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On average, how many test strips do you currently use in a day?
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3-4 with Medtronic CGM because of the stupid calibration cycle. Would use more if I could get the script for it since the CGM isn’t always all that accurate.
39% are saying they are wearing a CGM, and I am one of them. I only test when I think the CGM is not accurate towards the end of the 14 day cycle. Often the sensor just wears out and is inaccurate before 14 days or blood appears on the sensor and it doesn’t read properly.
my Libre 14 day can be inaccurate overnight and first thing in the morning. using more strips to double check lately than I ever thought I would.
Depends on the day. I wear a Dexcom but always verify morning and before bedtime. If I’m sick etc or BSs are unstable, I test more frequently.
Use a Dexcom 6. Rarely if ever have to do a finger stick as my readings are always in line with my symptoms.
Don’t use any some days, but may go through a lot with a new sensor or an 8 day + sensor.
Since the Dexcom G6 us okay for dosing, I answered 1-2. I was a 15-20x a day person prior to being able to dose from my CGM. An expensive habit indeed – can’t use the meter covered by my health plan shown to read higher than actual for people who are anemic – meaning I was correcting high bg’s I was experiencing and ignoring lows or pending lows when I was alerted). If my symptoms don’t seem to match, I will do a fingerstick with the Contour Next (paid for out of pocket – but considered the most accurate).
I use 0 to 1 a day with my G6. Love it and so do my finger tips!
Dex 6, sometimes 1 in 10 days, sometimes 0
I chose 5. I have a Medtronic pump/CGM and I’m forced to calibrate a minimum of 2x a day for most days, more on the first. Because the timing of 2x daily might mean I’d have to wake up early one morning if I don’t want to I generally calibrate 3x daily. On the first day I can test (but not calibrate every time) up to 12 times because of how bad the sensor can be in the beginning. Then there are the random times it demands a BG/calibration for no reason. I chose 5-6 because over the course of a month that’s probably close.
Also a Dexcom G6 user, so unless I look at it and think it can’t be right, I don’t test. I will test on the first reading of a new one to make sure it’s on track sometimes. I bought a CVS meter for backup. The test strips are relatively cheap and seem to be accurate, based on the G6.
3 to 4. One per meal plus before bed. Usually before snacks too. I have the Medtronic 670G system so I don’t have to test more than every 12 hours or so, but even if I had a Dexcom cgm I would still test before boluses/meals or if I have high or low alarms.
I chose 1 to 2 as an average, but using the Dex G6 I can go many days without needing to check. If I doubt a low alarm I’ll test with my Contour One meter. Most of the time the results confirm the CGM reading and I haven’t felt any symptoms. I have found that as the CGM transmitter nears replacement the reading aren’t as accurate and will verify with a test before taking a correction bolus.
0-2 is really the answer. I only test when I think Dex 6 might be significantly off. Many/most days it is 0. Day 1 of Dex can still be difficult but not always.
Hardly ever – once in awhile I use a test strip with a Contour Next meter to verify BG during Dexcom G6 warm-up.
Only if I’m high which hardly ever happens or extremely low. My Dexcom G6 has proven to be extremely reliable for me. 👍👍
“other” needs to be an option. Although I’m in Dexcom, I use steroids when I feel the reading is out of range, when the sensor is wonky (one can tell), during warm-up, whenever my DAD alerts. It can be 0 and up to 8 times a day.
Because I use the Dexcom G6 CGM, I do not need to test daily (and Medicare will not cover ANY test strips). However, every 10 days when I change the sensor, I sometimes test 1-2 times with a strip during the sensor warm up period. And every few months I occasionally check if I think the CGM reading feels off. (I think my bg meter has been at odds with the CGM only once over all the years, though I no longer remember when or the reason, but I like the option of being able to check if I feel a check is warranted.)
Dexcom G6, so 0. Once in awhile I might test if I want to eat during warmup session, but otherwise I just let it do its thing and it tells the pump what to do. Love it! And I don’t think about my diabetes much. Just when I’m going to eat, exercise or change a pump site. It has been very freeing!
I also use a G6 (I was happy with the G5 but forced to switch when they discontinued it). I have found it useful to test at least once a day, and I use at least two strips to be sure the strip reading is accurate. Although the G6 is generally within 10% or so, sometimes it is a bit more off, and sometimes spot on. The big problem is that although the new applicator (which is a HUGE waste of plastic) works nicely and so far has been painless, I’ve found that it has been much more likely to cause bleeding, and that bleeding adversely affects readings (with several drop outs). Maybe this is just a fluke, but I never had such a bleeding problem with the G5 sensor applicator — it has caused me to stop using my arms as a convenient sensor site (which the instructions do not mention — they only mention the front belly).
4 or more a day even though I am also on the G6. I don’t fully trust the G6 readings as they are frequently wildly different than my meter… and I do _everything_ that is recommended to get good readings.
As an example, this morning, my G6 said my blood was 67. I tested with my meter and it said 214.
I had this same sort of “bad” data at the beginning of the month.
So, there’s no way I would trust the G6 to give me accurate data. I always test against it for meals and corrections, and lows, etc.
These vast differences in data are also frustrating because I have hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia unawareness… so, “picking one” as accurate is basically like throwing dice to make diabetes decisions.
Zero with G6. However . . . . . . I still buy and purchase with my own money (in spite of excellent insurance!!!) bottles of test strips for down times, equipment failure, being away from home, etc. etc. for ☂☂☂
Continue to test very frequently. G6 is fairly accurate but still wrong a lot. Almost never bolus without finger stick. Omnipod meter can also be very inaccurate. When the two differ by too much I test many times until the readings start to become consistent. Sometimes I have to calibrate the Dexcom.
I’m using a Tandem TSlim X2 pump and Dexcom G6 CGM. Therefore, I only test with a meter if my symptoms do not match the Sensor or if my Sensor says I’m rising/falling more rapidly than is normal. I choose 1-2 but it is really more like 3 a week if my BGs are up and down. Some weeks I don’t test at all.
Twice a week I calibrate my pump cgm. I use 8 strips a month unless something is going on and I feel the need to te st more often for pump verification.