Tag Archives: CGM

Medtronic and Dexcom in a good light.

June 20, 2013 – 9:40 am

Tuesday’s post covered a couple of potential issues with devices made by Medtronic and Dexcom. And I seem to remember a similar post that included Medtronic a couple of months ago.

Taken just as they are, these posts might give you the impression that I have a problem with Med-T and Dex. Trust me… I do not have an axe to grind. I really do try to be fair and balanced. Not fair and balanced like a certain news organization here in the States that eggs on congress to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the house voted against it 37 times already), then champions House Speaker John Boehner when he states that “…creating a better environment for jobs has been and will remain our top focus”. But I digress.

What I’d like to do today is talk about the things that I really like about the Medtronic pump I have, and the Dexcom continuous glucose monitor (CGM) I’m using as part of a clinical trial. M’kay?
 
 
First, Medtronic.

The single best thing I can say about my MiniMed Paradigm® Revel™ insulin pump is that it’s reliable. It has never once failed me. Oh, I’ve gotten a motor error or two now and then, but I was always able to overcome that without too much difficulty. By “without too much difficulty”, I mean within five minutes.

I’ve also dropped my pump several times over the last three and a half years. I’ve scratched it. I’ve let it get dirtier than a medical device should ever be, and it still keeps going. It’s been on bike rides and runs and through airport security more than a few times. No problems here… still pumping.

And when it comes right down to it, what I want most out of a medical device designed to help keep me alive is reliability. My pump has that in spades.
 
 
Now, Dexcom.

There’s a lot to like about the Dexcom G4™ continuous glucose monitor. To begin with, the insertion process is simple, smooth, and often completely painless. For the study I’m participating in, I’m required to wear the sensor on my belly only, so I haven’t had a chance to try it anywhere else. But I really like the fact that I can get the sensor in easily, and that once it’s in I almost never feel it.

Since it’s not integrated with my pump, the Dexcom CGM has its own display device. Much has been written about how 21st century and sexy this little thing is. I mean, it is kinda nice, and it looks a lot like other electronic devices we all carry around every day. But I really dig two things about it. One, it holds a charge for a loooong time (and recharges quickly). And two, the range on the device is pretty good. I’ve gotten into the habit of reminding myself to put it in my pocket every time I stand up now, so I don’t leave it on a table or on my desk at work. But if I’m in a meeting in a big conference room, I can leave it on the conference table and get up to walk around the room without worrying about whether I’ll be out of range. At home, I can sit it on the front steps while I mow the front lawn (I have a small yard, but it’s big enough to be out of range for other CGMs).

Finally, I like the Dexcom Studio™ software used to track all of the data from the CGM. Lots of user-friendly, understandable graphs, charts, and other features that help me understand my glucose trends better. I could go into detail, but if you’re really interested in finding out more about it, you should probably check out the information on the Dexcom website.

I haven’t tried a lot of continuous glucose monitors (just Dexcom and Medtronic), but my impression of the Dexcom G4™ is that it’s the Cadillac of CGMs right now. If you disagree, feel free to let me know why by leaving a comment.
 
 
So you see, it’s not all bad. If you think about where we were twenty years ago, there really has been a lot of hard work done and progress made on insulin pumps and CGMs. I hope that in future years, Medtronic and Dexcom will be able to keep the best features of their current products, and improve and enhance the worst. Our lives, and the quality of our lives, depend on it.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Reviews | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (6)

Pumps and CGMs and being a bear.

June 18, 2013 – 7:09 am

Oh My! There are a couple of things I want to draw your attention to. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to write about these things, but fortunately, someone else already has.

These both may seem kind of negative, and I don’t really mean to sound that way. Sometimes, I can be a bear when it comes to problems with things that are intended to help keep us alive. But these issues are what they are, so I’m telling you about them now so you’ll know. As a counter to these points, I will promise you, Medtronic, and you, Dexcom, that I’ll write something good about your products before the end of the week.

– Medtronic has sent a letter to all of their pump users with detailed descriptions of how to properly remove your insulin reservoir from your vial of insulin. Turns out, there’s a wrong way to do it and you may not know. I didn’t. Not following the proper procedure could have serious consequences. Medtronic has the write-up on this issue right here:
http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/support/product-updates
 
 
– Also, Sara over at Moments of Wonderful experienced an issue with Dexcom™ CGM audible alarms not going off. This is not an “official” Dexcom™ issue, but in light of going low without hearing an alarm at night a couple of months back, I’m wondering about my own unit right now. Read Sara’s post here:
http://momentsofwonderful.com/2013/06/looks-can-be-deceiving/
 
 
And while we’re talking, don’t forget to vote early and often for your favorite posts from around the #DOC for the June Best of the Betes Blogs! All of the details are here:
http://momentsofwonderful.com/best-of-the-betes-blogs/
 
 
See, I did get something positive in there at the end. Toward the end of the week, the shiny side of the Medtronic and Dexcom coins.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes Technology, Like these links | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Wordless Wednesday… That’s more like it.

