Over The Counter Continuous Glucose Monitor?

[Amethyst]

I became pre-diabetic this year, as well as my husband. We both tried the Stelo for a few weeks.

It was fascinating to see our different responses to the same foods. It became very clear that I am much more insulin resistant than him. It was very eye opening to me to see how very few carbs could cause a spike. I have modified my diet significantly since to try to limit spikes.

He did not tolerate the Stelo well. It was painful at first (we think it initially may have been in the muscle), and then after about a week it malfunctioned. When he removed it, he had had a big black and blue mark and the skin definitely looked irritated.

Meanwhile, I tolerated it much better.

My husband has a skin issue (bruises and bleeds easily with skin tears), so we suspect that played a role.

I have a couple of them left and will use them intermittently in the future. For now, I'm just occasionally testing with a regular glucose meter. I liked the Stelo, but I don't want to have to wear it continuously.

It was eye-opening, depressingly so. There is nothing I enjoy that is safe to eat. I have a stand of dwarf Cavendish banana trees in my yard, which produce organic bananas that make the store kind taste like, well, nothing. And just a few bites of a small home-grown banana causes my reading to soar. Yes, even when paired with peanut butter.

As for the monitor itself, I haven't had much discomfort, but I hate how dirty the overpatch gets. It looks gross and calls attention to itself (one person actually asked me if I was wearing a nicotine patch!) I don't know how to keep it clean, since just rinsing with water does nothing, and using more force or a cleansing wipe could affect the device.

 

[euro]

It was eye-opening, depressingly so. There is nothing I enjoy that is safe to eat. I have a stand of dwarf Cavendish banana trees in my yard, which produce organic bananas that make the store kind taste like, well, nothing. And just a few bites of a small home-grown banana causes my reading to soar. Yes, even when paired with peanut butter.

As for the monitor itself, I haven't had much discomfort, but I hate how dirty the overpatch gets. It looks gross and calls attention to itself (one person actually asked me if I was wearing a nicotine patch!) I don't know how to keep it clean, since just rinsing with water does nothing, and using more force or a cleansing wipe could affect the device.

Yes, it is generally eye-opening....
And yes, bananas are very high carb (unless consumed unripe/green - but where is the fun in that...)
You can get your own overpatches from Amazon that stay cleaner, or just put one on top of the existing one when that gets dirty. Or, you can carefully peel off the overpach and replace it.
Also, in MY experience, even using harsh cleaning agents and rubbing pretty hard will not cause a major issue - maybe a small blip during the cleaning, but it will settle back to normal just fine.

 

[simple girl]

It was eye-opening, depressingly so. There is nothing I enjoy that is safe to eat. I have a stand of dwarf Cavendish banana trees in my yard, which produce organic bananas that make the store kind taste like, well, nothing. And just a few bites of a small home-grown banana causes my reading to soar. Yes, even when paired with peanut butter.

As for the monitor itself, I haven't had much discomfort, but I hate how dirty the overpatch gets. It looks gross and calls attention to itself (one person actually asked me if I was wearing a nicotine patch!) I don't know how to keep it clean, since just rinsing with water does nothing, and using more force or a cleansing wipe could affect the device.

Agree, depressingly eye-opening. Wow, that is so sad you can't enjoy the fruit off of your own trees. I hear you about small amounts of certain things making your glucose soar. I am not a big fruit person, so giving up fruit isn't an issue for me, thankfully. However, I do love honey and brown sugar...even tiny amounts can cause me to spike. They are essentially pure sugar so there you go.

I also don't do well with white rice or potatoes. Thankfully, I can tolerate cauliflower rice (meh), and I love cauliflower mashed "potatoes". One surprising thing I've discovered is I can have 1/4 package of Trader Joe's mushroom ravioli. We have that with salmon and TJ's lemon arugula salad at least twice a week. It's such a decadent treat! We supplement it with roasted mushrooms so that makes it feel like a bigger side dish.

I had to give up my morning oatmeal and also a frozen croissant breakfast sandwich I really like. I hear you on the pairing not working. I tried having an egg before the oatmeal, stirring in peanut butter, etc. - nope. Not helpful.

Agree with you on how dirty the overpatch gets. Gross. At this point, since I have a menu of meals that seem to work for me, I generally only need to test new meals I'm trying out. So I just use the glucose monitor. I'll probably use the Stelo for when I go on my next vacation....but not sure...I'd rather not know in that situation!

 

[Amethyst]

Today I was working out on a leg machine, minding my own business, when a man about 60, a stranger to me, came over and said, "Can I ask you a question?" Inwardly sighing (questions from strangers in the gym are invariably personal) I just looked at him. "What's that on your arm?"

