artificial pancreas testing. That’s where patients would get hooked up to the AP, then go home for anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. That’s a huge leap forward in the development of this important technology, which is why I say I’m connecting dots that aren’t on the chart yet. But I can see the natural progression of the testing, and I can understand that a day like that is coming, and not too far off into the future. Okay, now I am really speculating, so I’ll stop now.

I hope to have another update next week… Thanks for supporting me through this important testing!