Dexcom Day 2

I took these photos this morning in the dark as I was just so gobsmacked!! My bloodsugar had been steady at around 6 to 6.5mmol/l for SIX hours!!! I usually hover around 10-12.




























Having the Dex has given me confidence to take correction boluses and get lower bgs - ALREADY!! I am so pleased. When I went to bed my bg was 11 and I didn't correct because I know it usually drops overnight but I didn't know when. Seems it happens around 12am-2am then levels out. I'm not sure if the "dawn phenomenon" I saw yesterday morning was genuine now, it could have been the Dex still settling in, but after tonight I'll have a better picture.

(I won't show you further back because I did have cake yesterday at a leaving do and the graph went way up!! But I corrected and brought it back down.)

So far, I love my new best friend!!!

Teething troubles

Phew what a frustrating evening I had yesterday!

So I inserted the sensor for the Dex at about 4.20pm and left it for the 2 hours specified in the manual. It appeared to be doing what it was supposed to and hopefully the end of the 2 hour warm-up period would coincide with my pre-dinner bg testing so I could calibrate the Dex. Hmmm, good plan but Dexter (as I have now called him - yes he is a man!) had other ideas.

Two hours had passed and dinner was ready. It was 6.45pm and all I had on the screen was "???". I called the support guy at Advanced Therapeutics and he wasn't sure so he called the other support guy then called me back. He said it can take longer than 2 hours in some people (typical that it looks like I am one of them!). So I waited..........

We had already arranged to pop round to see a friend so off we went with me grumbling about my "dud" new machine.

Sitting chatting, at 8.50pm (four and a half hours after sensor insertion!!!) it asked me for 2 calibration bg tests, so I entered them and it registered them and put the value on the screen. "Yippee" I thought, "it works", at which point "???" appeared again. At 10pm it started working again and I got almost a full half hour of readings until - you guessed it - "???".

I went to bed at 11pm with "???" still showing. I woke about 6am and looked at Dexter. He had been working continuously since approx 2 or 3am. And is still going. I'll say that quietly, I don't want to jinx him.

I've put in another bg result to bring him up to speed and hopefully I am now on my way. At least when I change the sensor I'll know that this can happen and will be prepared, rather than having a newbie panic!!

I know it is only one night's readings but it appears that my dawn phenomenon starts at 6am and my bg goes up about 3mmol, then it falls again half an hour later. I'll see what happens tonight.

So as long as Dexter stays on best behaviour I think we will be best friends.

First sensor is in!!

Well, I'm all plugged in. Just waiting for the 2 hour start up period. My bg is currently 14 so I took a bolus to bring it down for when I calibrate the Dex - don't want the "high bg" alarm (set at 12.2) to go off straight away!!

Its going to be an interesting evening and night, and following few days, wish me luck!!

Starting Dexcom

My Dexcom 7 plus arrived an hour ago and is charging up. I'm going to start using it later today. (I think!)
I'm excited but also nervous. I think the alarms are going to go off a lot, especially the high alert as I have been frightened of hypos for 20 years and always run high. Hope it doesn't drive me bananas.
Never used a CGMS before.
We are going out to visit a friend this evening, I hope I don;t keep beeping and vibrating all evening!! Hahahaha.

I'll keep you posted.

Very excited

I ordered my continuous glucose monitor at lunchtime. After a few false starts, and non-returned phonecalls, I have now paid for it and it is hopefully on its way.

I am getting a Dexcom 7 plus.

Things are hopefully really going to change for my diabetes control now. I'll be able to see what my blood sugars are doing without sticking my finger all the time (you still have to do 2 sticks a day to calibrate). Hopefully this will give me much more confidence when I'm out and about.

I'll keep you posted!

CGMS

I am seriously considering a continuous glucose monitoring system. Apparently the Dexcom 7 is now available in the UK.

Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

I would have to fund it myself.

Housework

Last night I caught the beginning of Grumpy Old Women on TV . A load of "celeb" middle aged women moaning about how they have to do everything otherwise it won't get done. Work, running the house, ferrying kids around, cooking, cleaning etc, and that there just aren't enough hours in the day!!

I am not a typical woman. Granted I don;t have kids to run around after, but I certainly don't get myself worked up about housework. I have a wonderful husband who pulls his weight (most of the time he pulls far more than his fair share, I'll admit). My house isn't dirty, its just not as tidy and dust free as "the perfect housewife" would have it. But I'm not bothered.

However, my comments about this elicited a conversation with said husband where he expressed a wish that I would do a little bit more seeing as I am home most of the time. So...........off I went to the supermarket this morning where I purchased a bottle of Cillit Bang and proceeded to clean the bath within an inch of its life.

When I had finished I felt knackered and physically sick, and my blood sugar had plummeted. Not to hypo levels but much lower than I am generally used to. This sparked off an anxiety attack, and I am now left feeling awful.

If that's what housework does for you, you can damn well keep it!!!