CGM in NYC

Well I loaded up my CGM supplies (and a LOT of other stuff) and headed to New York City on Thursday for meetings. When I finally arrived after MANY delays due to weather at 1:30 a.m., I put on a new sensor and transmitter.

The following morning, I was unable to calibrate it--the sensor had failed. SO, I waited until 10:00 p.m. on Friday to try again, because it just doesn't make sense to do it any other time with the 10 hour and 12 hours calibrations (I had room mates and didn't want the thing beeping annoyingly at 1 a.m.).

Friday afternoon, after my calibration failed , I found that my BG kit with both my blood glucose meter AND my CGM receiver had fallen out of my bag at a previous appointment. I trucked back across town to get it, deciding that I MUST leave the Receiver/BG Kit in the hotel in case that happens again.

I put on a second sensor Friday night and it failed to calibrate the next morning. I was furious! Here I am eating NYC bagels (like 80 carbs), gnocchi and pizza and I don't have my beloved CGM. I NEVER thought to bring more than two sensors, because I should have only needed one for a four day trip, so I was out of luck. But I left the Receiver (my back up finger stick B.G. test) in the room safe and sound, then went shopping.

At FAO Schwartz, I started to feel low, so I pulled out my regular blood glucose kit to check my sugar and low and behold--ERROR. Oh! For Gods sake! I tried three more times, trying to warm the battery (which was almost new), tried a different bottle of strips; nothing worked. I ate three glucose tablets and begged my friend, still at the hotel to meet us for lunch and bring my CGM receiver.

Overall, the trip as fantastic, my blood sugars were good, but I expended an enormous amount of energy worrying about my equipment and my blood sugars, and trying to solve these problems. I was dreadfully paranoid the rest of the trip, constantly feeling my bag for the B.G. Kit, my cell phone, my camera (I felt like I was going to lose everything I owned; it all seemed so precious). This was hard on me emotionally and you know what? It is NOT easy to travel with diabetes.

I put a new sensor on last night when I got home and my first calibration failed this morning. I was about to throw the CGM out the window, but I tried again and found that my blood sugar was dropping too fast to calibrate. From 150 to 90 in about 10 minutes, then to 82 in about five minutes. I was up and running after a call to the friendly Navigator Support team. We suspect that my first insertion of the sensor in NY had too much blood (which it did--I was exhausted and didn't really clean it well) and that might have also gotten on the transmitter where it touches the sensor.

I am really glad to be home and glad to have this thing back on my arm and working.

I will be downloading the CGM software tomorrow. I finally upgraded my hard drive and am anxious to test out the Navigator Co-Pilot.

© 2007 Photo by Wendy L. Morgan