Monitoring Your Diabetes Care At Home
Wearable technology that monitors glucose levels and reports medical data to patients and their physicians has transformed care for patients with Type 1 diabetes.
“For the last five years, technology such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pumps has grown toofferpatients so much more control over their diabetes management,”says TiffanyYeh, MD,assistant professor of clinical medicine and assistant attending physician atNewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
“AndCOVID-19 has pushed this even more into the spotlight,”Dr.Yehsays,referringto theconvenience of obtaining important medical data for telemedicine andVideoVisits.”
Thesesystemsallowpatients to check their blood-sugar levels 24/7, Dr.Yehexplains,indicatingrising and fallingglucose,ultimatelyenablingpatients tomake decisions about how to adjust their insulin intake.
“Insulin pumpshave been shown todecrease the rates ofand,” Dr.Yehsays.“I can see patterns throughout the day and night and my patients get immediate feedback.”
Dr.Yehsays that,placed inside the body to deliver insulin in response to remote-control commands from the user,have become more personalized in the last five years.
“The devices contain insulin and can give patients a single long-acting doseanda,” she explains, referring toashort-acting doseof insulin that patients take to cover an expected rise in blood glucose, often related to a meal or snack.“This is a much easier way to for patients to get insulin than injections, and some of the pumpshave bolus calculators or mini collection boluses to bring down high blood sugar and help avoid user error.”
Dr.Yehalso discussed emerging “closed loop pumps”—not yet FDA-approved—which communicate between the continuous glucose monitors and adjust insulin dosing based on the numbers and trends on the CGM.This systemis a “hybrid,”she explains,because thepatient still needs to be actively involved.
“I tell patients that it doesn’t matter how they’re hacking their diabetes devices—as long as they know and understand what their blood sugar is doing,andhow to fix a high or low so they don’t get into trouble,that’s what matters,” she says.“This can help give them gain the ultimate management over their lives and their day-to-day care.”