Sounds cool if i didn't have to have micro needles in my arm. Anyone wear one of these things? I figure it useful for a month then after that you have a sense on what impacts your glucose…
Also, the alternative is pricking your finger so it bleeds, which is much less pleasant.
One thing op doesn't talk about is close loop systems, which automate some of the insulin delivery using the sensors. They're still in the very early days, but they're generally good at dealing with random variation or overnight highs.
> That's what Beta Bionics, amongst others, are focusing on. Their iLet® system literally bills itself as "a fully automated bionic pancreas".
There's so many things that can affect your blood glucose level that it can be maddening to deal with as a diabetic. Mood, activity level, time of day/night, different foods take longer/shorter to raise your blood sugar, etc.
I wasn't sure if appendicitis would need something larger perhaps?
Anyways, the Dexcom pods are similar to an IV in the way the insertion needle and sensor go in together then the needle retracts.
Beyond that, I mostly eat the same stuff all the time so I know what it's going to do to my glucose even without the CGM telling me about it.
I still would like to give it another few months to narrow down all the other environmental factors - sleep, exercise, stress, alcohol etc. and see how my blood glucose reacts.
Needle in the skin is a non-issue. You won't feel it at all. It's like keeping a bandaid on for a month.
What was incredible was how well the glucose level predicts cravings. I just ate as I usually do and almost every time I had a sugary snack (cookies etc.) I'd notice that my glucose level was low just prior to the snack.
The goal is to find out which food is tasty, provides satiety and keeps glucose from dropping too much.
I eat an Indian + Vegetarian diet with rice being the primary carb. Rice causes pretty sharp rise in glucose and a pretty steep crash after insulin is released leading to cravings etc. One behavioral change that was permanent was that we got rid of one variety of rice that's really bad (Sona Masoori) and replaced it with Basmati. We also mostly eat Quinoa or a mix of Quinoa + Basmati for our primary carb now.