Alarmed continuous glucose monitor?

[Midori1999]

I'm not diabetic, but have a rare condition that is causing between 3 and 5 hypos a day. I'm hoping to get treatment soon but in the meantime I'm being fitted with an alarmed CGM as my consultant is worried that I'm not recognising the symptoms of the hypos any longer as I'm only noticing it's low when I test and I ended up in hospital a few weeks ago when I became unconscious which lead to a diagnosis, although this has been going on for months.

The consultant said the monitor is not completely accurate, but should help. I just wondered if anyone has had one and if so how accurate they found them please? I am not allowed to drive at the moment and if I'm honest I'm worried to go out as something may happen when I'm on my own with my small children. The hypos can be difficult to treat as my body keeps making more insulin available even during hypos.

Thanks.

I have used one. I don't have it fitted ATM. But if I can be if help, please ask away.

They are not as accurate as doing a blood test. This is because.... Simply there is a time lag. It takes a blood glucose reading, basically from your muscle, and I think there is about a 20 minute delay.

So you might get an alarm. Saying you're low. But youihht test and get a reading if 4.6 or 5.3 or 6.7.
Sometimes it's not that accurate.

But it might also be, in the above scenario, that whilst it appears that you aren't low. It gas already picked up that you are plummeting. And that very soon, you will be hypo.

With my mine, it had good graphs so you could see yourself riding and falling. And then if you look at the graphs every day fur a week, you might see a pattern, ie notice that you are going low every day at 11am.

Aldo mine had arrows. Do if blood sugars were dropping, I had I arrow going down. If blood sugars were plummeting rapidly, it showed 2 arrows.

This helps with hypo awareness, which you are lacking, which I also lack.
I went on a dafne hart programme, and that helped a lot.
Harsh

Thankyou, that's really very helpful. The consultant did say if it alarms I'd need to finger prick to check. The arrows sound useful too, so maybe it will have those.

I think you're right in that they hope it will help hypo awareness as much as it will help avoid them.

I had a CGM on for 6 days after is been in hospital, but not an alarmed one. Is this likely to be fitted the same way? Is it easy to do? I'm not thrilled about needles etc but I was on insulin in pregnancy (possibly what caused this) and have injected heparin, so if it's not worse than those ill hopefully manage to change it.

Thanks again.

They are brilliant. I self fund mine which connecrs to my insulin pump. I find the dirst 24 hours the least accurate. But as the sensor gets calibrated it becomes really close to the finger pricks.

It is less accurate if you are dropping (or rising) quickly. There is roughly a 20min delay.
I've nevwr heard of one that doesn't have an 'alarm' tbh! Did the one you use before not beep? When they say alarm, it isn't particularly loud. I sleep through mine so have to have it on vibrate and have it close to my ear (clipped on to bra/top strap).

Thankyou.

No, the one I had before didn't beep or anything. The consultant said it's a separate part that beeps, so maybe they just didn't give me that part before?

And they are hoping it will wake me at night, so it handy to know I can clip it on my pyjamas or something, thanks!

God yeah. It alarms and ska end and alarms , if you don't deal with it. Drove me nutty at night. Especially when it wasn't accurate and it told me I was low when my blood sugar prickly test confirmed I wasn't.
Always clipped mine on yo my pants or pyjamas or something, in bed.

Dd has a dexcom cgm and we find it very accurate although after a hypo it takes a while to catch up and will continue to alarm even when blood sugar is above 4