An Addiction to Data
This one goes out to the members of the Dexcom Revolution. How often have you calibrated when your meter and the sensor are the showing same thing but the sensor reports a new number after calibrating? Merely verifying that this current sensor is on target causes all kinds of panic when there’s nothing to panic about. Does that bother anyone else? Almost any time you get that moment of synergy, Dexcom has to remove it. No soup for you!
I understand that relying on this technology has the potential to be my metaphorical downfall but Diabetes management is only as good as the tools used to assist in that management. My blood glucose meter determines how much insulin I need to take at a given moment, factored in with any food I’m eating, if the number I start my mental-math with is inaccurate then the rest of my calculations are flawed. And while the Dexcom is no substitute for my blood glucose meter, the additional information it provides is valuable. Trends help anticipate lows and highs. Seeing a straight line over a 3 or 6 hour period can generate an instant smile. Of course, things are never that simple.
Multiple times over the weekend I saw straight lines that were wrong. Way wrong. An hour hovering around 80 turned out to be 150. Waking up with a steady climb to, and above 200..after correcting…twice…was really 95. I don’t worry that I have a bad sensor or that this technology is unreliable, using this device is a constant game of adjustment and readjustment. My fear is that even if all things Dexcom are working properly, it could still be misinterpreting its readings. I don’t drive my car if I’m below 80, but if Hal Jordan doesn’t show any signs of concern and I put too much trust in it’s abilities, what happens if it and I am wrong? There aren’t too many options for treating a low when you are sitting in bumper-to-bumper awesomeness on the Beltway.
I’m not really sure where all of this text is supposed to go. I apologize for my ramblings today. I guess I just get frustrated when I try to put a little faith in this technology and it doesn’t return the favor as often as I would like. I’ve become so obsessed with ‘the line’ that I can’t really stop or slow down my desire to keep a constant watch on things. Dexcom is an addiction to data unlike any other. I just hope that this addiction doesn’t end with me in rehab. Is something like that even possible?
PS. If you haven’t yet, go see Inception. It’s fantastic.
I’m constantly singing Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line” in my head whenever I look at Constance. And yes, data overload is an addiction. I, too, am suffering. =)
Christopher, when you calibrate with a number that’s the same as the Dexcom and the receiver changes to a different value, I think that’s the algorithm trying to account for the time difference in interstitial fluid blood glucose readings. I had several Dexcom related struggles this weekend and ended up changing my sensor because the discrepancies were so bad.
A number of us are trying to raise more awareness of the diabetes data issue. I’m adding more information to the diabetes data wiki, with the hope that it will help in development of software to process all those islands of data. Let me know if you’ve anything to add about how data is transmitted or stored.
lol “No soup for you!”
I agree with Bernard about why it changes when you input the same number. It doesn’t bother me when that happens.
Sometimes the sensors can be very off and that is very frustrating.
More often, it’s providing reasonably accurate information, emphasis on “reasonably”. I tend to use the information with a range of acceptability in mind. I don’t rely on it as I would a meter, but if it’s within the acceptable range, I work with it.
I think the biggest benefit from CGM is the foundation of knowledge it provides and builds. From that I feel that I have learned so much which in turn translates to smoother numbers overall which in turn translates to greater CGM accuracy as I find it’s more precise in times of slow (rather than rapid) change. The benefits seem to have built and compounded, and continue to build and compound.
Nevertheless, when it doesn’t work, it really can be quite upsetting.
I can’t wait to see the movie! The previews are great and I’m glad to hear your endorsement!
I already tried the MM CGM and was not a fan, but was going to mention the dexcom on my next visit to the endo, now I am not so sure, but……my hypoglycemic unawareness is getting pretty scary.
It drives me nuts when I put a number in the Dex changes to further away. I never thought about why it does it, I just know that it is annoying.
Most of the time, my readings are pretty close but last week, I had 3 bad sensors. The first one started with the dreaded ??? about an hour after I inserted it. The others were just way off. Dexcom did replace all 3.
I am addicted to the data also. I am annoyed this week that my reports that include last week’s numbers are useless because there were so many that were over 100 points off. I guess it is the bean counter in me that likes exact numbers!
I always just try to remember how young all of this CGM technology still is. Hard to do most of the time, but it helps my brain cope with all the noise.