And now for the nerdy portion of this post: the graphs! As a climate data analyst by profession, looking at loads of data and trends is my bread and butter. I love seeing how my trends have changed since having Constance.
First, here's a graph of the last week of readings. You can even see here how my variations get smaller towards the right side of the graph.
Weekly BG readings from 21-27 July 2010. (These pictures may appear small in the post, so click on them to get a bigger, nerdier view.)
The next graph I have found to be the most valuable. It is my average BG readings per hour. I used this graph and the numbers to alter my basals. I'm trying not make a lot of changes at one time, so the only thing I changed for now is I upped my sleeping basal to bring down my average of 160-180 mg/dL (ewww!). I also added a lower basal from 4:00-9:00 PM because I've noticed that I go low due to increased activity.
Hourly averages for the last 2 weeks.
And here is the table with that plot along with all the statistical information you'd ever want:
<3 Numbers!!!
So that's the gist of using a CGM in the numbers. I've found it to be an incredibly invaluable tool, and I look forward to more improvements in my numbers over the next several months. However, one hurdle I'm still getting used to is keeping the sensor actually on for a full week. I've ended up using so much medical tape that I look like I got shot and there's this probe sticking out. A diabetic coworker of Trey's gave him some Tegardem for me to try. I put it on after I changed my sensor last night, and it seems to be working so far. It's basically a clear adhesive that keeps the tape and sensor encased in this kitchen-clear-wrap-type material. We'll see how it holds up during the week, but I definitely think this will come in handy for our beach trip in September to keep the salt water out of my tape.
This thing ain't going nowhere!
Thank you for posting the "nerdy" stuff! I love seeing the trending data and particularly loved the statistical analysis. Your posts are giving me a great idea of what the CGM can tell me/do for me, so THANK YOU for that! I'm taking one for a test run in a couple of weeks (endo's office has two they lend out to patients for one week intervals) and seeing this has me really excited!
ReplyDelete@Fiona: Awww, I'm so glad you're giving it a try! Hopefully everything goes smoothly for you. That's what this whole bloggy experience is about. I would have never thought about a CGM until I saw Kerri's blog. It's like a CGM family tree! LOL! =D
ReplyDeleteHas it been a month already??? Wow time is flying by. I'm glad the dexcom is working so wonderfully for you. I use Tegaderm with the MM CGM and it holds it on there pretty good. I will also use it with my infusion set if its in a spot that rubs a lot. I cut a hole in the middle (using the site cap as reference to how big) and then disconnect and put the tegaderm over the site, and then reconnect. It keeps that on there the entire time, even if my jeans are rubbing like crazy!
ReplyDelete@Brenda: Thanks for the suggestion on the pump site! I'll have to keep that in mind because I usually don't like to put a site on my thigh because I'm pear-shaped, so my jeans are always tight around my thighs. So I'm afraid of the site rubbing off (which it did, one time, immediately after I inserted it there. but I don't think the adhesive was dry yet, so that was kinda my own fault).
ReplyDelete