Archive for June 21st, 2008

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

CGM: Day 2

I’ve made it to day two with my new continuous glucose monitoring system. The first sensor actually did a pretty good job identifying sugars approaching 250 mg/dL due to a kinked infusion set. Score a point for Medtronic.

Given that this is only day two, however, I was pretty upset this morning when my first sensor became so loose (despite the IV3000 dressing) that I had to pull it out. Granted, it was 102 degrees in San Francisco today and I was sweating like a pig, but it is summer, and I’m sure someone has invented a strong enough adhesive to keep a sensor affixed.

I just inserted a new sensor, but noticed that I can actully see where the wire enters my skin. (red circle) I used the Sof-Serter insertion device, so I’m not sure why I got such a FUBARed site, and I’m now waiting the requisite two hours to see if it actually works after it’s calibrated.

I’m skeptical, however, as the Sensor Isig (number the pump converts to a reading in mg/dL) is 24.06, which seems substantially higher than the isig readings I was getting with sensor number one. From what I’ve been able to find, the isig readings generally equal about 1/10 of your actual blood sugar.

That is the whole point of calibration, but I’m betting on the site screwup being the true cause and expecting some CAL ERRORs when the waiting period is over.

But only time will tell. T-minus 40 minutes until the calibration…

UPDATE: 1:02 a.m. Seven hours post sensor change and I’m honestly not sure whether the CGM is working properly or not. The meter is receiving data, but the isig is still pretty high (17.64 for 112 mg/dL) though not out of the ballpark. The readings, however, have varied only from ~70 to ~90 since insertion, despite eating a fairly hearty dinner. Either I really nailed my carb counting or the CGM isn’t picking up the changes. I’m going to stick with this sensor for now (and not waste another $35) and see what tomorrow brings.

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