I have great trouble getting the Enlite sensor to be accurate. Maybe it's just me, maybe the sensor finds my tissue hard to read, maybe I'm not calibrating it right, maybe there was something off in the manufacturing or transportation of the particular batch of sensors. The sensors just keep giving me numbers that are way off from what my glucose meter says.
I have used the Dexcom G4 CGM for more than a year, on and off. Before that I occasionally got a CGM (either Dexcom or Medtronic one) from my clinic for a week. Throughout this time, I've gotten better results from the Dexcom. 90% of the time, it shows what I expect when calibrating it (that is, within 15% of the reading of my glucose meter). And 90% of the time it's off, it's easy for me to see, in retrospect, the point when it got off the track and also back on track. Either I calibrated when my glucose levels were changing rapidly, or I probably slept on it, causing the so called 'pressure low'.
With the Enlite, I have never gotten the same feeling. I have no idea why it behaves the way it does.
When searching the internet, I find I'm not the only one with these issues. See for instance the end part of this review: http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/medtronic-minimed-connect-review.
I also had a short discussion about the issues in Twitter.
I also had a short discussion about the issues in Twitter.
@scottleibrand @mrinnetmaki I've heard some people say the new Enlite is dramatically better, some claim worse than old. Which is odd...
— Sulka Haro (@sulka) December 29, 2015
Anyway, for a couple of days, at least, I don't let the Enlite sensor interfere with my treatment. I keep wearing the sensor, and keep watching its readings. I hope I can better learn the ways it works, so we can work better together. I already got some advice from both a local representative and a peer support group:
- Calibrate at least 3 times within first 5 hours after inserting the sensor.
- Only calibrate, if bg/ISIG is above 0.14 and below 0.44, applies when bg is in mmol/l).
- Pay attention to the insertion site.
- Try inserting the sensor first, connecting the transmitter hours later.
I really want to learn to trust the sensor and the system. For me, the SmartGuard feature of the Medtronic Minimed 640G is a really promising step towards an artificial pancreas. A system that would eventually do all the micro management required to control my glucose levels for me. But there's no way I'm giving that responsibility to a system I don't fully trust and understand.
Finally, I ask you to remember that in this blog I share my experiences when and as I face them. I may be totally in love with the system next week.
Hey Mikael! The same thing happened to me many many times with Enlite. What happens is that it's inaccurate for the first 1-2 days after the insertion and after that, it's accurate for the following 9-11 days...
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