I've been doing research, but it's been very slow.

It seems the hidden cost in continuous blood glucose meters our supplies. One popular unit requires a sensor to be applied every 15 days but it turns out one month of sensors cost $30. That's $365 a year. It adds up slowly and sneakily.

Isn't there a meter that doesn't require constant supples. I mean a legitimate accurate meter that just uses laser light to measure your glucose levels and so your only real expense is the initial purchase. Again, I will be doing more research but after 45 minutes, I never really got my answer and so I thought I would try TexAgs who knows everything and get advice from a source I trust.

I may try to get a prescription for the meter but at this point, I don't even have a meter picked out. I guess a message through my Physician portal wouldn't be bad

I'll share anything that I find out.
TIA

What you are hoping to find does not yet exist, to my knowledge. They offer various one- or two-week options, but each has a cost. That being said, if you need it... you need it. The health benefits of this option over the traditional finger stick method (many times a day) are worth it.

All CGMs (and diagnostic tests in general) will require use of disposable supplies.
I worked for one of major CGM manufacturers for almost 20 years.
Prescription-based should be cheaper than OTC options though.

I use the Dexcom G6. It lasts 10 days, and with overpatches, it almost always stays on for that long (though sweat in the middle of summer can be challenging). Are you diabetic? If so, your Endo should be able to recommend one and prescribe one. If not, why would you want to wear one?

I use the Stelo CGM using HSA funds, which is an OTC monitor. My T2D isn't bad enough to warrant my doctor prescribing one that measures higher mg/dL as I have my A1c managed through a much better diet and exercise. I used a normal blood glucose monitor at first, but wanted more steady data.

I primarily use it to monitor meals / exercise and how they affect my glucose levels. It's a real eye opener what does and doesn't affect glucose levels. It allows me to hone in on my diet. My wife even tried one, whom isn't insulin resistant, and it was even telling in her dietary choices.

I wish they were cheaper and lasted longer because they have a great benefit if you actually do something with the data. The 15-day thing is annoying and I bet they can go longer. Maybe it's an issue of the sub-cutaneous nature of the sensor.

What are your goals with the CGM?

dave99ag said:

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I use the Stelo CGM using HSA funds, which is an OTC monitor. My T2D isn't bad enough to warrant my doctor prescribing one that measures higher mg/dL as I have my A1c managed through a much better diet and exercise. I used a normal blood glucose monitor at first, but wanted more steady data.

I primarily use it to monitor meals / exercise and how they affect my glucose levels. It's a real eye opener what does and doesn't affect glucose levels. It allows me to hone in on my diet. My wife even tried one, whom isn't insulin resistant, and it was even telling in her dietary choices.

I wish they were cheaper and lasted longer because they have a great benefit if you actually do something with the data. The 15-day thing is annoying and I bet they can go longer. Maybe it's an issue of the sub-cutaneous nature of the sensor.

What are your goals with the CGM?

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I'm always curious how much blood sugar movement there is in a non-diabetic individual. What kind of numbers were you seeing with her?

She was generally in the 70s - 90s. A spike for her would be like maybe 140 and then go back down below 100 fairly quickly. I sure don't see that if I have Chuy's!

I recently ordered a ketones monitor, and am going to see how easy / hard it is to get into ketosis and see how that correlates with my glucose levels. I have a fairly carb restricted diet now, but haven't gone down the deep end yet. Curious to see how my body reacts to ketosis and cycling / fueling while riding.

Got it, thanks. That is kind of what I expected. This is why I always wonder what the point is of wearing one if you are not diabetic or at risk of developing type 2. If you are a "normal" fit person, what good does a CGM do? It's not like you are going to get some insulin on the black market and take it after you eat some pizza.

I've seen CGM's used in endurance sports to monitor glucose levels for fueling purposes in training. It's emerging technology for sure and will only get better with time. It'll be fascinating when / if your Garmin or Apple Watch can measure glucose over the skin similar to pulse, etc.

How low did those individuals' blood sugar levels go?

