Great to see it be OTC.
But it's weird that it is advertised to last for 15 days, while the prescription version for T1ds/T2ds only lasts for 10 days. The hardware looks the same.
FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
41–50 of 439 posts
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#42I like this trend of the FDA making more and more things OTC.
Don't be fooled by the reason though > The markup on OTC products is generally higher than on prescription medications. https://www.eposnow.com/us/resources/how-do-pharmacies-make-... .
I haven't noticed this as a consumer in the context we're talking right now. I think that article is measuring the difference between OTC and pharmacy pricing after a drug is approved OTC. But it is not looking at prices pre- vs. post- OTC approval.
Olopatadine eye drops are amazing for allergy season, and they used to be like $250-400/bottle just 5 years ago or so, even the generic version. Then they went OTC for like $10/bottle.
This pricing difference might be true for things that are already mostly cheap, like Omeprazole -- where branding on consumer products drives OTC markup, but consumers don't pick the brand when doctors prescribe it and the pharmacy just gives them whatever cheapest generic they have in the back that they negotiated excellent pricing on.
Though you can easily close the gap on these prices by shopping for the store-brand generics at Costco, Walmart, Sam's Club, etc.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#43When your smartphone becomes a critical health device to support/treat a condition I wonder how that will impact case law around things like police confiscation.
What happens when an officer confiscates your glucose monitor today? I assume you die and they claim they did it for some valid reason or the other.
Type 1 diabetics have been managing their insulin for decades with occasional blood sugar testing - i.e. certainly not testing for every dose. They’d be fine to manage things for a period without a confiscated monitor.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, but you can't easily use your non-smartphone glucose monitor as a communications device to manage a bunch of drug dealers which can't be confiscated because your life depends on it. That changes once it's your smartphone.
See, my point is that they’ll do it already when it’s not even reasonable to do so. So when they take your phone away, which can be done so more credibly, why would you expect more protections?
Do they? I'm not aware of cases (but generally not up to date on topics like this, genuinely curious)
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#45I dove into CGMs a little bit about a year ago, mostly just for fun. Yes, I paid money to some online prescription mill for CGMs (Abbott Freestyle Libre 3, IIRC), and then put one in my arm (the applicator is a short syringe section that has the monitor tube threaded into it, so the tube stays in your arm and your skin under the monitor remains broken) for a couple weeks. Just to see how various foods would affect my…
Aside from the fun, how did it go? Find anything surprising or insightful in the process?
It sounds like an experiment I’d like to do for the purpose of optimizing my daily habits and establishing a better mental model for how my eating habits impact me throughout the day. But I really dislike needles.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#46When your smartphone becomes a critical health device to support/treat a condition I wonder how that will impact case law around things like police confiscation.
The cops will probably deliberately keep it from you as a threat.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#47I like this trend of the FDA making more and more things OTC.
Don't be fooled by the reason though > The markup on OTC products is generally higher than on prescription medications. https://www.eposnow.com/us/resources/how-do-pharmacies-make-... .
> “CGMs can be a powerful tool to help monitor blood glucose. Today’s clearance expands access to these devices by allowing individuals to purchase a CGM without the involvement of a health care provider,” said Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Giving more individuals valuable information about their health, regardless of their access to a doctor or health insurance, is an important step forward in advancing health equity for U.S. patients.”
Says nothing about it being cheaper; and honestly, taking the requirement to see a doctor out of it may end up reducing the total cost for a patient anyways.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't be fooled by the reason though > The markup on OTC products is generally higher than on prescription medications. https://www.eposnow.com/us/resources/how-do-pharmacies-make-... .
I haven't noticed this as a consumer in the context we're talking right now. I think that article is measuring the difference between OTC and pharmacy pricing after a drug is approved OTC. But it is not looking at prices pre- vs. post- OTC approval. Olopatadine eye drops are amazing for allergy season, and they used to be like $250-400/bottle just 5 years ago or so, even the generic version. Then they went OTC for li…
It turns out when you strip out as much of the billing bureaucracy as possible, that things become cheaper.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#49I'm T1D (insulin-dependent). I used a Dexcom for a couple years a while ago, back around the G3 through G5 era or so. I ended up stopping using it because my diabetes is very well managed, and I found it didn't make a huge difference to my management. With my insurance, each new sensor every week cost about $50, and would fail in various annoying ways: sometimes it would just stop working in the middle of the week, o…
> Each sensor also used a ludicrous amount of plastic for its applicator, like a tennis-ball-sized hunk of hard plastic, that you just chucked in the trash, every week.
Erm, let's be a little defensible here.
These sensors have to be stored in sterile packaging--that means thick enough to be a barrier. That means it also has to hold the sensor in such a way that a palette can be gamma irradiated. It also needs to be resistant to drops, crushes, and other accidents.
The sensor has to not be harmful with organisms irrespective of the understanding of the person using it. Any change to that packaging has to be re-evaluated for effects on that sterilization.
And while I understand people having concerns, if the only reason we needed to use plastic was to treat folks with diabetes--I think the world would somehow manage.
Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor
#50I dove into CGMs a little bit about a year ago, mostly just for fun. Yes, I paid money to some online prescription mill for CGMs (Abbott Freestyle Libre 3, IIRC), and then put one in my arm (the applicator is a short syringe section that has the monitor tube threaded into it, so the tube stays in your arm and your skin under the monitor remains broken) for a couple weeks. Just to see how various foods would affect my…
Aside from the fun, how did it go? Find anything surprising or insightful in the process? It sounds like an experiment I’d like to do for the purpose of optimizing my daily habits and establishing a better mental model for how my eating habits impact me throughout the day. But I really dislike needles.
If the needle in the CGM bothers you, don't let it. It's a quick, painless jab with a tiny needle at the beginning and then the needle comes out. The part that stays in your body is just a flexible filament made of plastic.
I did this experiment as well, and the main thing it did was completely stop me from snacking. My habits got better because I could see how my BG could never return to baseline if I allowed myself to snack between meals.
Other than that, it was also interesting to see certain things would badly spike my BG and other things wouldn't, and they weren't always what you'd expect. A lot of "keto" and "diabetic-friendly" products are terrible for most people's BG and were for mine. I found that some things, like black tea, actually made my BG drop as well.
Overall it's worth doing at least once.