Now remember, I can't just walk away - I'm lying on a metal sled with a footrest that goes back and forth.

"Why do you ask?" I said.

"I just wanted to know. I figure it's for blood sugar or maybe administering something? Which is it?" I said, "It's a medical device." He said, "I know, I'm a retired nurse. Are you a brittle diabetic?" I mean, he would not go away. And he acted like I was being snooty by not discussing my personal issue with him. I told him I wasn't diabetic, and he said, "Then why do you have one?" I told him I didn't want to discuss it. He went away obviously miffed.

I want to stay on good terms with everybody, yet nowadays, it seems like the pushy people are the ones who decide what's correct behavior. They can interrupt and interrogate, and you are stuck-up if you don't go along.

 

[audreyh1]

Today I was working out on a leg machine, minding my own business, when a man about 60, a stranger to me, came over and said, "Can I ask you a question?" Inwardly sighing (questions from strangers in the gym are invariably personal) I just looked at him. "What's that on your arm?"

Now remember, I can't just walk away - I'm lying on a metal sled with a footrest that goes back and forth.

"Why do you ask?" I said.

"I just wanted to know. I figure it's for blood sugar or maybe administering something? Which is it?" I said, "It's a medical device." He said, "I know, I'm a retired nurse. Are you a brittle diabetic?" I mean, he would not go away. And he acted like I was being snooty by not discussing my personal issue with him. I told him I wasn't diabetic, and he said, "Then why do you have one?" I told him I didn't want to discuss it. He went away obviously miffed.

I want to stay on good terms with everybody, yet nowadays, it seems like the pushy people are the ones who decide what's correct behavior. They can interrupt and interrogate, and you are stuck-up if you don't go along.

Wow, what a disagreeable encounter!! This is clearly someone who doesn’t understand that it’s personal.

 

[timbervest]

It was eye-opening, depressingly so. There is nothing I enjoy that is safe to eat. I have a stand of dwarf Cavendish banana trees in my yard, which produce organic bananas that make the store kind taste like, well, nothing. And just a few bites of a small home-grown banana causes my reading to soar. Yes, even when paired with peanut butter.

I use a Stelo and have the same experience. However, it is less about the blood glucose spike and more about how quickly it comes down. I find that most carbs spike me but if it comes back down to normal (I find some exercise or physical activity helps) quickly that means the system is working.

 

[surprising]

I use a Stelo and have the same experience. However, it is less about the blood glucose spike and more about how quickly it comes down. I find that most carbs spike me but if it comes back down to normal (I find some exercise or physical activity helps) quickly that means the system is working.

Right, that's the insulin resistance factor. I've read 1-2 hours after the spike, it should return to normal. I just ordered a lingo as I suspect my insulin resistance is not good, but can't wait to see the data.

 

[Amethyst]

I haven't dared to eat anything carby since my January diagnosis. It does seem as if I return to baseline within 2 hours after a protein and vegetables meal with some milk (which contains carbohydrates). Faster, if I can go for a walk. I want to try eating some pizza or gelato and then walking around to see how my system handles it.

 

[Dalton]

Certainly, the level of your blood glucose at baseline and during spikes do matter. You don't want a higher than "normal" baseline and you don't want really high spikes (out of the recommended range). If you have a "normal" baseline, then yeah, it's not something you need to focus on, but that can change over time and depending on your diet, exercise, etc.

Blood glucose level rising and falling is part of how our bodies work. Make sure you don't fixate on not having any "spikes", they are normal, but too high and too often are not so good.

 

[surprising]

I've had a lingo for a day now and things don't look great so far. Three data points
1. Morning coffee + one serving of oatmeal w/ honey and blueberries spiked to 160 and took about 5 hours to get back to around 100.
2. Afternoon snack - one serving of smartfood popcorn spiked to 170 and took 2 hours to get back to 100.
3. Overnight it oscillates between 80-100.

I've read anything over 140 is not normal, and it should take a couple hours to go back to under 100. Should I be concerned?!

 

[badatmath]

I saw some medical doctors discussing this on another site and they were against the general non-diabetic public wearing them. They basically contended there should be more education on how to interpret the data as of course it would inevitably go up and down, but the thing I thought was interesting was they said you should confirm with a finger stick if you have a whacked reading as they are more accurate. Not a doctor, have no clue. Something you could check if you had access and interest.

 

[RetiredHappy]

I've had a lingo for a day now and things don't look great so far. Three data points
1. Morning coffee + one serving of oatmeal w/ honey and blueberries spiked to 160 and took about 5 hours to get back to around 100.
2. Afternoon snack - one serving of smartfood popcorn spiked to 170 and took 2 hours to get back to 100.
3. Overnight it oscillates between 80-100.

