{"id":37578,"date":"2015-02-10T05:46:27","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T10:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:41:43","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:41:43","slug":"diabetes-paranoia-am-i-too-dependent-on-my-cgm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578","title":{"rendered":"Diabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lunchtime is probably regarded as the most coveted part of my day at work. Whenever 12 o\u2019clock rolls around, I excitedly jump out of my chair and head over to the office refrigerator to snag my lunch bag, filled with delicious (and usually nutritious) goodies that I packed for myself the night before.<\/p>\n

This glorious span of time would be impeccable if it weren\u2019t for the fact that I pretty much have to inhale my food each day. This is because I work as a client services associate, meaning that I spend the vast majority of my workday on the phone. I also have a designated one-hour break at 2 in the afternoon each day, leaving me with two choices: either starve myself until 2 o\u2019clock, thereby allowing my break and my lunch to peacefully coexist, or quell my hunger with a hasty lunch at noon leaving me free to answer phone calls as they are coming in. In other words, I rush to eat because I worry about getting stuck on a long phone call and the possibility of my blood sugar dropping too low due to my lunchtime bolus\/not being able to eat right after administering said bolus.<\/p>\n

With all that in mind, lunch can be a little more stressful than I\u2019d like it to be \u2013 and it was only aggravated by my buzzing CGM this past Friday.<\/p>\n

\"BG<\/a><\/p>\n

I had just tested and was pleased to see 83 come up on my meter. I input the number and used my PDM to give myself my bolus (it still feels weird to say that \u2013 I guess I\u2019m not used to pumping language yet!). Not two minutes and two bites of my lunch after this did I hear three concise buzzes emitting from my CGM. The screen reported I was 77 and dropping.<\/p>\n

The next several minutes consisted of me devouring my meal and popping a couple of glucose tablets to expedite the rate at which my blood sugar would rise to a more stable level. I think my panic stemmed from the fact that I was dropping fairly fast just after giving myself more insulin. But approximately 20 minutes later, I was doing much better, as my CGM showed that I was starting to come up a bit post-meal.<\/p>\n

However, this little incident made me wonder: should I have reacted so strongly? It wasn\u2019t like I was feeling the whole slew of low symptoms, I only felt hungry, which is normal because breakfast had been hours ago. Maybe if I had just ignored the CGM, I wouldn\u2019t have been so concerned about going super low. In theory, if I hadn\u2019t been wearing it, I would have eaten my lunch knowing that my insulin would kick in about an hour after I gave it to myself. I wouldn\u2019t have been anxious for that period of time, and I probably wouldn\u2019t have felt the urge to give myself a boost with two glucose tablets. In turn, maybe I would have had a less noticeable spike after lunch and maintained a more stable, in-range blood sugar.<\/p>\n

While all this speculation doesn\u2019t do much for me now, it does beg the question of whether or not I\u2019m overly dependent on my CGM\u2019s reports. The rational part of me knows to use it as a mere guide, and I never, ever use it to calculate boluses. But I do think that I rely far too much on those trend arrows. Again, I know very well that there is a delay in the information the CGM generates, but I can\u2019t help but succumb to paranoia whenever any \u201cextreme\u201d readings come up on the screen.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m wondering now that I\u2019m on the pump and things are going (mostly) well, perhaps I should take a break from the CGM and see how I fare with one less device. After all, I spent much of my life with a sole machine \u2013 my meter \u2013 dictating how I treated my diabetes. I did a good job then, so why not now?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":37580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[663],"yoast_head":"\nDiabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I had just tested and was pleased to see 83 come up on my meter. Not two minutes and two bites of my lunch after this did I hear my CGM report I was 77 and dropping.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly Johannes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578\",\"name\":\"Diabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/77-and-dropping-oh-joy-home.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-10T10:46:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-27T20:41:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/623ae95e59042a0181d7249ae80f9e18\"},\"description\":\"I had just tested and was pleased to see 83 come up on my meter. Not two minutes and two bites of my lunch after this did I hear my CGM report I was 77 and dropping.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/77-and-dropping-oh-joy-home.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/77-and-dropping-oh-joy-home.jpeg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"77 and dropping, oh joy\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Diabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/623ae95e59042a0181d7249ae80f9e18\",\"name\":\"Molly Johannes\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f996a9325de8e57234e2c6d9727bd93d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f996a9325de8e57234e2c6d9727bd93d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Molly Johannes\"},\"description\":\"Molly Johannes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997 at the age of four. She controls her diabetes with an OmniPod insulin pump, Dexcom continuous glucose monitor, and daily exercise. Molly graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in December 2014 with a degree in English. Currently, she works fulltime as an associate editor for a financial company. In her spare time, Molly enjoys spending time with her loved ones, reading books, watching movies, and playing games. She\u2019s an avid fan of Disney, dark chocolate, wine, Harry Potter, and fun times. While Molly does not know a life without diabetes, she is determined to defy the daily obstacles the disease presents.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=23\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?","description":"I had just tested and was pleased to see 83 come up on my meter. Not two minutes and two bites of my lunch after this did I hear my CGM report I was 77 and dropping.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Molly Johannes","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578","name":"Diabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/77-and-dropping-oh-joy-home.jpeg","datePublished":"2015-02-10T10:46:27+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-27T20:41:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/623ae95e59042a0181d7249ae80f9e18"},"description":"I had just tested and was pleased to see 83 come up on my meter. Not two minutes and two bites of my lunch after this did I hear my CGM report I was 77 and dropping.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/77-and-dropping-oh-joy-home.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/77-and-dropping-oh-joy-home.jpeg","width":600,"height":400,"caption":"77 and dropping, oh joy"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=37578#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diabetes Paranoia, Am I Too Dependent on my CGM?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/623ae95e59042a0181d7249ae80f9e18","name":"Molly Johannes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f996a9325de8e57234e2c6d9727bd93d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f996a9325de8e57234e2c6d9727bd93d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Molly Johannes"},"description":"Molly Johannes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1997 at the age of four. She controls her diabetes with an OmniPod insulin pump, Dexcom continuous glucose monitor, and daily exercise. Molly graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in December 2014 with a degree in English. Currently, she works fulltime as an associate editor for a financial company. In her spare time, Molly enjoys spending time with her loved ones, reading books, watching movies, and playing games. She\u2019s an avid fan of Disney, dark chocolate, wine, Harry Potter, and fun times. While Molly does not know a life without diabetes, she is determined to defy the daily obstacles the disease presents.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=23"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}