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FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

fda.gov

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Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#61

Post by turtlebits »

philsnow wrote: post #30

I 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…

Same, but my doctor pointed me to a promotion for a free sensor. It did require a prescription, but since I don't have diabetes, it's not covered by insurance.

Trying to get it filled and picked up was slightly annoying as the pharmacy initially did not want to fill it without some prodding, and I waited a while for them to figure out how to get the promotion billed.

Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#62

Post by epistasis »

anonfornoreason wrote: post #56

I would recommend anyone to experiment with this. I did, and found out I was more glucose sensitive than I expected. This led me to get more broad labs done, with which I was able to find additional treatable issues that are likely the cause. If I hadn't done this, I would have found out via symptoms years later, after irreversible damage had already been done. You are your only medical advocate, no one else is going…

Agreed, this is one of the better things I have done to take control of my own health!

It was very very surprising which foods, and quantities of foods, caused huge spikes.

However, this stuff is difficult to interpret. What should be the goal number for managing glucose spikes? What's good, what's bad? Ultimately there's a lot of judgement calls, just as there is with any health or fitness goal.

I learned a lot from Peter Attia's podcasts, but that required hours of listening.

My doctor offered to review my data with me, which was amazing. But many people's primary care docs may not have the experience or time.

Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#64

Post by happytiger »

anonfornoreason wrote: post #56

I would recommend anyone to experiment with this. I did, and found out I was more glucose sensitive than I expected. This led me to get more broad labs done, with which I was able to find additional treatable issues that are likely the cause. If I hadn't done this, I would have found out via symptoms years later, after irreversible damage had already been done. You are your only medical advocate, no one else is going…

That’s some sage advice.

People are often surprised when I tell them about the insane levels of pre-diabetes in the US:

> The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion notes that approximately 96 million U.S. adults aged 18 years and older (38% of the adult population) have prediabetes, and nearly 80% of them are unaware that they have it.

It’s honestly insane to continue a way of life that’s doing this to the majority of the population.

https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/prediabetes-trends-amon....

Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#65

Post by singlow »

coffeebeqn wrote: post #60
smt88 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Where do you put the needle thing? Does it get in the way of everyday things?

Typically it is on the back of the upper arm where it is covered by a short sleeve shirt. Generally it does not get in the way.

Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#67

Post by justinclift »

mft_ wrote: post #43
saagarjha wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> They’d be fine to manage things for a period without a confiscated monitor.

That could go very wrongly if they're already at the end of the safety period when they're grabbed by the cops.

Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#69

Post by justinclift »

hammock wrote: post #27
uxamanda wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, never thought about that. Also wonder what happens in Airplane mode / poor reception?

CGMs use bluetooth

Bluetooth has a terrible reputation around reliability. :(

Re: FDA clears first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor

#70

Post by sunshinesnacks »

mft_ wrote: post #43
saagarjha wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> They’d be fine…

But before long there will be diabetics that never really learned to do that because they never had to. Even people that have done that for decades still mess up dosing sometimes.

How likely is it that someone might die? I don’t know. But saying they will be fine might not be fair.

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