Diabetes is a common, and growing, problem in the U.S. An estimated 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes – and some of them aren’t even aware they have it.
While there is no known cure for the disease to date, there are ways to manage it so you can avoid its harmful or even life-threatening complications.
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a helpful tool to help manage diabetes. Read on to learn about its benefits and how it works for diabetes management.
What Is CGM?
CGM involves the use of a wearable device that tracks your blood glucose levels regularly over time. It consists of a sensor placed under the skin and a transmitter. The latter transfers the glucose reading to a device where you can monitor your blood sugar levels over the course of a day.
This tool is beneficial for diabetes patients since it reduces the need for frequent fingersticks to measure your blood sugar level at a single point in time. Nondiabetic people can also use it to monitor their blood sugar levels.
Benefits of Using CGM for Diabetes Management
Here are some benefits of using CGM:
It Shows How Diabetes Affects Your Daily Life
CGM measures and records your blood glucose levels every few minutes throughout a given 24-hour period. Seeing how your levels change at different times of day, after certain types of foods, activities, etc., makes it so much easier to determine which factors trigger spikes in your blood sugar levels. This allows you to make appropriate lifestyle adjustments as you form a clearer picture of precisely how diabetes affects your day-to-day life.
Warnings Allow for Immediate Correction
When it comes to diabetes, it may seem as though every little thing can easily lead to a spike or a drop in glucose levels. You might not even feel any symptoms in your body. That’s why it is easy to feel relaxed – until a potentially life-threatening situation catches you off-guard.
When wearing a CGM device, you will immediately be alerted to any drop or spike in your glucose levels. This allows you to make immediate adjustments, when necessary, such as taking your medication, before anything life-threatening can occur.
Fewer Fingerstick Blood Tests
Using the fingerstick method of measuring blood sugar levels is inconvenient, and painful, and only provides a one-time snapshot rather than a bigger-picture overview of glucose fluctuations as they occur in your body. Using CGM, however, offers a better diabetes management experience. Tracking how your blood sugar levels rise and fall throughout the day can help you more accurately and effectively treat your diabetes, and keep it controlled long-term.
More Personalized Care
Compared to a typical fingerstick check, CGM reveals your glucose level fluctuations over time. The CGM system compiles this into organized data for easier analysis and evaluation.
Once you discover the factors influencing your glucose levels the most, you can make the necessary lifestyle adjustments. Additionally, your doctor can customize a treatment plan for your condition.
How to Use a CGM Device
Here’s how to use a continuous glucose monitoring system:
1. Place the Sensor Under Your Skin
You will put the sensor under the skin of your belly or arm using a special applicator. In many cases, you may need to replace it with a new sensor every 1-2 weeks.
Another option is to get an implantable CGM device, which will require a minor outpatient surgical procedure. In these cases, your physician will need to replace the sensor, typically every couple of months or so.
2. Monitor the Results From Your Device
When the CGM sensor measures your blood glucose levels, it transmits the data to a receiver. This may be a separate handheld device, a smartphone app, or an insulin pump. It is up to you to monitor your CGM findings to become familiar with your blood sugar tendencies. You must also learn how to set the alarm so you are alerted whenever your blood glucose levels are too low or too high.
3. Gather Data for Long-Term Evaluation
You can transfer your personalized glucose level readings to your computer or mobile phone, where you can organize them in a manner you like. This will enable you to analyze long-term trends in your blood glucose movement. You can also easily share this data with your doctor.