I've read anything over 140 is not normal, and it should take a couple hours to go back to under 100. Should I be concerned?!

You are probably pre-diabetic, anything over 140 at 2 hours after food is not normal. Honey is the same as sugar. Oatmeal is already carbohydrates heavy and sugar/honey and fruits should not be added to it. I use Fairlife milk (half the sugar of regular milk) for oatmeal and eat it "plain".

 

[surprising]

You are probably pre-diabetic, anything over 140 at 2 hours after food is not normal. Honey is the same as sugar. Oatmeal is already carbohydrates heavy and sugar/honey and fruits should not be added to it. I use Fairlife milk (half the sugar of regular milk) for oatmeal and eat it "plain".

Looking at the data I don't think I was over 140 after 2 hours. It initially spikes above and then goes below 140 after 30-60 minutes after eating but then takes awhile to get back under 100.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Looking at the data I don't think I was over 140 after 2 hours. It initially spikes above and then goes below 140 after 30-60 minutes after eating but then takes awhile to get back under 100.

Then you are probably fine, especially your numbers are between 80 to 100 while you are sleeping.

 

[schenbew]

I saw some medical doctors discussing this on another site and they were against the general non-diabetic public wearing them. They basically contended there should be more education on how to interpret the data as of course it would inevitably go up and down, but the thing I thought was interesting was they said you should confirm with a finger stick if you have a whacked reading as they are more accurate. Not a doctor, have no clue. Something you could check if you had access and interest.

I used the FreeStyle Libre 2 before and recently tried out the Stelo units. When I use a CGM, I always do a cross reference with a finger stick reading because my experience has been that each CGM, regardless of brand, tends to read a bit higher or lower than the readings from a finger stick. When I take a finger stick reading, I make a note in the app so I can go back to it and see if the current sensor tends to read high or low.

During my recent Stelo use, I found it would typically read 10-25 pts too high, though it was sometimes lower by 10-20 points. The accuracy of current CGMs will never be as high a finger stick since the CGM sensor is measuring the glucose level in the interstitial fluid of the skin, not the actual blood.

What the CGM IS great for is indicating what foods trigger glucose spikes for me. Similar to most posters on this thread, I cant routinely enjoy breads, rice, potatoes, or high carb foods. In fact, the Stelo helped me identify my glucose was spiking after eating plain Breakstone's 4% cottage cheese. Checked the ingredients and found Breakstone adds tapioca starch to their cottage cheese. I now avoid Breakstone's like the plague...not what I want in a cottage cheese!

 

[RetiredHappy]

I used the FreeStyle Libre 2 before and recently tried out the Stelo units. When I use a CGM, I always do a cross reference with a finger stick reading because my experience has been that each CGM, regardless of brand, tends to read a bit higher or lower than the readings from a finger stick. When I take a finger stick reading, I make a note in the app so I can go back to it and see if the current sensor tends to read high or low.

During my recent Stelo use, I found it would typically read 10-25 pts too high, though it was sometimes lower by 10-20 points. The accuracy of current CGMs will never be as high a finger stick since the CGM sensor is measuring the glucose level in the interstitial fluid of the skin, not the actual blood.

What the CGM IS great for is indicating what foods trigger glucose spikes for me. Similar to most posters on this thread, I cant routinely enjoy breads, rice, potatoes, or high carb foods. In fact, the Stelo helped me identify my glucose was spiking after eating plain Breakstone's 4% cottage cheese. Checked the ingredients and found Breakstone adds tapioca starch to their cottage cheese. I now avoid Breakstone's like the plague...not what I want in a cottage cheese!

There is also a 10 point variance within finger pricks. In other words, take 2 test strips at the same time, the 2 can read a 10 point difference and I have seen as much as 20 point difference. I would think that CGM is more accurate than finger pricks.

 

[ivinsfan]

I've had a lingo for a day now and things don't look great so far. Three data points
1. Morning coffee + one serving of oatmeal w/ honey and blueberries spiked to 160 and took about 5 hours to get back to around 100.
2. Afternoon snack - one serving of smartfood popcorn spiked to 170 and took 2 hours to get back to 100.
3. Overnight it oscillates between 80-100.

I've read anything over 140 is not normal, and it should take a couple hours to go back to under 100. Should I be concerned?!

Ditch the oatmeal/honey combo and the popcorn they both are heavy on the carbs and honey has carbs and sugar. Try having an egg or some whole milk plain greek yogurt instead.

