It's been a little while since I have done any updates on The Highs & Lows of Type 1 Diabetes series and I decided now seemed like a good enough time for a post and an update since I started back on the CGM (continuous glucose monitoring system).
About 2 months ago I went in for my routine blood work where I got my A1C checked. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the A1C is a blood test that provides information about your average blood sugar levels over the past three months. The lower the number the better. My results came back not so great. Was I surprised? Not really. I can be honest with myself and say that I had not been eating as good as I should and guessing when it came to corrections for my insulin pump. I was basically not making my diabetes a priority and my test results reflected that.
I was on the CGM when I was pregnant with both boys and because of it I had the best A1Cs of my life. During my pregnancies my A1C average was 6, which is awesome. The only problem with the CGM back then was I felt like after a couple days it wold give me inaccurate readings and the whole process of the insertion was super painful and left ugly marks when it was time to change it and take it out. So after my pregnancies I got off of it.
My doctor recommended that I get back on the CGM and to be honest, I wasn't too excited about it. BUT he told me the good news is the new updated Enlite Glucose Sensor is supposed to be wayyyy better than the old one in terms of accuracy, insertion process, longevity of each sensor and pain. Plus the new sensor sets off alerts if you go too low and will shut off your pump if you remain unresponsive to the alarm, which I thought was another really great new feature. So I decided to give it a try.
I have been on the sensor for 3 weeks now and it has been night and day in terms of managing my diabetes. My blood sugars have been awesome and I feel so much better. I am pretty sure this is going to be a permeant thing for me until they come out with something even better. I have been wearing the sensor on my outer thigh and it does not hurt nor is it irritating in the slightest bit. I don't notice it when I work out, do squats or any other physical activities.
I can't wait to re-do my A1C in the next month or so.
7 comments:
Do you have an email I can personally contact you on? I am a Tyle 1 Diabetic and am so very interested in asking you some questions. I've never been on a pump - but reading your posts really intrigues me to get one. Please let me know - thank you so much@
Amanda- You can e-mail me at lindsay.kujawa@yahoo.com :)
CGMs are the BEST! The Dexcom GCM changed my life! I was on the old Medtronic one when I was still on the Medtronic pump, and I hated the insertion process, but when I switched to the Omnipod (I was FED UP with tubing and having to shove my pump in weird places), I went on the Dexcom CGM and never looked back! It's amazing how just knowing your trends and being able to see your blood sugar in real-ish time can make such a difference on our control! Way to go for making that choice. It's SO SO SO hard to keep up and it's nice to hear how others deal with some diabetes burnout :)
Glad to hear you are having better luck with the new sensor. It's always a challenge to deal with medical issues (I've developed some recent medical issues that have been trying) but I think in the end it makes us stronger people! Thanks for sharing.
dexcom CGM has been life changing for me after so many months of struggling with the enlite (even the new enlite). If you find yourself still having issues, I highly recommend dexcom. I wear my sensor for 2-3 weeks STRAIGHT, and the numbers get more accurate as I wear it. It is seriously amazing. Join the Facebook group "dexcom" when/if you get one!
Ugh. I have the 7somethign pump, and therefore, the old sensor, which I too, hate. However, I have tons of boxes of sensors, and so now I would feel so guilty not using them. I finally mastered the art of calibration timing. The thing I hated the most was all the beeping during the night in order to maintain tight control.
Hi Lindsay! I just hit my five-year anniversary with type 1 and am thinking about getting a CGM, so this post was very timely. I'm glad to hear the last few weeks with it have helped your blood sugars.
I really appreciate your "Highs & Lows" posts. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with T1, along with all of your delicious recipes. :)
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