June 12, 2013 – 9:52 am

DSC00868

In Monday’s post I complained a lot about how crazy my glucosity was all weekend. But now it seems like things have calmed down a bit. The photo above is from last night, and it reflects how my BG has been behaving for the past two days. Granted, my high and low markers are pretty high and pretty low, but at least I’m doing better over the last 48 hours or so.

And check out this graph from last night… A little low around 11:00 (treated with juice), then steady during sleep. Mind you, I haven’t really done much different except staying hyper-aware of how I’m trending:
DSC00872

#MakesSenseIfYouHaveDiabetes
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

CGM Data… how do you feel about yours?

June 10, 2013 – 9:57 am

Let me tell you, reading CGM data is hard sometimes.

I don’t usually wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), but I’m wearing one for the next few weeks as part of a clinical trial I’m participating in. Every day, I’m fascinated by the data that I’m getting about how my blood glucose handles the food I eat, the workouts at the gym and work around the house, hot days and cool days.

And I hate to admit it, but occasionally it’s sort of affecting how I feel about things as I watch that CGM graph line go up or down.

Saturday, I was so frustrated because it seemed like no matter what I did, I was still sinking under 70 over and over again. That was after a false high reading I was getting early on (second day of the sensor… probably not fully calibrated yet). On Sunday, it was the opposite: I was low continuously for a couple of hours until I had a late lunch a little before 1:00, but high after that for the rest of the day. Despite how I had carefully checked where my BG was, how much insulin was on board, and how much insulin I needed to get back within range.

I’m not talking monster stress here; I mean, hey, diabetes throws us curve balls all the time… these things happen. I’m merely saying that I get mad occasionally when I carefully analyze what I’m doing to manage everything, and I’m still out of range, and I still have to wait hours before I’m back in a good range again.

I know this: CGMs are a great source of information and a huge help in managing glucose levels overall. I also know this: A couple of times in the last week, I would have rather been blissfully unaware of how my BG was trending for a few hours.

I’m working on becoming more comfortable with knowing my BG trends 24/7. It’s a work in progress.

What about you? Are you a CGM user? If so, do you let what it’s showing you affect how you feel about your diabetes? Do you have any tips for dealing with that?
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes | Also tagged , | Comments (5)

And now, back to our regularly scheduled research.

May 31, 2013 – 9:44 am

The clinical trial that I’ve been participating in since April has officially resumed after a brief hiatus.

The trial is designed to measure how patients handle their glucose levels while interacting with a specially-designed website. The purpose of the website is to produce data and information to patients based on daily logging of BGs, meal intake, exercise, and other factors. I’ll be uploading Dexcom™ G4 data every day too. The main goal of the study is to “improve glycemic outcome”. A lofty goal, and let’s hope it’s achieved. It’s really much more than I’ve just described. If you really want to find out everything that it’s about, check out the full description at the clinicaltrials.gov website:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01767831?term=ibolused&rank=1

So anyway, after taking a break so some web development issues could be ironed out, we’re back at it. I think the hardest thing about starting up again is going to be learning to swim with the Dexcom™ stuck in my gut. Those turns and pushing off the wall will feel funny at times, but I’m sure I can get over it. Besides, I only have to swim another two weeks anyway to get ready for my triathlon, and then I can take a break from it.

As before, I’ll try to give an update every week or so to let you know how it’s going. There’s only so much I can reveal while the study is ongoing, but I’ll let you in on as much as I can. Once the study is published, I’ll be able to talk about it in full if you’re still interested.

If you want to find out more about the kind of studies taking place out there, just go to the clinicaltrials.gov website and put Diabetes into the search box. A recent search found 9,688 separate entries.

I’m glad we’re starting this up again. And again, I hope it’s a big success.

P.S. This study is still recruiting participants! It’s a great way to get your feet wet in the clinical trials swimming pool, so to speak. Also, it’s a great opportunity to try out the Dexcom™ G4. If you think you might be interested in participating, send an e-mail to: mkm6x@virginia.edu
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes, Diabetes Technology | Also tagged , | Comments (4)