First Week In Review

Ok, sorry for the delay in update, I've been spending most of my free time learning about my new pump and tuning my diabetes. I've now been wearing the Minimed RT CGMS for 7 days, all I have to say to everyone is YOU MUST GET ONE OF THESE!

There is something awesome and a feeling of freedom knowing your glucose numbers every 5 minutes. I'm going to attempt to present my findings in a Question and Answer format. If you'd like to ask me a question, leave a comment and I'll answer them. Just remember, I'm not a doctor or a health care provider. These are my experiences. You should not adjust anything with your diabetes based on my feedback.

Question: How is the new minilink transmitter?
Answer: I never had the larger older unit, but this little unit (pictured below) is barely noticeable. It is rechargeable and can hold a charge for up to 15 days. It is so small, that it doesn't even feel uncomfortable.

Question: How long does the glucose sensor's last?
Answer: I was able to wear my first sensor for 7 days. The insulin pump will tell you to replace the sensor after 72 hours of operation, but there are ways to restart the sensor. Note, I'm not recommending this practice, you should abide by the instructions by Minimed. However, since I'm paying for this out of my pocket, it makes it more affordable to stretch them out.

Question: Do you have to calibrate the unit?
Answer: After inserting a new sensor, the unit takes about 2 hours to calibrate. After 2 hours, the pump will tell you to take a finger prick blood sample. The unit takes the reading and calibrates it to the electrical current received by the sensor. It is best to start a new sensor when your blood sugar is not fluctuating. I change mine in the morning, and choose not to eat breakfast until the unit is calibrated. After that initial 2 hour calibration, you are required to take finger prick samples every 12 hours.

Question: Have you had a bad sensor or a sensor error?
Answer: Not yet. I've heard of people having problems, but I have not. The glucose values displayed on my pump have been very close to those via regular glucose testing.

Question: What is the best thing about using the CGMS unit?
Answer: By far, the best thing I've noticed is being able to watch my glucose trends. I can see my glucose increasing after meals, and decreasing when I take insulin. With my body, I've noticed that my insulin isn't reacting until almost a half hour after bolus. So, what I found in the first week, was that my blood glucose was increasing about 1 hour after I eat, and my insulin wasn't lowering it enough. So, I've actually started to take my insulin about 15 minutes before I eat. This has been keeping my levels in line.

More information to come. Please post some questions.

Day 1 - with my new CGMS

When I got the notice that my new CGMS was delivered to my house, I couldn't wait to get home from work. I spend about 2 hours reading over all the material, transfering over my pump settings, and reading how to properly insert the glucose sensor.

It was about 8pm at night, when I the sensor was inserted into my stomach and hooked up the new minlink transmitter. Now, I had to anxiously await the 2 hour calibration phase.
About 10pm, the insulin pump instructed me to prick my finger for a BG reading and enter it into the system. I held my breath, entered in the value....and magically, this awesome little device started to read my first BG value. This thing is nothing short of amazing.

I setup the alarms to alert me when my glucose values droped below 80 or above 200. At 10pm at night, my glucose was reading at 170. Every five minutes, it reported my glucose levels to be dropping....162, 145, 110, 100. My first reaction was that it was not functioning correctly. So I tested my sugars with a prick, and sure enough, it was almost exactly on!

The first night I wore the device, the low glucose alarm woke me up....I was dropping below 80. So I took corrective measures and continued my nights sleep. I sure hope day 2 goes as well as the first 4 hours.

As far as the minilink transmitter, it is very small and is almost transparent under a shirt. It was a little uncomfortable inserting the glucose sensor, and I actually drew a little blood. I was concerned this would ruin the calibration, but was very happy when it worked as described.
Well, off to work, I have a feeling it will be alot of fun watching my blood sugars on the graph. I will tell you more on Day 2.

New Minilink Transmitter

In reading some other's blog posting, it appears that minimed will be releasing the minilink transmitter. From what I understand, this is much, much smaller than the current larger transmitter. Now, I'm going on my 3rd month of waiting for my minimed real time continuous glucose monitoring system. When my number is called, I sure hope it comes with the new smaller unit! This is truely exciting. I have not heard when these will be available :(

The below pictures are taken from the following blog posting:

http://drea-girlonthego.blogspot.com/2007/03/minimeds-new-minilink-transmitter.html