![]() ![]() We had a coupon for a free Libre 2 sensor and reader (the handheld device that displays the glucose readings collected by the sensor), so I filled the prescription, and, hesitant to use my child as a guinea pig, I put the sensor on myself. Libre 2 is catching up to Dexcomĭexcom has long been considered the top CGM, but I wondered if perhaps the Libre might have advanced with their second-generation sensor. The sensor collects regular glucose readings, which can be viewed on a PDM (a handheld receiver with a display) or, as with the Dexcom and now Libre 2, an app. The CGM itself is a sensor that attaches like a sticker to the skin and inserts a tiny probe that measures glucose levels in interstitial fluid: the fluid that surrounds the cells beneath the skin's surface. Your blood sugar reports can even be shared with caregivers and healthcare providers. Most CGMs also alert very loudly when levels are becoming dangerous. Dexcom told me that my daughter tends to run high during certain hours of the night, so I've increased her insulin for that timeframe. (Turns out being a pancreas a relentless, full-time task, so be sure to tell your pancreas you appreciate all the hard work and, you know, keeping you alive and such.)ĬGMs take a bit of the pressure off by notifying us when sugar levels are moving out of a safe range and by allowing us to improve our treatment thanks to pattern analyzation. Low blood sugar, on the other hand, can have the similar but immediate effect of seizures along with coma or death. Blood sugar that runs too high for too long can cause serious illness and even coma or death. By giving the body appropriate amounts of insulin to process the sugars we consume, we are essentially acting as an external pancreas. What is a CGM?Ī diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes means that one's glucose level needs to be monitored and corrected constantly: at school, while swimming, in the middle of the night. We immediately got her on a Dexcom, but I was very curious about the other CGM (continuous glucose monitor) I kept hearing about: the Freestyle Libre 2. Since then, true to form, I have been researching and testing out all the diabetes tech and approaches that I could find to help monitor her glucose levels. During a very scary trip to the ER and ICU two months ago, my then-3-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (the autoimmune disease that is not caused by eating too much sugar or candy, thank you very much).
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