managing diabetes while playing competitive sports

Marissa is 11 years old, diagnosed 4 yrs. ago, we have the omnipod and are using a ipro CGM for only 72 hours to get a snapshot of her BG. I saw your recent post with the CGM. Did your Endo suggest this to you or did you have to pursue this? My endo said we had to do this 72 hour trial before being approved to use a CGM and she said that CGMs are not really approved for use by children. This has opened up a whole new advantage for my daughter. Most days we treat her ("low") if is she is in the 90's but are not really sure she is on the way down or just coasting. The CGM would provide so much more info on how her BG reacts to everything (exercise, stress, different types of food, etc. etc.) Also, thank you for blog, this brings so much support and knowledge to those who read this. Any thoughts on the CGM thing is appreciated, please email if you can. Thanks, Trish

Hello, Trish!

Arden completed a 7 day blind CGM study (http://www.ardensday.com/main/2010/5/4/what-is-a-cgm.html) which allowed us and our insurance provider to see that Arden should be wearing a CGM. This sounds exactly like what your endo is suggesting.

CGM aren't FDA approved for children of some ages but that doesn't mean that your doctor can't prescribe them or that your insurance won't cover it. You'll just be using the device 'off label' which is a pharmaceutical term meaning that the device or medication wasn't initially approved for your specific use. However, many devices and medications are prescribed by doctors for other or off label uses - it is a common practice. Your endo sounds like they know how to navigate you through the system.

I think that you'll benefit greatly from Marissa using a (I'd suggest DexCom) CGM in all of the ways that you are imagining and a few that you'll learn about as you move forward. Thank you so much for your kind words about the site!

Best,

We used dexcom when my son was five. He is now 8. We had more issues with recalibration. At that time they were talking about a recall. Have they improved? I assume from seeing your recommendation they have.

Hi Laura,

Thanks for writing! Arden has only ever used the DexCom 7+ and it has been an amazing addition to her care. She wears the sensors on her hip and the CGM around her waist, perhaps we experience a handful of issue in a year. It has a great success rate for us and she wears it every day!

Hope this helps,
Scott