Saturday, September 27, 2014

CGM IS GOING TO SAVE MY LIFE

It's been awhile since I wrote.  I wish I had a super good excuse besides "life gets busy" but that's about all I can come up with at this point. But here I am again and going to attempt to put 'blogging' back into my routine.

The biggest statement I have for today and I want to shout it, so I will do so via CAPS.

CGM IS GOING TO SAVE MY LIFE.

And I mean, that sounds like a big exaggeration like, "this cake is going to save my life.."well I guess that could also be a true statement. But seriously, CGM is going to save my life and prevent a whole lot of complications that people with diabetes are constantly reminded of.  You know, the leg, the eyes, the...list goes on.

CGM for those that do not know, is a continuous glucose monitor.  Basically I am going to copy and paste what Medtronic has to say because I'm an English Major and stopped doing science in Grade 10.

"CGM is a way to measure glucose levels in real-time throughout the day and night. A tiny electrode called a glucose sensor is inserted under the skin to measure glucose levels in tissue fluid. It is connected to a transmitter that sends the information via wireless radio frequency to a monitoring and display device."  Found on Medtronicdiabetes.com

Itt is basically checking my blood sugar throughout the entire day and letting me know what is going on with my body. Because, if you really think about it,  if you check your blood sugar the recommended four times a day (this is what is required by the Ontario government for pump coverage). If you're checking those four times, you're only getting a snapshot of a total of four seconds of your diabetes day.  If you were 10 in the morning, 6 at lunch, 14 in the middle of the afternoon and 9 before bed, how do you know you're not missing undetected highs etc. You really don't! 

The past couple weeks I have been working my butt off (literally)  at the gym every single day, and trying to eat healthy. Doing so, I have reduced significantly the highs that I had been having.  Noticeable changes include my eye sight which is amazing, clear and my eyes are not bothered as much as well as my energy levels.   I have been attempting low carb meals and have been pretty creative via Pinterest in trying new recipes or making up my own. 

I put the sensor (for the CGM) on yesterday and I am in love. Honestly, in love. I have worn sensors before for example, during my climb up Kilimanjaro. However, I am reminded of the benefits that any glucose monitoring can have for a person with diabetes (not to mention their parents or caregivers) Being a Nanny to a type 1 diabetic who was a glucose monitor - I can also state that it is extremely helpful.  

Either way I am feeling good about my diabetes
right now and my overall health and success in finding a routine and balance in my life. Of course not all the pieces of the puzzle have come together, but who has their whole puzzle finished at twenty-four anyways.

Now to find the money to continue using them.... hmmm. 

Kayla 



3 comments:

  1. That's the biggest problem with both the pump and the CGM, the cost. Even with insurance I cannot afford either of them. But then I don't want the pump. I don't have any complications and I've have juvenile onset (type 1) since 1965 and I've used the syringe and vial, so I see no need to change. Our insurance deductible keeps going up, so we never meet it. Would it benefit me, I don't know. Since I don't have any problems, I don't know what good one would do me.

    I'm glad you're seeing a use for one Kayla. I hope that you'll be able to find a way to afford to keep it. That's the problem with every thing now days, they cost too much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hopefully we can get more advocacy going to get better coverage of CGM in Ontario. 1st of all barely any private insurance covers it, and obviously gov’t does not cover it. Before you were dx’d pumps were not covered at all by gov’t so you had to have private insurance or pay out of pocket. People complained so adult coverage came about a few yrs later. Since the private insurance companies now save the money they used to shell out for pumps they need to start putting some money toward CGM. But I don’t even have any private insurance right now …. But I still think more private insurance in Canada will cover it. But if the technical cost is 70$ every 6 days (more depending on the system) then private insurance and the government are logically going to hesitate. I think they need to make the price point more accessible.

    ReplyDelete
  3. how low carb is your diet ? I would love to read more, and see some of you cgm graphs. what made you lean towards a low carb diet ? this topic would probably make a great blog post.

    ReplyDelete