๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐’๐ข ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐: “I donโt have diabetes, but I wore a glucose monitor for six weeks. Hereโs what I learned about food (and anxiety),” by Meg Tirrell (CNN Health)
CNN Health reporter, Meg Tirrell, shares her experience wearing an OTC CGM. As the title reveals she doesn’t have diabetes and, as far as I can tell, has no particular understanding of the how or why of managing glucose levels or diabetes.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐.
I say fooling around because she didn’t appear to have a plan for using the CGM. Put the sensor on, load the app, and see what happens. That seemed to be it.
Neither did she seem to have an understanding of what to look for in her glucose readings. The app, instead of reporting her glucose levels in mg/dL as is standard, gave her a daily target count.
Tirrell found herself trying to keep count “as low as possible.” She admitted to worrying about whatever she chose to eat causing her glucose levels “spike.”
In the first week or so she lost 3 pounds and quickly dismissed it as a blip due to being “too nervous to eat normally.”
She also mentioned “trying to figure out how to please my CGM.”
๐๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐.
When Tirrell did review her readings with Dr. Jody Dushay, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, they told her “Your values are completely normal.” The readings fell within a “typical healthy glucose range”(70-140 mg/dL). Dushay went on to say “What looks like ‘spikes’ are perfectly fine excursions with the normal range.”
I hope Tirrell found this reassuring. But what about the people whose glucose readings aren’t in the typically healthy range?
๐๐ฟ. ๐ก๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ, ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐ป ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐’๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ, ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฑ: “๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ’๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ [๐ฐ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐] ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ” ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐.
Not every body responds the same to the same foods. Heck, even the same person’s body will respond differently one time to the next. No one knows at what point a standard glucose response crosses into concerning territory.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ด๐น๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐? ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ?
Originally published on LinkedIn.