Got prescribed a Freestyle Libre 3 (14 day sensor) by my Endo in 2022. It was a trade off for him putting me on Mounjaro. At first I think I was paying monthly for the sensors. I know for the at least the last year and half, maybe since the beginning of 2024, I haven't paid for sensors. All covered by insurance. The Libre 3+ started Aug of 2024, and is a 15 day sensor.

Casey Means has a company Levels.com that has a CGM that might be a good choice if you are just interested in monitoring glucose for health/fitness reasons. I have been considering trying one out.

EMY92 said:

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$30/month is a great deal.

The sensor I use is waaaayyyyy more than that, and it only lasts a week, a box of 5 is $725. I will be changing to a 15 day sensor after Christmas.

Don't forget, even with CGM, you'll still need to check with a meter to make sure that the sensor is accurate.

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$30/month...I can only imagine. When I order sensors and a transmitter, my order runs me nearly $1500. Each sensor only lasts 10 days and it runs me $100 every 10 days. $30/month? Sign me up for that.

dave99ag said:

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I've seen CGM's used in endurance sports to monitor glucose levels for fueling purposes in training. It's emerging technology for sure and will only get better with time. It'll be fascinating when / if your Garmin or Apple Watch can measure glucose over the skin similar to pulse, etc.

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A couple years ago, I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic (part of what prompted me to lose 60 pounds) and I got a CGM. Naturally, I paired it with my Garmin to see what the fuss was about. I found absolutely nothing useful about it on the bike, whether doing an interval session or doing 4-5 hour rides. My blood glucose tended to rise during exercise, not dip like I expected (whether I rode fasted or eating during the ride). I could feel a "bonk" before I ever got the GCM to show it was crashing.

The nail in the coffin for using the GCM was that after 4-6 days, the alarm would go off in the middle of the night (always around 3am) that my blood sugar was below 50. Once, it even went below 30. Obviously, that wasn't accurate, so I got to the point that I just didn't trust it. And the wife was livid about being woken at that time to an emergency alarm.

I went back to normal testing, learned my patterns, avoided carbs most of the time, and lost a bunch of weight. Now, I'm still a little high on fasting glucose, but A1C is normal somehow.

While I get and have experienced what you are saying, they have vastly improved in the last few years.

JJWAGGIE said:

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While I get and have experienced what you are saying, they have vastly improved in the last few years.

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I stopped using it in early 2024, so it wasn't THAT long ago. It's also very probable that mine was pretty basic, since insurance paid for it. Clearly, it had reliability issues.

I lot of the patients I work with are switching to Eversense 365 and really like it compared to Dexcom or Libre

I just purchase Lingo, from Abbott. It's a 14 day sensor that has been around for over a year as an OTC version of the Libre, but they just developed the Android app for it. With discount codes and subscription of 2 sensors a month, plus tax/shipping it comes out to about $40/sensor. I will cancel the subscription after this first month.

I do not have diabetes, but am just a health and fitness nerd. It is very interesting seeing how your body reacts to different foods, and sometimes the same carbs with a little fat added in will result in a lower glucose spike. Or, I ate a single small chocolate chip cookie yesterday, and had a huge spike. But eating way more carbs in my dinner of red beans and rice with ground beef didn't come close to the same spike.

Another really interesting things is that sometimes I get really bad sleep and wake up randomly in the night. I have only had this for a few days, but I've noticed that those wake up episodes correlate with a sudden spike in my blood glucose.

I am going to try doing an extended fast on it as well and see what happens, and what symptoms correlate to low blood sugar.

I actually haven't compared it to a finger stick glucose, but based on my A1C, I think it's running on average 5-10 points lower than it should be. But the main reason I want it is to see the trend with foods and activity. Also, remember that it measures glucose in the subcutaneous tissue, not blood glucose. So it'll lag behind blood glucose by 10-30 minutes.

Regarding the laser tech, there are plenty of labs that are working on this. But they've been working on it for the past 15-20 years as far as I know. But the key to staying in business is creating a demand for resupply/consumable items. I'm sure most companies will find a way to continue selling you something, even if they could create that.