Type 1 Diabetics Super Mega Thread

I've had it for 35yrs now. It was more just stopping what I was doing to get it done. Now I can just scan and go. When I was first diagnosed, I only had strips that you left the blood on and wiped it off after a minute. You then had to just guesstimate what it was based on the sliding scale on the bottle.

 

Wow, that’s intense. I’m spoiled. It’s come a long way. Excited to see where it goes.

 

I recently moved from pricking my finger to the Dexcom.

I am looking to change career's and need to fix my problem with low blood sugar.


This Dexcom thing is amazing! No way I can go back. This was a life changer for me.

My wife is so very happy to have this, been over a month since she needed to get me orange juice in the middle of the night.

I just get up and do it myself before I cant! The notifications while sleeping was mainly what convinced me to get this.

My phone was not on the supported device list, but I found a link on Reddit to get around that.

 

That’s awesome news. I couldn’t imagine not having a CGM of some sort.

 

I dont know why I was so resistant to getting it. Way to stubborn.

Never guessing at what my sugar is. Knowing the trend it is on. I can just eat a granola bar now, and it wont end up low.

Just never imagined it would be like this.

I am still blown away by this.

THEN you get online and go the clarity website, and WAMMMO. All the data, you can figure out what is causing problems at specific times by looking at weeks of data.

 

Anybody able to compare the minimed cgm stuff(what I currently have) with the dexcom?

Just seeing if there's any better options out there...

The minimed setup is pretty slick with the auto mode adjusting basal rate but im always lookin

 

I had a tandem pump with control IQ linked to my Dexcom. Hated it and hated the pump. I just do Dexcom and have the InPen app that I log doses in but don’t use their pen, just the regular disposable ones. It links with the Dexcom Clarity app so I can get a full picture of doses and BS. How’s the minimed CGM?

 

Honestly it's pretty good...it microbolus accordingly automatically and keeps your numbers pretty level...warns you before hi and lows. Been diabetic pretty much my entire life and been on a pump the majority of it... just wonder if there's a good option with similar control and I don't have to have a pump in my pocket that's lassoed to me lol. The freakin tape you use for the cgm transmitter that's on your body...holy cow feels like your skin goes with it when it comes off

 

I hated being tethered to a pump. I was diagnosed at age 29, so I wasn’t used to all of it haha. I do MDI now and have much better control. Last A1C was 5.4%

I would have terrible site rejection for the inserts and I couldn’t predict how the insulin would absorb because of it. Not to mention having the damn thing dangling around getting caught on everything.

 

Bringing this thread back from the dead. Anyone else in here using the Medtronic 770G with CGM?

I finally made the switch about 6 weeks ago because my Dr really wants the CGM data. Overall its kinda cool to have that data at your finger tips, and also quite accurate excluding ~two hours after meals (assuming the sensor is actually working). But overall I'm not super impressed with the package. I feel like the way the 770G pump UI was setup was a compete after thought. Specifically the menus. Like they spent the whole time making the CGM, then realized they needed a UI for the pump and tossed it over to the new engineering intern just out of freshman year classes. And the never ending alerts from the sensor are just about enough to make me go back to manual injections.. Curious what others think who are using the system

 

That's why I stopped using my CGM. The alerts were non-stop. Thankfully, once Dexcom made it to where you could use your phone instead of their own readout device, you could mute them a little more, but the low alerts were hardcoded to be full volume and weren't snoozeable. So I'd get up and eat something, then get alarmed every 5 mins until my level climbed above the 60mg/dl hard limit. Really obnoxious when it goes off at 2am, let alone right before you walk into an important meeting at work.

I also HATED putting a new catheter in every week, and the glue pads always came loose after a day. Ended up being so much hassle, I went back to finger sticks and a manual pen. I'm so much happier for it, and my A1C is same if not slightly better.

 

My dexcom works best and has a 99% chance of not feeling like I’m being stabbed 24/7 in about one square inch on my stomach. I switch to the other side of my stomach to give it some rest, but I wish I had more real estate for it.

