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Friday, November 18, 2011

I like Dexcom better than Minimed! Yeah, I said it!

Jury is in! I have worn the Dexcom 7 Plus off and on for a few months and also switched out with the Minimed CGM. Frankly, the Dexcom is just more user friendly for several reasons. It has cons too, so let me lay them out Pro and Con style:


Pros

  • Sensor is TINY and doesn't hurt (much) going in. Much like an infusion set.
  • Lasts at least 7 days
  • Very, very accurate. Only a couple times I've had it off the mark and it was after the seven days of wear. Often within one or two mg/dl.
  • Alarms are quite and unassuming, but you know they are there. This is a big one for me. I hate the alarms on Minimed. They are obnoxious and difficult to program. Not impossible, but it requires a lot of effort to shut the thing up. I would need a whole other post to talk about the difference it makes to have the alarms more like Dexcom, so I'll leave it here.
  • You still get readings after a calibration request. This is also huge. I press the button to check my numbers and a polite little message says "Check BG." I can't, so I don't, but the graph ticks along doing its best without my calibration. I get out of my meeting three hours later and it is still holding my numbers, but I know that I need to calibrate, so I check my blood sugar, see it is really close tot he Dexcom, but I forgot to enter it in the Dexcom before my next meeting. I check the unit half-way through my meeting and see my polite little reminder and think, Darn it! I forgot to plug in my reading. Oh! Well, I can do it when I'm through." AND get no annoying, blasting reminders every 30 minutes. Really, this is BIG for me.

Cons:

  • Separate unit, which I have lost and then found. Bad for me!
  • Doesn't talk to my pump.
  • Can't merge the data

Running out of steam, but that is it in a nut shell. Minimed better get off ther asses. I have been waiting for a VERY long time and upgraded to get their technology coming out. But they have always failed on UI and don't seem to listen to their market.

I still love my pump, but I desperately wish Medtronic Minimed would step it up A LOT!


3 comments:

Sweet Sammy-Antha said...

I love your blog! And I hope you don't mind me adding a link to it from my own. I'd just like others to read it. I have a sensitive spot for this topic and hope this isn't a bother to you. thank you.
Samantha

Wendy Morgan said...

Thanks for posting! Of course you an add a link. I appreciate your nice words. Wish I had more time to post more often.

Nouveaute said...

nice!!!