Glucose Monitoring

@ladybugmg, yes. I am very fortunate that I have private insurance as my primary and medicare as a result of being disabled, so between the two, it was completely covered. I should also mention that I am a type 1.5 diabetic or at least that is what a good portion of the endocrinology docs call it. Because I have had about 1/3 of my pancreas removed, I don't produce enough insulin and then my body has been insulin resistant long before that. My pancreas was damaged well before a tumor caused the loss of the tail, so it has likely been 20 years or so that I have not produced an adequate amount.
Gary

@ladybugmg. I have meant to mention this several times when writing replies to you, but things seem to pass through my mind without any action taking place to remove the thought. My late father's fond name for my Mom was Ladybug, so the first time I saw a post from you it made me smile.
Gary

Gary -- Thank you for the insurance information. As to "Ladybug", that was my "handle" back in the days when we used cb's in our motorhome for contact when traveling along with my late brother and his wife. We also used to talk to the truckers for information about the road and weather conditions ahead of us. Glad the name brought back happy memories for you.

Looking into CGM for blood sugar monitoring. One study says Tylenol usage can affect accuracy of results. Another company's CGM states ASA may affect results. Does anyone have any info on this. The study about Tylenol usage was done at Mayo Clinic.

Hi @gaileighty and welcome to Connect! You may have noticed I moved your post to this existing discussion on Continuous Glucose Monitors so that you can read what others have had to say. Just click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification to read what others have said.

I'd like to introduce you to fellow Connect users @ladybugmg and @contentandwell as they have mentioned CGM's in the past.

Back to you @gaileighty did your doctor suggest this to you or are you looking into this on your own?

@gaileighty @ethanmcconkey Hi, Gail. I'm sorry, but I think a mistake must have been made because I have no knowledge of CGMs at all. Perhaps I made a comment on a post or something.
I am mildly type 2 diabetic, no medications and my A1c is good. I read above and it appears as if this is something used when a person is type1. Are you type 1? If you do choose to use one, I hope it will be worthwhile in tracking your blood sugars.
JK

I am looking into this on my own.

I am type 2, 20 years; first 8 years controlled with diet and exercise, second 8 years controlled with oral hypoglycemics. For 4 years have been on insulin pens, short and long lasting along with the oral hypoglycemics (glucophage and Januvia. Read an article in November of 2018 on the side effects of Januvia--joint & muscle pain,AND worsening kidney function, which were discovered in studies done in 2013 and 2014. Januvia was fast-tracked by the FDA in 2006 with, in my opinion, limited research. I am 80 years old and my kidneys are starting to show signs of poor function, and I have had increasing joint and muscle pain over the years I was on it, which I attributed to "I'm just getting older". I was put on Januvia in 2012. Had I known of those side effects, I would not have taken that drug. Manufacturer of Januvia has been very vague about the FDA's approval under the conditions that they do post-approval studies. When I called them, they would not send me the studies they did post approval. I am not sure who did the studies in 2013 and 2014, but intend to find out and read them. Have an appt with Nephrologist on Monday Feb 4. All these years, my A1c has been under 7, except once--last one was 6.6. Am a retired RN. Was looking into the CGM's because I travel a lot and I thought it might be a better way to manage my diabetes. However, I don't like the idea that the readings are interstitial fluid, not blood and the results for interstitial as opposed to blood result in a lag time. So the readings you get with the CGM's are not as accurate in "real time" as the finger stick blood sample. I have pretty much decided that the CGM's are not for me at this time especially since the results can be inaccurate if you ingest tylenol or ASA. I think they are good for identifying trends more than calculating how much insulin to take.