Blood glucose monitor recommendation

I agree totally! Being pre-diabetic I wanted to know my glucose pattern in between Dr visits… she finally gave me a prescription for Libre 3. Around the same time, I also purchased Lingo, no prescription needed, put out by same company as Libre3, Abbott). Ordered it from Abbott. It was around $80 for 2 which equal a month. I switched between them, and found the Lingo app to be way more informative for me.

@marylouc could you tell more about Lingo? What is it? I’ve never heard of it. Thanx.

@rkmclinic2125 this might not be the “latest information on glucose monitoring” but it is what I do. I’ve been diabetic for 50 years and have used many types of meters for finger sticks. I currently use a One Touch Verio Flex. I’ve taken it with me to lab appointments to check it against in clinic labs and it is accurate.
I’ve had two opportunities to try continual glucose monitors (CGM) in the past decade in conjunction with evaluations I was going through at Mayo Clinic. I’ve tried Libre and Dexcom. Currently I’m using a Dexcom G6. Part of why I chose it was a recommendation from a Mayo endocrinologist, also the integration with my iPhone and with my insulin delivery system. I use an Omnipod 5 insulin pump. I have a follow up appointment with my endocrinologist in a week and I’m going to ask about upgrading the CGM Dexcom G6 to a G7.
I have experienced inaccuracies with the Dexcom G6 for 24 up to 72 hours on sensor change days. The last time I had a sensor change I had to apply 3 sensors before it worked! The first 2 bled like crazy before I even installed the transmitter! (I think transmitters are included in the G7 sensors.) That only happened once or twice before in the past 2 - 3 years. YUCK! I knew that the solution was to take it off, stop the bleeding and try another sensor in a different location but I wanted to hear it from Dexcom Technical Support. I waited on hold on the phone for 2 hours with no response. (Then I had to hang up to take a call from a medical provider regarding lab tests for a situation my husband’s been having.) I got back to trying to get ahold of Dexcom Technical support and finally left a message. I spent that day with no sensor for 12 hours (and “no data” alarms every hour from the Omnipod 5 pump). Dexcom Technical Support didn’t respond for another 5 days! They are going to send replacement sensors for the 2 that bled. That is great (sarcasm) and hopefully I will get them before the current sensor expires. Medicare won’t let me refill the sensors because “it is too soon”. They don’t care that I blew through a month supply in one sitting due to the bleeding!
Well that was a rant! Thanx for reading. Diabetes can be difficult to deal with!

@hsminc I’m confused. I’m not sure if you are talking about Metformin (a common diabetes medication) or something else called Metaformin (that I never heard of). You refer to blood pressure (BP) and also glucose. Some people call it BG. Similar names and acronyms can be confusing.
Are you concerned about your blood pressure or your blood glucose? Not sure what medication you are referring to either. You mentioned glucose in the 90’s and an hgbA1c of 6.1 Those are good numbers for well controlled diabetes. You also mentioned a number of 200/100 which sounds like high blood pressure. You also mentioned post prandial spikes. You are correct pre and post prandial refers to before and after eating. But it usually pertains to blood glucose not blood pressure.
I’m just not understanding what your issues are. I’m concerned that you “stopped the Metformin”. I don’t think it is wise to start, stop or alter a dose of a medication without input from your provider. Would you be willing to explain more about your situation?

I do mean Metformin, the diabetes medication. I stopped it after conferring with my pcp, who prescribed it. Metformin was NOT prescribed for diabetes but to halt the possible progression of my MGUS. MGUS is a premalignant clone of cells that can morph into a malignancy like myeloma. Metformin is in clinical trials to prevent MGUS and SMM from progressing.
I have never been diagnosed with diabetes but I have had a hgba1c of 6.1 at times.
I had a peculiar reaction to Metformin. I know it is considered a safe drug but taking it was associated for me with these scary blood pressure spikes.
MGUS is associated with a variety of illnesses and diseases. My hematologist was against my taking it. I have had MGUS for 23 years.
Sorry for any confusion.

You probably know that both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia can cause blood pressure spikes. Since I was taking 500 mg of Metformin three times a day and I tend to be an erratic eater, I believe this is what happened. I think that the Metformin caused me to become hypoglycemic, causing my BP to rise. On an occasion when I grabbed three English buttermilk muffins with butter, both my blood sugar and blood pressure escalated.
I can “feel it” when these blood pressure escalations occurred. I have not had these issues since I stopped Metformin. For days I wore or carried a wrist blood pressure cuff, taking my blood pressure on almost an hourly basis. No spikes despite repeating the circumstances where it had peaked before. (I did not repeat the English muffins.)

Lingo is the same device as the Libre3 from Abbott; it was suggested by a teacher in a diabetes education class I attended. The app is only for iPhones, so won’t work with an Android phone. It cost $89 for 2 units (=4 weeks) and can purchase at hellolingo.com.
I guess for an Android phone, you’d have to get the Dexcom. I chose the Libre3/Lingo just because it’s a little smaller.
Being pre-diabetic, I didn’t need the alarms, etc that the Libre3 app includes. I like the charts, etc better in the Lingo app. Since I had a prescription for Libre3 from my Dr, I tried both (alternating every 2 weeks). The cost was about the same, since Medicare only pays for it if I’m on diabetic meds, which I’m not.
It’s very informative to see how the glucose goes up after eating, etc.
I was fearful that it would hurt putting it on, but it doesn’t. I’m on the 3rd one now.

I had an Endocrinologist who recommended this book: "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes"
My wife and I followed his program. My wife had been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and I have been diabetic since 91. She reversed completely after one month and I reduced my insulin requirement to 10 units twice a day from 50 units! His program is easy to follow but makes you more selective when eating out.

His program is follow a Vegan diet--no animal protein, no animal fat! My problem was the animal fat. If I went out for normal Chinese food which loaded with fatty sauces, it would take me three days to process the fat out of my system.