I’d like to monitor my blood glucose level to see how various foods impact my blood sugar for health reasons. I only want to do it for 6 weeks. I don’t have diabetes or prediabetes, so insurance doesn’t cover the cost as far as I can tell. My PCP is happy to write a prescription. I happen to live in the US.
There are a number of CGMs (Constant Glucose Monitors) out there, including Levels, Veri, Freestyle/Abbott, and Dexcom., but they are relatively expensive. Most are $250+ per month for the sensors, and there is a $39 monthly fee to use their app. Has anyone gone down this rat hole and have any advice for which one might be the most economical and effective for a relatively short term use? Any input would be appreciated.
Some pharmacies will give you one if you buy your supplies there.
I mean, I don’t know what they’d do for a non-diabetic. Seems like they’d probably not do it. But you could ask.
Call your insurance company and see if they have an active diabetic prevention program. They might help.
I’d get a old school finger poke one and strips and lancets. It really doesn’t hurt. (They ain’t cheap either)
I think part of not being diabetic means that your blood sugars levels don’t swing widely high and low. And that your blood sugar levels don’t stay high for long no matter what you eat. If your body is not insulin resistant the cells in your body will use that sugar for energy, if not used it will turn it into fat by your healthy pancreas creating more insulin. That’s what isulin does, its a hormone that takes the sugar out of your bloodstream that your body cannot use in your cells and converts that unused sugar into fat. The effect is that your blood sugar doesn’t get high or low, its how a healthy body reacts to too much sugar.
So I’m not sure what a CGM is going to tell you, if anything at all. But if your doc is willing to write you a presription for one it may not be cheap. I am diabetic and have decent insurance and I would still pay what I consider too much for one.
The usual fingerstab method probably won’t give the detail desired. I presume the idea isn’t to check that eating raises blood sugar (spoiler: it does!) but to assess the effect of individual food types (How much? How soon?, Mixing with other things…) as some doctors who gave written about longevity are recommending.
If I lived in the future and were a billionaire I’d buy me some stem cell or other therapy to grow a new pancreas and be all better. I wouldn’t ask for the bargain basement price.
“As far as you can tell”. Did you ask the insurance company? If the doctor feels that a short period with a continuous glucose monitor is helpful, the insurer may cover it for a week or two.
And looking at the Dexcom website, they have a form you can fill out that may qualify you for a free ten-day trial.
I’ve been doing the finger poke thing for a few months now. The problem is that it only shows you your blood glucose level at a particular point in time. I want to see when it starts to rise, how high it gets, and how long before it falls back to baseline, based on what food I was eating at the time. I would have to poke myself many many times to get that information, which would be time consuming, plus those supplies aren’t free, and I still wouldn’t know what my glucose was while I was asleep, which might explain why my fasting glucose is much higher that it should be, even though my A1C is normal. I don’t expect anything to be free, but I would rather not pay $250 a month if I can avoid it. It looks like I can’t avoid it, and I can live with that.
At some point I will do it, but right now I can’t afford it. I can always find another part time job to pay for it, but my wife wouldn’t be particularly happy with me doing that.
The Dexcom page I saw said the free trial was only for ten days, not fourteen, but that should be enough to get some idea how well it’s working for you. And I didn’t see anything about committing for three months but you’re presumably reading more carefully than me.
If you happen to know someone who uses either a Libre or a Dexcom, they may have an extra sensor (sensor plus transmitter for Dexcom) lying around. You would not need a reader, you could use your phone.
I don’t have diabetes, but I have worn each of these for a week. It’s pretty interesting for a couple days, but then I lost interest. I did not experiment with the effects of different types of foods, however.
You are correct. Some trials are for 10 days, while other trials are 14 days. Depends on the company. The one I looked at closely had a 14-day trial and you had to sign up for 3 months to be eligible. Even if I didn’t have to commit to 3 months I don’t think 10 or 14 days is long enough time to learn what I want to know. I could keep signing up for free trials, but that’s not a great idea.
BTW, I just called my medical insurance company and they confirmed they don’t pay for CGMs, or their associated supplies, even if I have diabetes, which I don’t, so I’m out of luck on that front.
Sometimes Docs get samples from salesmen. Ask the nurse in your doctor’s office. She’ll know if any of the sensors are around. She’ll know more than the Doc will. In my experience.
Then find a free app for your phone. I found the play store has them but some are glitchy. You’ll have to find a good one.
Although my experience is not American, I note many hospitals and some practices have “diabetes education teams” which tend to know a lot about stuff like this. It might not hurt to ask informally. I presume Qadgop and Jackmanii may, or may not, know more.
I just found out my healthcare provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT), has a Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) benefit managed by a company called Solera. I tried contacting Solera using the number I was given by BCBSMT and the recording said “your call cannot be completed as dialed”. When I went to the Solera webpage BCBSMT provided me, I had to fill out a form just to see what services Solera offered, but to get anywhere I had to pick my provider from a drop down list and BCBSMT wasn’t on the list so that was a dead end. I’ll try calling Solera tomorrow, but this looks like yet another rat hole.
Libre 2 not libre 1, the libre 1 still needs a dedicated reader. On the plus side, a Libre 2 app doesn’t cost anything, I was putzing around with a sensor my roomie had spare. Since I am not on medicwhieverthefuck, TriCare refuses to pay for my sensors, I use the old libre 1s still and they run us like $40 per sensor. [one can only get so many discounts]
The benefits providers for these insurance companies are fly by night. In my experience. Keep trying. Call your insurance people again. Tell them you had no luck with that place. They may have 20+ working for them.
Should be a great time of the month to get to someone.
Hello. I have an extra Freesyle Libre reader. I believe I have both libre 1 and libre 2.
But both sensors have a free app that can read the sensors and provide a lot of useful information.
If your doctor will give you a prescription for the sensors, the app will read them. No need for a reader. Their is no cost to use the app. If you would prefer a reader, i can send it to you. I am brand new account here, long time lurker. Your request prompted me to sign up. I do not know how to send a PM on this board, but please PM me and I will try to figure it out. Maybe i am too new for PM access.