[Diabetes-talk] DexCom G5 Mobile CGM system

Mon Feb 15 01:54:54 UTC 2016

I truly feel they have no clue what they are talking about.
I just wanted to share what was told to me when I saw her.

Original message:
> What do you mean by extra insulin? With an insulin pump, which is different
> from a CGM, you have basal rates set up to deliver insulin throughout the
> day, and you have an amount you bolus for meals and corrections.

> Bridgit

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of d
> m gina via Diabetes-talk
> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 5:43 PM
> To: diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: d m gina <dmgina at samobile.net>
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] DexCom G5 Mobile CGM system

> Yes I understood that,
> my question is this,
> With the machine, do you still need extra insulin.
> I am told yes here in town from the one lady I saw.
> I am saying no.
> Because you folks have never shared that before on the pump.

> Original message:
>> Dar, the CGM has no connection with taking insulin at all. It's simply
>> a way to look at your blood sugar readings and see the patterns. What
>> you do with the information is still the same. But if you have
>> hypoglycemia unawareness, an alarm with go off when your number is too
>> low and get your attention for sure, or will get the attention of
>> someone else if you can't respond. You can also set an alarm to notify
>> you if you are too high. But the device does not administer insulin in any
> way.
>> Glad you are doing the walking you are. Keep it up!
>> Veronica

>> "Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now
>> available on iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide
> Dog Glee Club.
>> To learn more, visit:
>> http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
>>                 Veronica Elsea, Owner
>> Laurel Creek Music Designs
>> Santa Cruz, California
>> Phone: 831-429-6407

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Diabetes-talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of d m gina via Diabetes-talk
>> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 1:01 PM
>> To: diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: d m gina
>> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-talk] DexCom G5 Mobile CGM system

>> With wearing this device, do you still have to take extra insulin?
>> I ask because my diabetic coordinator says I still would have to do
>> two different insulin shots.
>> Being confused I don't want to keep adding more insulin at the cost of
>> $400 for five pins.
>> That seems quite out of reach for anyone.
>> I am told the price was because my insurance needed to have me pay
>> what they want for the start of the year, even though I pay a co
>> payment on a monthly bases.
>> I am walking a treadmill for an hour for five or six days.
>> When the summer gets here, and there is no snow then I can go back to
>> my mile and a half walk that I do with my dog.
>> Glad this is working for you.

>> Original message:
>>> Hello Ed and all interested in CGM, pumps and accessibility,

>>> Fair warning, this is a lengthy post...

>>> Ed - I am also using the DexCom G5 Mobile system(G5 stands for fifth
>>> generation), and have been since it first became available as an
>>> upgrade
>> to
>>> the prior system late last year. I am late in providing an update to
>>> this list, and for that I apologize. The DexCom G5 Mobile is quite a
>> breakthrough
>>> in terms of accessibility over their previous DexCom G4 Share system.

>>> As you describe, nearly all aspects of the day-to-day use of the
>>> system, including setup and calibration can be managed by someone who is
> blind.
>> I'm
>>> glad to hear that your A1C has fallen into a healthier range since
>>> you
>> began
>>> to use the CGM. Mine did also, and in general, the statistic I've
>>> heard reported is that on average, a person's A1C will lower one full
>>> point when using a CGM consistently.

>>> Hang in there with pulling the plastic covers off the adhesive. In
>>> the beginning I had some issues as well, but now very confidently
>>> handle applying the sensors to my skin. I've included at the end of
>>> this email a lengthy description of how I go about putting on my sensors.

>>> Not being able to detect a low blood sugar before it is dangerously
>>> low is known as hypoglycemia unawareness, and if your insurance
>>> covers CGM use, having hypoglycemia unawareness gets you automatic
>>> approval for use of the CGM. CGM can truly be a life saver, and I
>>> know both my wife and I sleep
>> much
>>> easier now.

>>> Now, in terms of the Medtronic system, they are marketing the Minimed
>>> 530G (I think the G stands for Guardian). This is a combination
>>> insulin pump
>> and
>>> CGM system. It still requires you to have two items inserted under
>>> your skin, the canula for the pump and the sensor for the CGM, but
>>> the pump
>> unit
>>> handles both the display and input for both the pump and the CGM. The
>>> feature that sets this pump and CGM system apart is that the pump
>>> pays attention to the CGM readings, and when the CGM indicates you
>>> are going
>> low,
>>> if you do not respond, it automatically turns off the pumps basil
>>> insulin delivery for up to two hours. This is the first time ever in
>>> the US a pump has been approved that takes data from a CGM and makes
>>> a decision for the human wearing the pump. That in and of itself is a
>>> landmark
>> accomplishment.

>>> In terms of accessibility, They offer a system named Minimed Connect,
>> which
>>> can be used in conjunction with an iPhone or iPad app to display
>> information
>>> about the Minimed 530G pump and CGM on your phone. By the way, I
>>> believe
>> one
>>> must purchase the Medtronic Connect system to have the iPhone app
>>> display the CGM and pump information; for DexCom the system connects
>>> to the iPhone at no additional charge. I spoke with another blind
>>> person who uses it. It does have a few advantages over the DexCom G5
>>> Mobile system if you use a pump, because the Connect app lets you get
>>> information from your pump as well in an accessible form. I use a
>>> pump, and I always have to ask others
>> to
>>> tell me how much insulin is left in my cartridge, how much insulin is
>> still
>>> active in my body since my last bolus, and what my pump battery level is.
>>> With the Minimed Connect system, the blind person can now access that
>> data,
>>> along with the CGM current reading, right from the iPhone app. The
>>> availability of the pump information on the app is a first, as far as
>>> I know, for any pump.

