I use a lot of technology in my day-to-day life, but it’s concerning how much of it is not as robust as I would like. For example many of the tools we use assume that we will always have an Internet connection. But even today that assumption is not always true. To some people “no …
What is your goal for managing your BG levels? Many people think of the range 3.9-10 mmol/L as their “goal” for their blood glucose. It’s a commonly-referenced range. Of course, that’s being quite specific in terms of a goal. For most of us a better high-level goal is probably something like “live a full and happy life”. …
Where we place our CGM sensors is sometimes a fraught issue. Regulatory “labels” Dexcom and Medtronic initially registered their CGMs with the regulators (FDA, TGA, etc) saying they should be used on the abdomen. Abbott registered the Libre saying it should be used on the upper arm. Actually the Medtronic Guardian3 sensor lists the abdomen and …
“Continuous” glucose monitors (CGMs) aren’t actually continual. Most take a reading every 5 minutes. But it’s easy to forget that. In any moment we see a number on our CGM display, and it feels like that’s our current BG. But it was calculated by the CGM up to 5 minutes ago, and will usually be …
Continuous Glucose Monitoring is an immensely useful tool for anyone with diabetes. Unfortunately the cost and complexity puts it out of reach of the majority, but these issues should change over time. Especially with the introduction of new technologies. There are three major “CGM” systems available in Australia at the moment. Dexcom has their G5, …
Most CGMs (Continuous Glucose Monitors) require calibration by comparing with BG fingerprick samples. These help ensure that the numbers the system reports are a good analog for your current blood glucose. If left uncalibrated for too long the values can drift from reality, but the speed of this drift varies across systems. I wrote earlier …