DadadaData

Short and sweet.  Arden is growing and I had to make adjustments to her insulin doses.  I was able to make those adjustments properly with almost no effort because of the data that the DexCom 7+ provides me.  No BS, get one of these things...

Better then a Teddy Bear

Just like everyone else that wears a DexCom 7+, Arden sleeps with her receiver.  Lately, I’ve been noticing that she holds it on her chest while she sleeps.  My initial reaction was sadness but as the days pass I’m really beginning to love the fact that she does this.  

There are a ton of inconveniences that come with having type I, sleeping with a piece of electronics might be the least of them.  Today I made a choice, a choice that we can all make; I’m not thinking of these things as “inconveniences” anymore. 

There are days when I’m so busy that eating lunch feels inconvenient but no matter how busy I am I never get upset about having to eat lunch.  That’s the lesson... weather it’s sleeping with electronics or having a sensor stuck to your butt these things are just “eating lunch” for diabetics.  

I thinks it’s all attitude and perspective and we can all do this!

Be well...

Just like everyone else that wears a DexCom 7+, Arden sleeps with her receiver.  Lately, I’ve been noticing that she holds it on her chest while she sleeps.  My initial reaction was sadness but as the days pass I’m really beginning to love the fact that she does this.  

There are a ton of inconveniences that come with having type I, sleeping with a piece of electronics might be the least of them.  Today I made a choice, a choice that we can all make; I’m not thinking of these things as “inconveniences” anymore. 

There are days when I’m so busy that eating lunch feels inconvenient but no matter how busy I am I never get upset about having to eat lunch.  That’s the lesson... weather it’s sleeping with electronics or having a sensor stuck to your butt these things are just “eating lunch” for diabetics.  

I thinks it’s all attitude and perspective and we can all do this!

Be well...

Just like everyone else that wears a DexCom 7+, Arden sleeps with her receiver.  Lately, I’ve been noticing that she holds it on her chest while she sleeps.  My initial reaction was sadness but as the days pass I’m really beginning to love the fact that she does this.  

There are a ton of inconveniences that come with having type I, sleeping with a piece of electronics might be the least of them.  Today I made a choice, a choice that we can all make; I’m not thinking of these things as “inconveniences” anymore. 

There are days when I’m so busy that eating lunch feels inconvenient but no matter how busy I am I never get upset about having to eat lunch.  That’s the lesson... weather it’s sleeping with electronics or having a sensor stuck to your butt these things are just “eating lunch” for diabetics.  

I thinks it’s all attitude and perspective and we can all do this!

Be well...

Eat no wait don’t eat

“Always test”, my NP told us as we began using the DexCom 7+, “the CGM can’t take the place of your meter”.

I’ll admit that some days I am tempted to trust it and calculate a bolus based on the CGM number but I’m glad that I haven’t and here’s why...

Last night at 3:30am (oh diabetes how you love to not let me sleep) Arden’s CGM beeped, when I checked her it said that her BG was 39! I reached for a piece of extra sugary candy and asked Arden to sit up and eat it while I tested her.  A few moments later her OmniPod PDM reported that her BG was actually 117.  

When the 117 came up on the PDM screen, Arden, without missing a beat said, “I’m not low” and she took the candy out of her mouth and flopped her head on the pillow.  It was very cute the way she delivered that line.  She was so deadpan and matter of fact about it.  

Please don’t get me wrong the DexCom is a fantastic and stress reducing diabetes management tool that I highly recommend to anyone with type I.

Moral of the story, CGM aren’t meters, test, test, test.

Just like real estate

The key is location, location, location.

I characterized Arden’s first week using the DexCom Seven Plus as, “bumpy” but “encouraging”.  I didn’t know what to expect going forward, especially after the next sensor that we tried experienced an error and failed.  I’m here to tell you that week two, in a word, was “perfect”.

After I found a better location on Arden to insert her next sensor everything was perfect.  Great trends followed and we consistently saw numbers that were close to those on ourOmniPod meter, I couldn't have asked for more.  The only time that we thought about the sensor was when Arden went swimming.  She swam twice the week before and the adhesive on the Dex sensor gave out.  This time I just covered it with some ‘Second Skin’ to keep it dry and we didn’t have a problem.

I haven’t experience this level of stress reduction in relation to Arden’s type I since we found the OmniPod.  On their own these two products are a diabetes management need, together they are indescribably irreplaceable.  Vanilla and chocolate, Batman and Robin, you can pick your own metaphor.  I’ll just say this, “perfect!”.

**

The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

Jeanette

Scott,
I am glad everything is going smooth.  Will you be able to continue with the cgm even after you complete your study?  What sites have you used and how is Arden with putting it in?  I heard from an adult it was pretty painful putting in but curious how Arden is.

