Take Control...Live Uninterrupted

One of the daily battles diabetics face is the monitoring of their sugar levels. Imagine having to continuously stop your daily activity to check your sugar level. Now available is a DexCom STS wireless continuous monitor.

Continuous blood glucose monitoring will become a very important change in diabetes management. In the next few years, continuous blood glucose monitoring will likely replace many patients' use of test strips. I believe the monitoring process will dramatically change management of diabetes, especially when the patient is sleeping or is in between meals and is unlikely to test his or her blood sugar.

Studies have demonstrated statistically significant improvements in glycemic profiles with the use of the short-term system with no guidance or therapeutic adjustments from physicians. One particular study of a short-term continuous glucose sensor in subjects with type 1 diabetes summarized accuracy and effectiveness of the STS Sensor.

Diabetics are very excited with the new technology and convenience DexCom offers. Matt Vogel of Insulin Factor, created an online DexCom user chronicle, where he discussed his triumphs and challenges with the monitoring system and Amy Tenderich, another individual new to DexCom, discusses her fascination with the device on her blog, Diabetes Mine.

"It's so easy to use that I'm baffled. Just two buttons, plus the calibrating with the OneTouch meter. But that's a simple matter of 2 fingersticks and then using a cable to connect the two meters for a few moments. The DexCom screen displays your BG "line" over the last hour, three hours, or nine hours -- in a way that even my grandma could understand." Tenderich

Another way technology keeps improving quality of life. It has become evident to me that glucose monitoring is a crucial part of diabetes disease management. Through diet and exercise levels can be controlled to some extent, but without testing individuals will not know there current status. There are many barriers diabetics have for monitoring their blood glucose (BG), such as cost of strips, lack of knowledge on the value of monitoring and perceived lack of time. Hopefully this device will make it easier to monitor BG and facilitate the path to an uninterrupted life.

There are problems faced by individuals seeking to gain access to these new devices, one of course is reimbursement. With all advances there will be obstacles faced!