Rosie’s tips on how important CGMS

We often have readers who complain about articles or features and in 7 years I have offered over 150 of these readers an opportunity to write something rather than just complain. This week Rosie J. wants to share some information on how important CGMS has been for her and her family

Dear Diabetes in Control Staff,

I am 37 years old female pharmacist with 3 children and have been a diabetic for 36 years and a current HA1C of 6.1.  I also have been through the Lifescan PPDC program. 

 I remember my mom boiling syringes, doing the "disgusting" urine tests that were so inaccurate, seizures at night from severe hypoglycemia, and trick-or-treating for my dad since I almost never got sugar as a kid.  Blood glucose monitors were starting to be used when I was in high school.  I’ve been on a bunch of insulins Lente, R and U, Humalog, Novolog, Lantus, and Levemir.  I’ve even been on the insulin pump.  Throughout the years I have seen a lot of progress.  I read an article, "Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring Shows No Effect on Long-Term Control" on July 18.  This article kind of made me a bit disappointed.

I have been on the DexCom for over 6 months.  I think that it is one of the best things that’s come out in a long time.  I would take them over an insulin pump any day.  Insulin pumps don’t show trends so one can figure out how to dose the insulin.  Little snippets of time using glucose monitors "do the job."  There is a lot unanswered with glucose monitors.  What does 100 mg/dl mean?  (It depends if it’s going up, down, or steady.)  I love the trends that I can see with a CGM.  I quit using the pump about 3 years ago.  After stopping it, my blood sugars would rise at 5am and I would end up with a 200-350 mg/dl blood sugar almost every morning.  The physician said that the only thing that could stop it was to go back on the pump.  Since I have received the CGM, it corrected the problem.  I’m not even sure what I did other than have steady blood sugars.  My HA1c was 6.1 mg/dl before I got the device, but I now have less highs and lows and feel a lot better.  I can prevent problems instead of fixing them.

In my family, my uncle (age 72), nephew (age 5), daughter (age 6),   my cousin’s son (age 15), and I all have them because they are useful.  My sister doesn’t have insurance and is on a limited income and pays cash for them so my nephew can get better control. 

I’m fighting 2 insurance companies to get them covered for myself and daughter.  I’m also giving a lecture to other parents about CGMs so I’ve made a handout on insurance suggestions to help get them covered.  I’ve gotten help from a CDE on the insurance tips.  I’m also going to give them to my diabetic patients that have CGMs who are fighting insurances.  This technology is not perfect, but it sure is a giant LEAP forward in diabetes care.   If more insurance companies cover them, we will have some astounding technology when other companies join in the CGM race.  Will you please provide my list to other medical personnel that need help writing letters and submitting claims?

Rosie J.

Next week we will have Rosie’s tips on how to approach your insurance company.