Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Taking MySentry For A Test Drive


I am surely behind on discussing this.  Like all of the cool kids, most of you have already used or at the least heard about Medtronic's MySentry.



We are borrowing one for a short time to see how it works for our family, most especially, our teenager that loves to stay up and sleep in until noon on the weekends.




Not having used it for very long, I am not overly qualified to give raw data regarding accuracy or technicalities.  I can only speak about lifestyle and really, just our lifestyle of living with two girls that also live with t1d.  

First thing we noticed is that this baby is easy!  The set-up? Open box, plug, sync and play.  

Literally, two minutes after walking into our front door, oldest daughter spied the box and immediately had it up and running.  I know she is technology maven, but it was so simple, I am certain anyone could do this.  Any by anyone, I mean me.





After marveling at her bg number - because this was a real school day number - totally amazing!, we found ourselves noticing some of the other cool features.  The length of time on her Enlite sensor, the amount of insulin in her pump and the life of her battery.  Super fun to see.

As a parent, it was also great to once again watch the blood sugar without pestering my oldest daughter.  Her younger sister is wearing the Dexcom and I often hold the receiver while she plays.  With the Medtronic 530g, much of the daily data is in my oldest daughter's hands and I am unable to see what is happening unless I sneak a peek.  This solves that issue.  In fact, we set the My Sentry next to the t.v. and had fun viewing her trends as we watched a movie.  The little sister Dexcom was placed alongside, so 'Dexie' didn't feel left out.  Yes, we are weird family.

The alarm is also loud.  Like L-O-U-D!  When signal was lost, the MySentry let us know immediately.  Even our cat stopped and took notice.  Having that feature in the middle of the night would be comforting.  As this is about the size of an iPad, taking it along to a sleepover would be no big deal.  

Would I purchase one? It is so early in our learning, that I honestly could not say.  Insurance coverage has been approved in some cases.  That would be a factor in our decision, especially with two children that require twice the amount of medical supplies.  

My advice is to give it a try and see if it works for your lifestyle.  If you do or have tried My Sentry already, drop a comment and let me know your thoughts.  I would love to hear your feedback.






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