Our D-history:

My daughter, *Rosie, was five years old when she was diagnosed on September 19, 2008, with Type I Diabetes. We started out on MDI, but in October 2010 we switched to a pump. We also added a Dexcom CGM in May of 2011. In February 2014 we changed to the Medtronic Enlite system- a pump and CGM all in one.

*Rosie is not her real name... I let her pick her own pseudonym for the blog!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Upgraded to the Enlite

Long time, no blog... and I'm OK with that.  :)   I enjoy blogging, and still read many DOC blogs, but I've made a concentrated effort to spend more time offline.  That said, though, I had to post an update on Rosie.

On Saturday, we officially switched to the Medtronic Enlite system... meaning that she is no longer wearing a Dexcom CGM, but now has a CGM integrated into her pump.  (Please note that we loved our Dexcom, but switched on the recommendation of our endo, and also so that Rosie only has to carry/wear one device now.)

After three days on the system, here are my observations:
  •  This thing alarms a LOT.  I'm sure there are ways to change/reduce the alarms even further than we have, but wow.... the first day I think it was alarming at least once an hour.  It thought she was high (she wasn't), it thought she was low (she wasn't), it wanted more blood sugars (done).  Yikes.  That reminds me... I need to email her teachers and warn them that we're still learning about this new device and it might disrupt class.
  • We inserted Rosie's first site in the right side of her stomach, and she hasn't had any trouble with it at all.  This is a victory for us, as she has a history of reacting to various medical tapes and adhesives. I like that the adhesive includes a strip over top of the receiver, as we almost lost her last one one time  when the clips on the site broke while she was wearing it.
  • So far, the numbers are not as accurate as I'd like.  We've been a good 30-40 points off, at minimum, every time she's poked her finger.  I'm hoping this will improve with use.  If we have to poke her finger 6-8 times per day just to keep this calibrated, I'm not sure it's worth it.   We only had to poke 3-4 times per day to keep her Dex in line.
So... we'll see.  I have very mixed feelings about the switch right now, and so does Rosie.