The Dexcom sensor has been a life changing device for
me. I have been Diabetic for 12 years and on an insulin pump for almost 3
years. I recently tried the Medtronic CGM and absolutely hated it. The
insertion was terribly painful and painful for the entire duration I wore it. I
attempted to wear it on my leg and it caused so much damage to my muscle that it
hurt for an entire month. I was about to give up on CGM, that and my insurance
was creating too many hoops. Then on a Facebook goup a bunch of the members
were praising Dexcom CGM. So I inquired with them and then called Dexcom. They
put me in touch with Tim and he was exactly the person I needed to talk to. He
explained the system to me and made it sound great. I also told him about my
Endocrinologist issue and the fact that my current one didn't "do Dexcom
sensors". Tim told me about this newer Endo in Dekalb, IL and how much he
really liked him and his staff. I figured what could be worse, I'll give him a
shot. He was more than willing to listen to me and all my current issues. Their
staff is just amazing, more than willing to do whatever they can to help, and I
am a NEW patient. So long story short, I was approved for the Dexcom thanks to
all of their help and hard work. Tim put me on a trial Dexcom system to wear,
and the insertion pain was very brief and almost like a finger stick. Afterward
it did not hurt at all. This was just amazing to me after trying the painful
Medtronic system. After the second trial sensor (first one failed at day 3) and
seeing how accurate it had become I slept the best I have slept in 12 years. I
cannot even put in to words how much better I felt in the morning. The sensor
put my mind at ease and I just slept like I wasn't Diabetic. Every single night
I typically wake up and check my blood glucose and for the past few days if I
wake up at all at night I check the Dexcom reading and if it is in the range I
feel comfortable I just go right back to sleep. Also recently the Dexcom woke
me because my blood glucose had dropped and I was in the 50's but was totally
unaware of it. I most likely would have woken up near 20-30 and that is just
plain terrifying for me. With the Dexcom CGM technology being so much better
than Medtronic's, I feel their system would have totally failed for me as I do
not have stable blood glucose readings very often. Calibrating their technology
to me would have been a total nightmare. Thank you Dexcom for inventing this
technology and making it so user friendly AND as painless as possible! This is
the technology that has the potential to save thousands of Diabetic's lives who
live alone or are driving in their car and their blood glucose crashes without
their knowledge. There are a million different scenarios where this can and
will save lives. No one should have to die from a low blood glucose or just
Diabetes in general. This is the technology that puts my mind at ease about my
brother living alone, I have had nightmares about him living alone. He is on
Medtronic's CGM. At least I can go to sleep and not worry every single night
about getting a phone call that he has passed away in his sleep. This is a real
fear for me, a sibling, I cannot imagine the fear that parents have for their
children. Again, thank you so much, from a 12 year Diabetic who is willing and
wanting to use any technology available to help me wrangle this disease. My
only wish is for all insurance companies to cover these wonderful devices for
all Diabetics and without fighting them for months to get it. A special thanks
to Tim Palmer for all his help and for driving 2 hours, one way, to get that
trial system for me to wear, TWICE!
Originally written on 1-1-12