Friday, June 11, 2010 - 06:31 PM

Scott

No study, this is Arden's own CGM.  We have had threepainless insertions so far.

Friday, June 11, 2010 - 10:42 PM

Scott

Sorry my last reply wasn't complete.  Arden is wearing the sensor on the back side of her hip. Tough for me to explain but the sensor inserts into her buttocks.  My experience is limited but so far I would say it only hurts if you don't pick a good location (not fatty enough).

That a side, the ability to watch rising and falling BGs far outweighs any cons associated with the sensor (if there are any).  I would totally recommend the 7+.

Sunday, June 13, 2010 - 09:25 AM

Julia's Grandmother

Julia went on the Medtronic cgm two weeks ago.  We cannot imagine not having it either.  Our stress level has been reduced somewhat, since we can now see the upward and downward trends. It is great to be able to see every 5 minutes what is happening. Julia is a trooper (just like your Arden) and hasn't complained about another device being attached to her.  I know some people have had trouble with the cgm's.  But, so far, it is working great for us --  we believe this is attributed to doing the calibration at the right time (as you know, when the numbers are stable). Oh, also a quick note, the pictures of Arden for the hospital were beautiful.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 12:58 PM

First Sensor

I wanted to have more for my first post since Arden started using the DexCom 7+ CGM but a great many things have happen over the past week that all seem to be thwarting my efforts.

Sensor Start at CHOP:

The sensor start went great, I couldn’t be happier that we are patients at CHOP.  Everything was explained clearly, and the support that is offered is more then I need. 

The bad

Issue #1:

The seven plus asked us to enter BG values over and over at calibration, it took multiple attempts for it to accept them and begin working.  That was disconcerting as I am new to all of this and when the product didn’t react as I was told it would I got a bit nervous... but everything seemed to work out and we began getting feedback.

Issue #2:

Since we are OmniPod user Arden is unaccustomed to having to carry something with her on her body.  I have to admit that I am not a fan of Arden being tethered to a device but she seemed to take it all in stride.  It would be nice if it was smaller.

Issue #3:

The range that the receiver has in relation to the transmitter in a word, “stinks”.

Issue #4:

It wasn’t very reassuring when this news hit the papers on the fourth day Arden was wearing the Dex.

The good

Seeing BG trends is an unbelievably useful tool.  In a day I wasn’t sure how I ever lived without it.  It’s so great in fact that it almost outweighs issue#2.

High and low BG alarms are in a word, fantastic!  I feel like I can actually sleep a little sounder then before.

Arden experienced a low on the third day of the sensor and I was able to use the trend arrows to get her back to normal and eliminate the normal rebound high that occurs in those situations.  

The too soon to tell - customer service

Arden’s Dex receiver had a defect in the plastic that covers the screen, one 3 minute phone call later a new one is on the way. Nice!

We had a sensor error last night and DexCom’s 24/7 CSR service was MIA. We had to leave a message and it was never returned which resulted in my having to take off the sensor.  Today Arden is without the CGM because of the inability to communicate with the company.  It should be noted that when I finally got them on the phone 13 hours later I was told that there is no good reason for the phone CSR to not be available and that it won’t happen again - not so nice!

Summation

It’s been a little bumpy but I’m still comfortable saying, “so far, so good, I’m encouraged and looking forward to getting the 2nd sensor on Arden.

more as it comes...

**

The following are archived comments from this post. You can post new comments below.

sisiay

I'm glad you're seeing the benefits of the Dexcom.  It's true, once you know it it feels like to have that graph/arrows, you can't imagine going without it (to the point that some people pay out of pocket for a second device so they don't have "fly blind" during the 2 hour calibration period.  I haven't gone that far yet).
Sorry to hear about your experience with CR.  I've always had wonderful interactions with them, so hopefully that will be the case for you from now on.  I'd never thought so much about the size of the receiver, but I guess I'm a lot bigger than Arden!
I've put a lot of Dex info together athttp://dontfeardiabetes.com/2010/04/dexcom-glucose-common-questions-part-1/ and  http://dontfeardiabetes.com/2010/04/dexcom-questions-part-2-and-how-to-save-money-with-your-dexcom-glucose-monitor/  if you just want an overview of some common issues/concerns w/o going through the whole manual or contacting Dexcom.  Good luck!

Friday, June 4, 2010 - 12:30 PM

Michelle Golladay

I am so glad things are going well with the CGM!  Thank you for sharing!

Friday, June 4, 2010 - 09:19 PM

Scott

Arden's 2nd sensor went on much smoother. More next week. While you're waiting fopr that update, check this out.  

http://web.me.com/skca/Ardens_Day/Daddys_Blog/Entries/2010/6/5_Proud_daddy_post.html

Saturday, June 5, 2010 - 09:08 PM

Emily

So, does this mean no more finger pricks?

Sunday, June 27, 2010 - 07:08 AM