Keeping your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible through proper dietary changes, exercise, and/or medication and insulin therapy is the key to good diabetes control. Avoiding highs (hyperglycaemia) and lows (hypoglycemia) in your blood sugar will not only make you feel better, but will significantly reduce your risk of diabetes complications. The only way to make sure your blood sugar levels are in target range is to test frequently each day and to get regular A1c tests from your healthcare provider.
Today the most modern way to monitor Blood Glucose Levels is by Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM).
Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology enables you to monitor your glucose levels 24 hours a day through a sensor that is either stand alone or connects to an insulin pump.
In essence, CGM provides a more complete picture of your blood glucose levels by giving you early warnings of lows and highs that HbA1C and fingerstick testing alone cannot always identify.
In fact, use of CGM has been shown to lower HbA1c levels1 and reduce the time of hypos or potentially prevent hypos altogether by suspending the delivery of insulin if connected to a pump.
How CGM works
The pump, when combined with the CGM transmitter and glucose sensor, wirelessly transmits readings to your pump e.g. Medtronic MiniMed® 640G or Animas with Dexcom. The readings are updated every five minutes and appear on the screen. These regular updates can give you a clear understanding of how your glucose levels are tracking. The glucose sensor only needs to be changed each week.
Can Continuous Glucose Monitoring benefit you?
Watch How Sally Benefits from Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) in the Video link at the top of the page or click HERE: