Guardianed

I have jumped ship from the Dexcom world to the Minimed one.

After doing my trial run with the Minimed Guardian, I have to say that even though it does have it’s drawbacks (slightly bigger size, inability to be calibrated during rate of change), I did like the system… a lot. So we went ahead with insurance approval and I am now the proud owner of the Guardian system. I do still have my Dexcom system available to me, but strictly for backup purposes.

The system came via UPS yesterday and I was set up and trained yesterday afternoon (I love my endo’s office!). While it is very easy to set up, the most difficult part was just finding a place for insertion. I can’t use my belly (obviously not a good choice at 8 1/2 months preggo), and I can’t twist around to put it in my lower-back/lovehandle area, so we put it on my side. It may not be the best place as far as sleeping, but it does work there with no issue. One restriction that Dexcom has and Minimed doesn’t with placement is the direction of placement. I have read the owner’s manual and I can’t find where it matters which direction the sensor is injected in, just as long as it’s not within 2 inches of a pump site and 3 inches of a manual injection site, whereas Dexcom, you have to place it (or you’re supposed to place it) horizontally… which can make for a weird insertion in the arm.

Another thing I liked with their system is my skin doesn’t react the way it does to Dexcom. I usually have a rash coming up by the end of the week now with Dexcom, and I didn’t have that issue with the guardian.

When I went for training, it was a little more involved than the Dexcom, but that’s because it has more features. Things like the predictive alerts and area under the curve (AUC) were explained to me, as well as how to use the Guardian system as a logbook for pumpers or pen users. My endo’s nurse even gave me an UltraLink meter that can wirelessly send my bg to the Guardian for calibration if I wanted to try that as well (which I did, very neat!).

My next thing will be purchasing a supply bag/case. While this doesn’t require you to carry anything but the monitor with you, I’d still like to keep a small backup kit with me with sensors, inserter, and transmitter tester and charger inside along with extra pump sites, batteries, glucose tabs and strips… you know, all that stuff you’re supposed to keep with you anyway. I never did before, but seeing as how I’m going to be a busy mom soon, I’m sure it will be nice to have one place to have everything with me for a quick change out if needed without having to worry about where all my stuff is. (It’s kinda sad that my purse will probably be the size of my kid’s diaper bag by the time I’m done.)

I can’t wait to be able to upload and view my reports from the first sensor. Even though my Ping pump keeps everything logged for me, I’m using the logging function in the Guardian as well to keep a log that will upload with the CGM report and give a full, comprehensive view of what’s going on. I’ll share that with you guys next week.