>>> That being said, just from the CGM pperspective, the Minimed Connect
>>> falls way behind the functionality available via the app for the
>>> DexCom g5
>> Mobile
>>> system. As I said earlier, the Minimed Connect app only lets one view
>>> the data from the app; you cannot interact with the pump or the CGM
>>> via the
>> app.
>>> So, with the DexCom G5 Mobile, you can use the app to start and stop
>>> your sensors, enter your twice-daily calibration values, set all your
>> individual
>>> alert levels and sounds for your high and low thresholds, and you can
>>> even enter your diabetes-related activity into the app, such as how
>>> much
>> insulin
>>> you just took, how much carb you just ate, how much exercise you just
>>> did, and other items such recording that you are ill.

>>> All that data, in conjunction with the blood glucose readings from
>>> the
>> CGM,
>>> can help you and your diabetes health team determine how to best
>>> adjust
>> your
>>> particular carb to insulin ratios, basil levels on your pump, etc.

>>> On the Minimed system, all the functionality I just described for the
>> DexCom
>>> has to be entered on the Minimed pump system, which is absolutely not
>>> accessible.

>>> Another advantage of the DexCom system is that all you need to carry
>>> with you is your iPhone. The DexCom sensor you wear on your body
>>> transmits the information directly to your phone. On the Minimed
>>> system, you have to
>> carry
>>> another small device with you, named the uploader, which is about the
>>> size of an automobile key fob. The Minimed transmitter on your body
>>> first sends the information to the uploader, and it in turn sends it
>>> to the phone. So, it is small, but the uploader requires charging,
>>> and it is one more item
>> to
>>> remember, and potentially to forget.

>>> Finally, a wonderful advantage of these new CGM systems is that they
>>> also automatically send the blood glucose data to the CGM company
>>> (either
>> DexCom
>>> or Medtronic) where it can be viewed by you or your doctor. The
>>> web-based DexCom product for viewing your data, identifying blood
>>> glucose trends,
>> and
>>> tracking how you re doing is called Clarity. As I said earlier, the
>>> Medtronic name is Minimed Connect. DexCom offers Clarity for free.

>>> So, when I see my endocrinologist, she can call up my data from the
>>> DexCom site. I do not need to have my CGM uploaded to her PC in her
>>> office, nor
>> do
>>> I need to give her my blood sugar logs. For better, or worse, my life
>>> as a diabetic is available to her, in living color.

>>> Of course, there are many privacy safeguards in place. Your physician
>>> can never see your data unless you provide them access, and you can
>>> limit how long they have access. If you provide your doctor ongoing
>>> access, for
>> three
>>> months or six months, for example, they can log in and see your data
>>> even whenyou are not at the office. And, the clarity system also
>>> let's you
>> simply
>>> email a report to your doctor.

>>> I hope that soon, everyone on this list that can take advantage of a
>>> CGM
>> can
>>> start using one. . I'm encouraged that at some point Medicare may
>>> start covering them.

>>> All the best,
>>> Tom Ley
>>> What follows next is a description of how I put on a sensor.

>>> How I put on a new DexCom G5 Mobile sensor without sight First, I
>>> find that often, the sensors come out of the large sealed plastic
>>> coverings such that the adhesive oval area is curled downward, so the
>>> adhesive is not flat. I make sure I bend up the oval shaped adhesive
>>> area all the way around until it is flat again.

>>> The covering over the adhesive is made of two pieces, each piece
>>> covering half of the adhesive. The two tabs you pull on are right
>>> next to each
>> other,
>>> in the middle of one of the long sides of the oval.

>>> I usually start off by holding the sensor by the adhesive area with
>>> the fingers on my right hand, holding on the right side of the adhesive
> area.
>>> When I hold it like this, the bottom of the adhesive area is facing
>>> me,
>> with
>>> the long body of the sensor that contains the inserter kind of
>>> falling
>> back
>>> and down away from me to the right.

>>> Then I find the tab for the left half of the adhesive with my left
>>> hand,
>> and
>>> making sure my right hand is only grasping the right side, I pull the
>>> tab
>> on
>>> the left side toward  me and down to remove it. Lacking another hand,
>>> I usually put the piece I just removed between my lips to hold it
>>> until I'm done.

>>> Then, I very lightly grasp the now exposed sticky adhesive part with
>>> the tips of my left fingers. I grasp the smallest part I can, about
>>> in the
>> same
>>> place the tab was that I just removed. And, I can now let go of the
>>> sensor with my right hand.

>>> It is important not to get the adhesive stuck to your clothes or
>>> anything else. I hold it away from my body. I might say also that I
>>> always stand
>> when
>>> I put on a new sensor.

>>> Now, I use my right hand to find the tab for the other half and pull
>>> it toward me and down until it separates. I then hold this one
>>> between my
>> lips
>>> as well. I'm sure it would make for some humorous watching if anyone
>> videoed
>>> me while I was doing this!

>>> Now, the entire adhesive is exposed, and I'm holding on to the
>>> adhesive
>> with
>>> my left fingers, but just the smallest part is sticking to my fingers.
>> Now,
>>> I grasp the body of the sensor inserter with my right hand, and very
>>> carefully unstick mhy fingers from the adhesive. If done carfully,
>>> none of the adhesive will be sticking to itself, or anything else.

>>> Next, I carefully use my right hand to maneuver the sensor to the
>>> place on my abdomen I plan to insert and touch the adhesive to my
>>> skin. Then I qquickly run my finger over the adhesive to make sure it
>>> is well attached all around.

>>> Hope this helps!

>>> Tom

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>> --
>> --Dar
>> skype: dmgina23
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> --
> --Dar
> skype: dmgina23
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-- 
--Dar
skype: dmgina23
  FB: dmgina
www.twitter.com/dmgina
every saint has a past
every sinner has a future