I am Christel from Diabetes Strong
and this video will be focusing on the Dexcom and the Freestyle Libre CGMs
and some of the reasons why you might choose one system over the other
we'll also touch upon some, maybe surprising,
differences between those two systems
if you've been following my channel for a little while
you know that I use the Dexcom G6 CGM
sits right here, but I also did a comparison with the Freestyle Libre sensor
if you want to check that out I’ll leave a link to that up here
but ultimately, after trying both systems, I decided to stick with the Dexcom
I’m not the only one from the diabetes community
who chooses the Dexcom over the Libre, that's not uncommon,
and it's not surprising at all
However, when I saw that Tom who runs the YouTube channel, Type One Talks,
had switched from Libre to Dexcom back in 2021 I was somewhat surprised
I invited him on my channel today, so what I’ll be asking him about is,
why did he make this switch from Libre to Dexcom,
why now, and does he have any regrets
hey Christel, thanks so much for having me on your channel
I’m super excited to be here my name is Tom, I was diagnosed 30 years ago,
or more than 30 years ago actually, when I was 3 years old
and when I was 35 years old, believe me or not, I actually started a YouTube channel
trying to help people to manage their blood sugars
thank you Tom, I’m super excited to have you here, so let's just dive right in
so the first thing that I think,
I and a lot of the other viewers have been wondering about is,
how long did you actually wear the Libre sensor for
and why did you choose to make the switch to Dexcom
I used Freestyle Libre for over 3 years it was my first CGM
and it was the one that taught me how much more information I can get
about my blood sugar levels 24/7, basically, when I use CGM
compared to the old school finger pricking
so Freestyle Libre, will always be in my heart, because it improved the quality of
my life with diabetes so much
if some of your viewers also watch my YouTube channel they probably know
that over the past 3 years, I tried many different CGM solutions that are out there,
Libre 1, Libre 2, Dexcom G6, and various off-label DIY solutions
I've spent a lot of time comparing different systems
and honestly, each system has its pros and cons
I am obsessed by blood sugar management and Continuous Glucose Monitoring,
as you probably can tell by now
now finally I’m getting to the answer to your question, I didn't forget
the reason why I choose Dexcom G6 over anything else on the market right now
is that I can use it with my Tandem T-Slim X2 insulin pump, as part of a closed-loop
solution for insulin delivery
the algorithm behind this solution is called Control IQ and Control IQ receives the
information from my Dexcom G6 and tells my insulin pump how to adjust the insulin
delivery to keep my blood sugar in the ideal range
it still requires my involvement, don't get me wrong, it's not fully automated
but it takes a lot of decision making a lot of stress out of my plate
thank you for sharing that Tom,
I know a lot of others who really love that Tandem/Dexcom combination,
so it makes a lot of sense that you made that switch so thinking back,
was there anything that surprised you when you switched to Dexcom,
good or bad?
well one thing that surprised me negatively about Dexcom G6
was how inaccurate Dexcom G6 for me on day one,
after I apply a new Dexcom G6 sensor, for a first 6 to 8 hours
I get extremely low glucose readings much lower than the readings actually are
when I check with the glucometer and so this first 6 to 8 hours
sometimes even longer, basically the first day, I usually tell to other people
the system has not been very accurate for me and I cannot fully rely on it
but to be fair, after these first few hours, the readings usually normalize
and are actually extremely accurate when I compare them to my glycometer readings
and as you can imagine it is key to have accurate inputs from your CGM
if you are on a closed-loop solution if your pump is automatically adjusting
the amount of insulin it’s giving you based on that data from the CGM
you really need an accurate CGM
so what would you say are the main differences between the two systems
that people should know?
