The 6.5 A1C was her best ever and the last one before we started using the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) this past spring. We were on a winning streak without any colds or flus. But she did have lots of lows. Often in the 2's. And she also rarely felt her lows which is really not good and dangerous. The 7.7 A1C was after the H1N1 flu. The virus had wreaked havoc on her sugars, which was one of the causes for the A1C rise. There's no simple logical explanation for the 8.0 A1C. So far, her A1C has gone up since we began using the CGM. The opposite is usually the case. Is it worth all the effort? Let's see what the 1st semester report card says...
We started using the CGM back in mid May. We've been trying to get 6 days out of each sensor. On average, they've been lasting about 5. We currently have the low alarm set at 4.5 (if blood sugar is 4.5 or lower, the pump alarm will go off). We have not set or used the high alarm (simply to avoid too many annoying alarms throughout the day). Generally, Adele has been wearing one sensor per week. This gives us 1 day (if the sensor lasts for 6) or more days of finger prick after the sensor is removed until a new one is inserted. We're continuously learning and here are our impressions on this new technology.
I'm a glass half full kind of guy, so I'll start with what we like:
- An added sense of security. I always feel much better when Adele has a sensor on and that I am confident that the system is calibrated correctly. This is especially true when we're out and about, during the night or when she's at school or at a friend's house. The low alarm set at 4.5 eases some of the hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) worry. It's like removing the blindfold that prevents us from seeing where her blood glucose value at a given moment because without it I ALWAYS wonder where her sugar is at and where it's going.
- Less finger pricks. Adele's fingers now have a bit of a chance to heal from all the finger pricks. In order to have good blood glucose control you need to know where the blood glucose level is going so you can make corrections before it's too late. The CGM gives blood glucose readings every 5 minutes as well as a graph (and arrows) indicating the direction that the blood sugar is going in - either rising, dropping or relatively stable.
- Less interuptions in Adele's activities. It litterally takes a few seconds to check her sugar. I simply ask her where she's at and she glances at her pump and tells me. No need to get needles ready, handle meter and strips... We really appreciate this if we're outdoors or at the mall... This also makes most middle of the night checks much less gruelling - if she's high or low and there's a bit of doubt as to the precision of the CGM reading, we still do a finger poke.
- More blood glucose values. This enables us to make small adjustments thus maximizing our chances of a good blood sugar value during the middle of the night check. I sometimes get OCD checking 2 or 3 times per hour before going to bed.
- Less hypoglycemic episodes and more hypoglyemia awareness. Before using the CGM, Adele would go low in the 2's about 1 or more times per week. Now, it's like once a month and usually due to a sensor that is off and needs re-calibration.
And now what we don't like as much:
- Painful insertion. The emla cream helps, but this is still not a very pleasant experience. Adele is quite the champion though and now goes through the sensor insertion without shedding a single tear.
- Another infusion set. The CGM adds another foreign object inserted into the skin and attached to the body. This also adds a sensor insertion about once a week in addition to infusion set changes every 3 days. It has added more tasks (which require more time) to our Type 1 management schedule.
- Itchy and chaffed skin. The skin under the sensor traps moisture. Adele starts complaining of the area being very, very itchy after about the 4th day. Some days she just begs to remove it in order for her to itch the skin underneath. The skin under the sensor become red and inflammed (like a diaper rash) after 5 or 6 days.
- Blood Glucose readings every 5 minutes can sometimes be too much information. I've often found myself correcting too soon after a bolus if I see arrows and a blood sugar trending up. Because of the delay in reading updates (CGM uses sugar in the interstitial fluid and not blood) the CGM is a bit behind if the blood glucose is changing rapidly. I need to not be as quick to correct a high since often the sugar is on it's way down, but not reflected yet by the CGM.
- It sometimes gives false readings when not calibrated properly. This weekend, upon waking, Adele's CGM indicated that her sugar was 4.5. I needed to calibrate (by doing a finger prick and entering the result in the pump). The meter indicated 2.6. She was low and the CGM had not caught it.
- Expensive and not covered by all insurance plans. We're lucky in that our insurance plan is one of the first to cover the CGM supplies. We do test less when she's wearing a sensor, so in the long run they do save some money on strips.
So 5 pros and 6 cons (the last one does not apply to us, so 5 cons really). So, it's a tie if you're counting. Given this, the final grade is that we'll still continue using the technology. We've learned alot since we've started, so I'm optimistic that things will even get better still. My goal is to lower her A1C (low 7's or high 6's) while still keeping lows at bay. That is the goal and I still think that the CGM is a very useful tool to help us get there.
In the meantime, happy Type 1 gaming and look out for the JDRF float in the Greater Moncton Santa Claus parade on Saturday, November 28th. Adele is very excited to be part of the parade this year!
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