Hate the loud repeating alarms, too. I get it, I’m dying, cool. Also makes music blast for a second on the iPhone. Hated the pump. I get bored and think I want to try it again, but then I remember the site rejection and the nonstop reminder I have diabetes because of the machine dangling off my body. 5.3 A1C with pens and dexcom and a much better quality of life so I’m sticking with that haha

 

I’m curious to see how the minimed CGM stacks up against the dexcom.

 

I imagine these sensors are really good practice for having a baby. Getting woken up every two hours every single night haha. And yeah the office one is a big one for me too. Being in a quiet office and having that goddamn thing start going on in my pocket. So annoying. Luckily the Minimed pump does have a vibrate only option and no link to your phone (a feature I actually really really like for security and simplicity pump only, no phone). The other one is driving. Like yeah let me try not to crash at 70 mph trying to wrestle this goddamned thing out of my pocket, read three full pages of alert text, and confirm the alert just to make it shut up.

Honestly the Minimed sensor seems pretty good for about five days. Like I said it seems to read artificially high for an hour or two after eating (leading to more alarms of course) but otherwise the accuracy seems good for the most part. It does fall off very quickly after about 5 days though. They market it as a 7-day sensor, but by day 7 Im lucky if I can make it 4 hours before needing to recalibrate again. Im not exactly sure what the mechanism behind that is, if its an internal timer or if it thinks its getting a bad reading or what.

At any rate, it would honestly be a cool system if it wasnt so f*cking annoying. That reason alone Im either going back to the 723 or just not using the sensor after I get a month of data for my Dr.

 

Dexcoms are 10 day sensors but by day 9 they’re usually shit. I always call in a replacement when they get out of whack even if it’s day 9.5. I save them back and when I have too many extras I sell them online haha. Insurance didn’t pay for them so no risk of getting shit on that I’m aware of.

 

How are the approved site locations for the Dexcom? The guardian sensor is only approved on the stomach or back of the arms in adults. Limits the options quite a bit, especially considering I used to put infusion sets on the stomach. Basically takes one of my four general site areas out of the rotation when wearing the sensor

 

I’ve only used them on my stomach. I’d like to change it up, but I have zero fatty areas. I’d put it on my ass, but that didn’t work well for the infusion sets when I had a pump. One cheek is currently dedicated for long acting and the other for short acting MDI

Luckily the sensor needle/probe thing is super small so it doesn’t eat up your body like the infusion sets.

 

I switched from the medtronic pump and cgm system about 6-9 mos ago to tandem / dexcom. I had been on a medtronic system for ~20 years, the last few iterations have been with the CGM. I got so sick and tired of that medtronic system running my life. It was so very needy with alerts, alarms, and calibrations needed. It never worked very well for me, it would stack my insulin while in auto mode and make me go low every afternoon. I learned how to live with it which was very frustrating. Made the switch after talking with my doc, about how they both operate, and how their auto mode algorhythms work differently. This tandem Tslim pump and dexcom have been a life changer for me. It does not try to kill me off every afternoon. There are still alerts and alarms, but they are much more infrequent. You can turn them all off except for the imminent low, or low alerts. The dex is a 10 day sensor and is so much more accurate for me. I alternate sides of belly, and upper / lower belly to keep my sites fresh and rotated. I only calibrate a couple times in the first 24 hours, and never again until new sensor. there are no required calibrations. After the first 24 hours and a few calibrations, this thing usually reads within 5 of a finger stick.

 

haha good to hear the Tandem and Dexcom have worked out better for you. I have yet to try the 770G in full auto mode, but honestly I doubt I will. Also pretty amazing that it doesnt need to be calibrated after the first day.

 

I have tested teh dex after several days to check accuracy, once its dialed in, its good to go. Some people say they never calibrate, I have found that I need to do a few within the first 24 to feel good about it