advice needed from the t1d ladies

[silentsara]

Okay, I'm asking for advice from you ladies with t1d because you live with it.

Backstory: My 15 yr old son has had t1d since he was nine. He has used the omnipod insulin pump since he was ten. No unusual concerns with either of those two things. He started on a dexcom cgm in December and every week it is a fight to get him to put it on. he usually puts off replacing it for 3-5 days.

Is this a something I should fight for him to do? His a1-c is 7.6, his endo is happy with him, overall he has good control. My concern is when he's with his friends (which happens more as he gets older), he's "forgetting" to check and the a1-c has crept up.

Should I relax and let him be? Is there that big a benefit to wearing the cgm? Diabetes sucks.

[robotpcr]

MH just got a CGM this month and says his biggest love with it is that it will wake him if he gets low so he doesn't feel like he needs to run his tests a little high before bed, just in case. I'm hoping it'll help his A1Cs over time.

[silentsara]

Jan 26, 2015 16:02:10 GMT -5 robotpcr said:

MH just got a CGM this month and says his biggest love with it is that it will wake him if he gets low so he doesn't feel like he needs to run his tests a little high before bed, just in case. I'm hoping it'll help his A1Cs over time.

I love that feature.

I guess the problem is he doesn't want to push the button himself. His insulin pump is an automatic injector. He has been sitting in the living room with the cgm hanging off of him for two hours now. He keeps telling me I don't get it and he's right. I don't understand.

[robotpcr]

That sounds really frustrating. MH has never had a pump (doesn't want one) but I can see where it might be kind of weird. Mostly MH refers to himself as a cyborg now and seems to like it. Hopefully your SS will figure these things out as he gets out of the teenage angst stage. I can't imagine it's easy to deal with a teenager at all, and then add the diabetes on top.

[t1green]

I have a CGM and sometimes I hate it. The constant alarms in the middle of the night is soooo annoying and especially if it isn't calibrated properly because I know I'm not low. It's a lot to adjust to and it's very frustrating. Just be patient with him. I know it's difficult but given time he will get used to it. I think the worst part are the site changes because they are in the middle of the day and you basically have to stop everything you're doing to take care of it. It's a pain in the ass.

[silentsara]

Jan 26, 2015 19:46:52 GMT -5 t1green said:

I have a CGM and sometimes I hate it. The constant alarms in the middle of the night is soooo annoying and especially if it isn't calibrated properly because I know I'm not low. It's a lot to adjust to and it's very frustrating. Just be patient with him. I know it's difficult but given time he will get used to it. I think the worst part are the site changes because they are in the middle of the day and you basically have to stop everything you're doing to take care of it. It's a pain in the ass.

Thank you so much t1green! I hate that he has to deal with this, but I want to do what's best for him. Do you think the cgm is worth the headache?

[t1green]

Jan 27, 2015 9:37:03 GMT -5 silentsara said:

Jan 26, 2015 19:46:52 GMT -5 t1green said:

I have a CGM and sometimes I hate it. The constant alarms in the middle of the night is soooo annoying and especially if it isn't calibrated properly because I know I'm not low. It's a lot to adjust to and it's very frustrating. Just be patient with him. I know it's difficult but given time he will get used to it. I think the worst part are the site changes because they are in the middle of the day and you basically have to stop everything you're doing to take care of it. It's a pain in the ass.

Thank you so much t1green! I hate that he has to deal with this, but I want to do what's best for him. Do you think the cgm is worth the headache?

As annoying as it is to be woken in the middle of the night, I do believe it has saved my life. Yes, it's worth the headache. I also believe it has helped to lower my A1C.

[silentsara]

Jan 27, 2015 9:50:34 GMT -5 t1green said:

Jan 27, 2015 9:37:03 GMT -5 silentsara said:

Thank you so much t1green! I hate that he has to deal with this, but I want to do what's best for him. Do you think the cgm is worth the headache?

As annoying as it is to be woken in the middle of the night, I do believe it has saved my life. Yes, it's worth the headache. I also believe it has helped to lower my A1C.

Thank you again! I'll be patient with him but keep encouraging him to use it.