I put rotate the infusion site from anywhere on the front/side of thigh (avoiding muscle,) around to the fleshy parts of the side towards the rear. I also agree the CGM is best used on an as needed basis, for reasons of convenience and cost.

After two years of use, (this is an old post!) I don’t use it regularly when my life is an my auto-pilot routine – i.e. workweek and weekends at home. However when up skiing, traveling or occasions where blood sugars may be more unpredictable because of food or activity I find it an excellent tool – so I’ll start it before my planned activities and just leave it on for a few three day sessions and restarts.

I do have a Mac at home, but I’ve never used any Mac or PC software with any blood sugar monitors or diabetes gear. The Paradigm Pump does have a 30 day history so you can easily see averages, and I get an A1C blood test every few months which gives me a three month blood sugar average. Plus I hate installing crummy software on my PC. That plus the extra work never made it worthwhile to look at those little programs, when I mostly care about my blood sugar day to day – (and keeping it as stable as I can!)

I can’t recall the tape at Walgreens, but it’s with the other medical tape and about 1/2 inch width – which I used to form an X over the sensor. Has worked great so far.

Thanks again for checking out my experiences — hope those answers help! James…

What kind of tape do you get at Walgreens?

My next biggest frustration with the product is that I use all Mac/Apple products and I can not upload the data. You can not even upload via FireFox on the Mac. I assume you are not using a Mac, right? Last I checked, MiniMed just seemed to be refusing to deal with Mac users. Very frustrating. Luckily my husband has a Windows machine but given that he travels a lot, I hate to be dependent entirely upon his equipment to gather my data. I’ll have to read your more recent posts and see how you are liking the sensor still. Thanks!

Actually I’ve never used my stomach for shots or sensors. Maybe one or two shots in eight years. I hit the gym regularly and bike a lot – so am fortunate to have a fat free abdomen (at least right in life.) Not that I’m a model or anything but I just don’t want marks (even temporary,) from shots. I don’t care for the marks the infusion sites leave either – again even if myself and my other half are the only people that see them. (That’s definitely a negative.)

I do about 7-10 days with the sensor, and use some tape from Walgreens to make an “X” covering the transmitter and sensor. Works pretty well for me.

As far as sensor skin depth I’m really not sure how it works. I forget about the annoying parts when I’m using the CGM and can quickly glance down for a BG reading. When I’m out with friends or at parties it for sure beats scurrying into the restroom or to my car. (Of course my close friends are used to seeing my constantly squeeze blood out of my fingers and my little test strips everywhere.)

Remember as Brimley says: check yer blood sugar and check it offen.

My Question would be if you are very thin wouldn’t you need less depth to reach the interstitial fluid?

I can not go near my legs with a CGM. I have 2 places my lower hips that I go back and forth on and I try make the sensor last as long as it can. I don’t insert at the “correct level” but I make sure the sensor is in all the way. I use IV3000 tape since the others cause reactions and I tape the sensor down before I connect it to the transmitter.

The helps if the transmitter gets bumped hold the sensor in I have to cut the tape though to make it work. Then then transmitter then a bubble tape wrap over it. So far I have been able to get 5 to 10 days out of a good inserted sensor. The paradigm gives me less “lost sensor ” errors then the Guardian did I have no idea why.

Is your tummy beaten up from shots and such or not just a good place for you? Mine is beaten up so a few months break is needed. Everything sensor, infusion set even the short thin needles I use when injecting cause bruising and bleeding so off limits.

Anyway I type talk to much you take care be well and always be loved

But I have to say if your on the thin side like me trying to find a place to insert the sensor for CGM is so hard. Does anyone know if they plan to bring this one down to 6mm like they did with infusions sets?

Thanks for the comment Laura. Since the sensor needs to access the interstitial fluid beneath a certain layer of skin I’m guessing there are limitations on how short the sensor cannula can be.

I agree with you though that rotation can be an issue. I usually wear it on my thigh/upper leg, and never one my stomach. (I don’t do any injections there either.)

I’ve taken breaks from wearing it too. I find the CGM most essential when travel or doing activities outside of my 9-5 routine. But weeks when I’m doing the routine my BGs are fairly predictable.

