I neglected to tell you all that I’ve been outfitted with the new DexCom SEVEN wireless continuous glucose monitor. I’m on Day 4 today, and so far feeling rather ambiguous about the whole affair. Which is a little unfair, because this version definitely is better than the original. It’s just that I’m still a little disgruntled from my first experience. Allow me to explain:
I wore DexCom’s STS three-day-wear CGM unit for five months last…
I have seen the future of CGMS, and it looks pretty damn good. OK, I admit, I just caught a glimpse, ’cause I was disqualified for a current study of the Abbott FreeStyle Navigator in the last round due to potential “skin allergies to medical adhesives.” Curse those DexCom shower patches (which irritate my skin and made me look iffy here). Curse them!
Anyway, the Navigator is reportedly hekka accurate. Even my new endo says…
This time it’s not about me and mine, but rather all the people out there writing to me about the DexCom and other continuous monitoring technology:
There was the family who tried to use the DexCom on their 5-year-old boy, and was sorely disappointed (they also sent me the link to the company’s recent shareholder Webcast, btw)
There was the guy in Iran who’s DESPERATE to get one for his 3-year-old nephew (sorry)
The guy…
This is a sorry post to have to pen, folks. I had such high hopes. I wish the news were better. But after three full months of futzing around with my new DexCom continuous monitor, calibrating and charging and re-initiating at every turn, my A1c has not made significant improvement.
I’m at 7.1 — up, in fact, from the 6.9 result I got at the (potentially iffy) on-site testing at the ADA Conference back in…
We’ve been asking the question, “How soon will insurance providers start covering continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices?” But it seems the more accurate inquiry would be, “Why won’t insurance providers ‘reimburse’ for CGM devices any time soon?”
There are some serious barriers in the way, as I’ve experienced personally in the last few weeks, submitting multiple claims for my DexCom supplies — and receiving rejection after complicated rejection. Each “Explanation of Benefits” form from Blue…