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 …
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 …
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 …
To quote from Wikipedia, Segal’s Law is an adage that states: “A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.” How is this relevant to diabetes? Well, for the last fortnight I’ve been wearing three CGMs. It’s been quite enlightening. The three systems I’ve been using have been: …
Over the years I’ve spent some time living with multiple CGM systems: Dexcom G4 and G5 Medtronic Guardian2/Enlite (640G pump) FreeStyle Libre FreeStyle Libre with Spike/xDrip+ Incidentally for the purposes of this technical discussion, the Libre is a Continuous Glucose Monitor. Any lack of alarms/etc does not change this, even if “Flash” monitoring doesn’t have …