Now that its been a year and the initial “cool” factor has worn off a bit and its just a regular part of my life I need to write a follow up.

Glad its working out for you and thanks for the note. -james…

But I have to say if your on the thin side like me trying to find a place to insert the sensor for CGM is so hard. I do not have a place on my body that does not bleed back pretty large amounts. Does anyone know if they plan to bring this one down to 6mm like they did with infusions sets?

Anyway mine is always very accurate with the exceptions of rising and falling blood sugars the double arrow kind on the screen or in other words fast up and fast downs. However that does not bother me as much since I was told ahead of time of the delay. It has saved me a few times at night from some very bad lows and overall I have been able to reduce my insulin and not bounce around so much because of the data.

When I get the double arrows in either direction I start watching close on my meter maybe even every half hour so I can really see what is happening. For me I can not tell you how much this extra data has meant. I am finally after 5 years of bouncing (10 years of type 1) starting to lessen them thanks to the CGM.

I do have to take breaks though as I run out of places to insert but man do I feel a bit more safe. That is gold for me.

Be well and Be loved

I’m different than a lot of type 1 diabetics in that I’ve only done stomach injections a handful of times. I don’t have much if any fat there, so my infusion sites and CGM sites have been on my upper thighs and upper buttocks.

The size and weight are not even a concern. Physically its about the same size as an infusion site, but as I noted in my post you do have to secure it with some tape (as the transmitter has no adhesive.) I make a large X which lasts until its time to replace the sensor of recharge the transmitter.

I really don’t notice it at all after wearing it. Since there’s no “cord” like the infusion site its actually even LESS noticable.

As far as scarring: I’ve only been using the insulin pump and CGM since November, and as mentioned been rotating it around my upper legs. I’ve had mine in as long as 14 days with no problem. I’ve also noticed that my infusion sites seem more effective in my legs than upper butt – perhaps because I’ve been giving myself shots there for 12 plus years.

For concerns like scarring and adaptability I’d advise the standard disclaimer of checking with the doc.

One really good discussion I’ve been following is at Misanthropic Scott’s blog – who is also fairly new to the Guardian. He details some “hacks” to get better accuracy and use, and I HIGHLY recommend reading his post and comments when you start out. It’ll defintely speed up the learning curve.

Also Kerri at Sixuntilme has some photos of how the CGM appears on the body. Her experience wasn’t as positive as mine – but she has in depth reviews on the Guardian, also notes some info on the Dexcom – a popular alternative.

Hope that helps. Overall I LOVE using a CGM. Once you start using the benefits and learn how to deal with the faults you’ll love it. It doesn’t rule our regular blood sugar checks – but being able to see your BG while at a movie, dinner, biking – or anywhere else you don’t want to stop and do a finger prick is invaluable.

What about “bulkyness?” Is the a too uncomfortably bulky to carry around?

Thanks!

So even with the negatives that come with new technology it’s been useful for what I want – which is numbers when I’ve busy doing activities like skiing, out watching movies, eating out with friends – and other times I don’t want to interrupt everything for (sometimes) messy finger prick…

All the best – james…

Well I tried it again and I have been on it for 4 days and it has been running perfectly and very close to my meter, numbers wise. It has caught my highs for me to make corrections a bit earlier and my lows beeping me awake at night. I have also seen a bigtime rise in my bgs about 5:30 a.m. I thought it was my basal settings but today I slept through 5:30 and when I woke up I checked on my bgs and it did not rise at that time, so my basals are good. I am thinking it is either coffee, the stress of getting ready for work, as I am always late, or I need to increase my insulin to carb ratio for breakfast, but I think it is the stress of getting ready for work.

If this thing keeps going this well, I am saying woohoo. I am hoping for it to continue for increase exercise during the warm months, without fear of lows.

Karen

I’ve gained a lot of info by reading other sites, and happy to share as well.

Have a good weekend – and good luck with your transition also…

Thanks for the great post and I will definitely have to do careful planning when scheduling my jello wrestling around my sensor start up. :)

Thanks for the in depth tips. Do you mind if I link this post to other diabetic message boards I belong to?