25
LIVING
Continuity
Then there's the continuous glucose
monitoring (CGM) sensor. "Finding
out about CGM really happened
for me after I started an Instagram
account a few years ago," says Fox.
"I had heard of sensors but as I was
still a student I couldn't really afford
them at that stage. Once I started
working, I realised doing fingerpricking wasn't
quite as convenient
as having a sensor on-board. I also
thought it was worth the cost as I
was doing a lot of driving. I weighed
up the options and then, when the
Dexcom G6 launched, I signed up. I
find the accuracy absolutely spot-on
for me, and do far fewer fingerprick
tests for reassurance now. I tend to
know when I'm low, but I did want
more information on how my blood
glucose control was going. I found
that if I was in a lesson, it wasn't
necessarily that easy to scan a sensor
to get my readings."
There's also another massive
advantage, which is that it certainly
saves on sore fingers when playing
instruments. Says Fox, "That was
never much fun! I now have Dexcom
set up on my watch, so I only need
to glance at my wrist. That's really
Lucy Fox (and band members).
useful when you have a classroom of
children to teach. I feel that wearing
Dexcom has improved my attitude
towards my diabetes and that I can
control it better. The customisable
alarms are great - I know that my
time and range (TIR) has definitely
improved, compared to previous
methods of tracking and dosing.
There is no faffing about to do a test,
no need to expose a site for injection.
With the pump I just have to pop it
out of my pocket to give myself a
bolus, so I have no problems with
micro-bolusing."
Access
Using an insulin pump and a CGM
has let Fox enter the world of work
on her terms. She says, "In terms
of quality of life, it's made a huge
impact. I literally don't know how
I could do my job if I still had to
manage my diabetes the way I did
'in the old days', especially with the
driving. Having my blood glucose
levels literally visible on my wrist
makes me feel safe. Seeing the trend
- up or down - also helps. It's been
fantastic for me for aiding me to
improve my control. It's been like
a safety net, which gives me the
confidence to run a little lower, and
to try to achieve the best control I
can."
One of the options available
with most CGM systems now, is to
not only send data to healthcare
professionals but parents, partners or
carers are able to access the data too,
if the user wishes. Says Fox, "Both my
partner and my mother follow me on
the Dexcom follow app, and that too
Sadly, due to
the pandemic, I
have not had the
chance to perform
much, but I have
done an awful lot
of teaching!