OK I keep seeing on Twitter about Dexcom. What in the world is that? Is it the same thing as a continuous glucose monitoring system that would be used if you wore an insulin pump?
Does this thing have to be "attached" to you? Is it water proof? So, could I go swimming with it? Is it like the pump insertions? If I'm testing 10-15 times a day, would this benefit me? What are the benefits?
I just need someone to walk me through this......
Just came across your blog. :) Yes, Dexcom is a CGM. It is attached and I think the insertion may be similar to a pump, but not completely sure (DH doesn't use a pump though and DD uses Omnipod but is young and can't describe how it feels very well). It's not hard to do though. And the sensor part that goes in the skin is very thin, much thinner than a cannula.
ReplyDeleteIt is water proof. No issue with swimming or showering, though DH does have the adhesive start to pull off at about the week mark. He's quite athletic so that definitely affects it.
The current ones on the market are supposed to last 7 days. There is a 10 day one coming out in the nearish future. But many people get more than 7 days out of it by restarting the current sensor rather than putting on a new one. That would just depend on how well the adhesive is sticking. :)
For us, Dexcom has been a game changer. DH had T1 for a decade, DD for 3 months before we got one. DH is very much *not* interested in a pump but after seeing the info Dexcom gave for DD decided to deal with the Dexcom, and that has definitely helped his management.
Dexcom gives readings every five minutes. The device attached to you communicates to a receiver and/or phone where you can view the readings. They just got approval for insulin dosing off of their most recent system so it would be 2 meter tests a day for calibration but you could use Dexcom to watch your trends between those.
DD doesn't always feel her lows, so Dexcom has been a wonderful safety net. And she frequently ping-pongs between being more sensitive and more resistant and Dexcom allows me to catch that and respond to it earlier. It's so amazing to be able to see a trend line instead of just the number - and so helpful to see the number in context (i.e. has the BG been pretty stable? Is it rising? Is it dropping?). DD was testing at least 10x/day before Dexcom but we still got so much more info from using the CGM.
It's not 100% perfect. There are tricks to learn (it takes a little longer to show BG coming up after a low since it's actually testing the interstitial fluid, there is a slight lag in the numbers, and you need to make sure you calibrate when BG is stable so you don't mess it up). But overall, it's been an amazing tool for our family.
Here is the product website: http://www.dexcom.com/
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