 

[target2019]

Steel cut oats. Add protein. Add strawberry. https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/diet-nutrition/steel-cut-vs-rolled-oats

 

[simple girl]

I've had a lingo for a day now and things don't look great so far. Three data points
1. Morning coffee + one serving of oatmeal w/ honey and blueberries spiked to 160 and took about 5 hours to get back to around 100.
2. Afternoon snack - one serving of smartfood popcorn spiked to 170 and took 2 hours to get back to 100.
3. Overnight it oscillates between 80-100.

I've read anything over 140 is not normal, and it should take a couple hours to go back to under 100. Should I be concerned?!

I read that microscopic damage can occur over 140, but of course it depends on how long you stay over 140 and how often that happens every day. And, it takes many years of this happening repetitively before you may switch from pre-diabetic to diabetic. There is also some controversy over whether 140 is the upper number to use. YMMV.

I think that many doctors would say not to sweat going over 140 as long as you come back down to your baseline number within 2 hours of eating.

Personally, I try to limit the frequency with which I spike over 140, as I am trying to limit long-term damage and put myself into remission from pre-diabetes.

I've lost 5% of my body weight since reducing my carb intake, and now I am not spiking as high as I did before with the same number of carbs. I can see that I have improved my insulin response and sensitivity which is really encouraging. Still, I can't go nuts with my carb intake or I spike pretty significantly. I don't want to permanently burn out any more beta cells and end up having to go on medication.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I test my sugar daily; and in one year's time, I do not spend $150 for the kit and strips. These real time instruments are great for the suppliers but innovations can wipe out Medicare. Just because it can be done, does not make a better method. I can see a month on the monitor, doctor consultation, and patient adjust accordingly. If patients just followed the diet plan in the first place, A1C will follow and no need for medical gadgetry...imho

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Since we are tracking glucose level, I would like to point out that this is the best we civilians can do but falls way short of diagnosing pre-diabetes.

There is a ten year period before conventional screening identifies problems where the glucose level remains normal but only because the body is increasingly producing more insulin to control the glucose level.

Insulin is causing damage during this period of hyperinsulemia.

The way to test for this is to do an oral glucose tolerance test measuring fasting insulin and insulin at one hour intervals.

Dr. Joseph Kraft who developed this tested 15,000 people and only 2000 were normal. He went so far to say "any patient with coronary artery disease who does not have diabetes simp!y has not been diagnosed yet."

Dr. Kraft has a book. Ben Binkman, Dr.Ford Brewer are good you tube sources to learn more. Blink an has a book called "why we get sick".

Unfortunately it is very hard to find a doctor to order this test which requires being at the lab two or three hours.

My doctor said " I've never heard of that test. I would never order it. I would not know how to interpret the results."

 

[YellowSubmarine]

I took the test, after the second glucose reading, I went shopping and returned (rather than hang out in the waiting room). You can do something similar at home. Drink 16 ounces of sweet juice; measure sugar pre, 15 minutes after and two hours later. This is your baseline for future test. Within two hours your sugar should be below 200. You are monitoring your recovery from high sugar consumption. Lower the recovery number the better.

 

[surprising]

Ditch the oatmeal/honey combo and the popcorn they both are heavy on the carbs and honey has carbs and sugar. Try having an egg or some whole milk plain greek yogurt instead.

Right, I am experimenting with various foods while I have this thing for 2 weeks to get a better picture of what I should/shouldn't eat.
This morning, had 2 eggs with some cheese and glucose barely budged. I will also try steel cut oats as someone suggested. Last night had meat, lima beans, and broccoli for dinner and glucose barely budged, which was surprising since lima beans have a lot of carbs.

 

[yakers]

I took the test, after the second glucose reading, I went shopping and returned (rather than hang out in the waiting room). You can do something similar at home. Drink 16 ounces of sweet juice; measure sugar pre, 15 minutes after and two hours later. This is your baseline for future test. Within two hours your sugar should be below 200. You are monitoring your recovery from high sugar consumption. Lower the recovery number the better.

generally true but if one has been eating low carb/keto for a while then a )GTT/oral glucose tolerance test or equivalent may not be accurate.

 

[ivinsfan]

Right, I am experimenting with various foods while I have this thing for 2 weeks to get a better picture of what I should/shouldn't eat.
This morning, had 2 eggs with some cheese and glucose barely budged. I will also try steel cut oats as someone suggested. Last night had meat, lima beans, and broccoli for dinner and glucose barely budged, which was surprising since lima beans have a lot of carbs.

That's great, we were surprised to find out the whole milk plain yogurt has very little little to do with glucose levels rising but it's definitely an acquired taste. Most yogurt sold commercially is loaded with sweeteners. IMO oats are way overrated as to what they provide nutrition wise.