User guide

real-life stories of glucose sensor use
real-life stories of glucose sensor use
3736
Night and day
Gary has been using the MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time System. He complains of night sweats, but
without any LOW GLUCOSE alarms. His wife woke him one night to perform a ngerstick, which
identied a low glucose.
His educator suggested that he adjust his LOW GLUCOSE alarm a little higher so he would be given an
earlier warning. They also recommended that he check his 24-hour graph to look at his trends on a
regular basis.
CAL ERROR Alarm
It was the end of a busy morning when Lisa came by Debbie’s oce and suggested they go to lunch.
One hour later, Debbie returned from lunch and realised that she had given a bolus for the food
but had not done a ngerstick. After quickly checking her ngerstick BG level and using this for
calibration, she settled back to the pile of work on her desk.
Fifteen minutes later, Debbie noticed a CAL ERROR alarm on her insulin pump. She checked her
3-hour graph to see what her sensor glucose was showing. She saw that the graph line was going up
fairly steeply with 1 trend arrow next to the glucose number.
What should she do now?
a) Calibrate with another ngerstick
b) Change her glucose sensor
c) Do nothing - it will settle on its own
d) Clear the calibration alarm (ESC, ACT). Wait 30 to 60 minutes before entering a
ngerstick BG for calibration
Debbie correctly chose:
d) Clear the calibration alarm and wait 30 to 60 minutes before entering a
ngerstick BG for calibration
By this time, her insulin bolus had started to work. And her glucose levels were no longer changing
quickly. This time, the calibration worked just ne. Debbie got no more CAL ERROR alarms.
So in future, what should she do?
• If she forgets to calibrate before eating and tries to calibrate after eating, she
should check her 3-hour graph for any rapid rises or trend arrows.
• Because she tried to calibrate after eating, the gap between her meter BG reading
and her sensor glucose reading was too great for it to be a valid calibration.
• Calibrating before meals or bedtime when glucose levels are fairly stable is the
best course of action.
• The sensor glucose levels were a little behind her ngerstick BG levels. This
dierence led to the CAL ERROR alarm.
The alarms are sometimes annoying, but Debbie knows how important they are. They are a big part of
helping her manage her diabetes safely.
Important Safety Notes
Keep in mind that you need to do a ngerstick BG check before treating a high or low glucose level,
and you must use that BG value to make any treatment changes, including an insulin dose. The BG
result you get is used to gure out how much insulin you need. This ngerstick may need to be done
when your levels are quickly changing.
Any treatment changes in this booklet should not be taken as advice or guidelines. They are only
examples that show how the system can be used. Always check with your healthcare provider before
making any changes in your treatment.
MiniLink Transmitter
• The transmitter contains small parts that may pose a choking hazard for young
children.
• Remove occlusive dressing if irritation or reaction to the tape develops.
• Disconnect the transmitter from the glucose sensor if traveling on an aircraft and
if interfering with another transmitting device.
Glucose Sensor
The glucose sensor may create special needs regarding your medical conditions or medications.
Please discuss these conditions and medications with your healthcare provider before using the
sensor.
Bleeding, swelling, irritation, and or infection at the insertion site are possible risks associated with
insertion of the sensor and sometimes result from improper insertion and maintenance of insertion
site.