differences between a Freestyle Libre and Dexcom, well this is a tricky question
because there are so many different versions of these two solutions out there
we have Libre 1 in some countries, in most countries, we already have Libre 2
and in Germany, they even have Libre 3, so three different generations of Freestyle
Libre with Dexcom, Dexcom G6 is the version that's used in most countries,
but some of the countries are still on G5 and not all these versions are the same
so it is a bit tricky to compare, there are so many little differences between these
individual versions of these systems that we could talk about here for a long time
but I will really focus on these two principles, because I think they help to
set the stage, the first point I want to highlight is the design of the actual sensor
Freestyle Libre is typically smaller and less bulky than Dexcom,
no matter what version you have
and it is a little bit better looking, at least in my opinion
when I compare Libre 3 with Dexcom G6,
you can see clear difference in size and Dexcom is just a bulkier device,
and not so good looking, at least for the versions that are out there right now
Freestyle Libre is also a lot faster and easier to apply and to remove
compared to Dexcom so if someone is looking for an easy, good looking,
grab-and-go solution,
Freestyle Libre is a clear winner in my opinion
on the other hand, Dexcom G6 has all these little extras,
like optional calibrations of the sensor readings to the glucometer,
automated transfers of the data from the sensor to your receiving device,
and as I was talking about before
it integrates with some of the automated insulin delivery solutions like Control IQ
Freestyle Libre doesn't do that yet, and so Dexcom is really more advanced
with these special features now the second difference, or the
second principle, I want to talk about is access
now you might not know this,
but 4 million people in the world are using Freestyle Libre
only 1 million of people is using Dexcom,
and I’m just giving some approximate numbers right now
but you might think, why is that? why so many more people are using Freestyle
Libre compared to Dexcom,
if Dexcom has all the special features, I talked about before, well it's simple,
Freestyle Libre is just available in a lot more countries
I’m in Brazil right now, and you cannot buy Dexcom in this country
there is no distribution network in Brazil for Dexcom
you can get Freestyle Libre, but not Dexcom, so not only Brazil but other
countries are in the similar spot they cannot just get to Dexcom
because it doesn't exist in their country it's not distributed there
speaking of access, another thing to touch on is price,
because Dexcom is typically a lot more expensive than Libre
and so if you don't have a good insurance plan that covers your CGMs fully
no matter which one it is and you might need to pay for it from your own pocket
then you might go for Libre because it's a lot cheaper
so to sum up, if someone is obsessed by blood sugar monitoring
and blood sugar management, like me,
they will probably go for Dexcom or Dexcom G6
if someone is looking for the best value for money it might be Freestyle Libre for them
so these are the two principles, how these sensors differ,
but as I said, there are so many little things we could talk about
comparing the individual versions of these sensors
Tom, last question from me. Would you ever switch back to the Libre?
yes, Christel, I would totally switch back to Freestyle Libre,
because as I said Freestyle Libre will always be in my heart
and right now I’m testing Freestyle Libre 3 I must say, it's really good
It's a real-time CGM, so it's transferring the data from the sensor to my phone
automatically, I don't have to scan anymore
like I had to with Freestyle Libre 2 and Freestyle Libre1
But I get some more conditions that need to happen what needs to happen
what Abbott need to do for me to go back to Freestyle Libre full time
and the main condition is that Freestyle Libre 3 just needs to work
as a part of my Control IQ system, until that happens,
there is no really any motivation for me to switch back to Freestyle Libre 3
and the second condition I have, what would need to happen,
is Freestyle Libre 3 would need to have the calibration function
I want to be able to calibrate my sensor in case it's not giving me accurate data
I have this option with Dexcom, but Libre never had it and until they get it
I don't think I will go back
that makes total sense,
and I really get the feel that you really love the Tandem Control IQ
can you tell us a bit more?
what you like the most about the Control IQ algorithm
is that when I don't have time, when I get busy, I don't need to be involved
with my CGM and my insulin pump as much as I would normally be
I know that Control IQ will keep my blood sugars in a reasonable range
my Time in Range has been consistently over 90% on Control IQ
I would not be able to achieve this consistently without the algorithm
and it's really taking a lot of stress away from me
and it's reducing the mental burden that diabetes can be for some people
so Control IQ, definitely a yes
so yeah, I love it very much, not more than my wife of course,
but I do really like it
I really appreciate you sharing all that with us, thank you
and I must say that my experience with Dexcom mirrors yours in many ways
you know, especially the part about it being fairly inaccurate
for up to the first 24 hours and I feel similar about switching to Libre
so when I tried it I did like it, I thought it was a good system,
it's great value for money, however, the lack of integration is also an issue for me
so for you Tom, it's an integration with your pump,
for me it's an integration with my InPen, my smart pen, as well as my Fitbit
and of course I could still manage my diabetes without an integrated system
however the integration I have right now, it just really works really well for me,
it's a great combo and helps me manage my blood sugars to the best of my ability
so based on that, I’ll probably stick with Dexcom for now
so Tom, before we let you go
is there anything that you think that people should be aware of,
and that nobody tells us, when it comes to these two systems
or just to CGM's in general
well yes, I think there is one thing
that people should be aware of and that nobody tells you,
and that's to sign up for Christel's channel, check out my channel,
and check out all the Facebook pages that are related to individual sensors,
like Freestyle Libre 2, Freestyle Libre 3, Dexcom G6,
because there is a huge community out there and if you are new to this technology
it might be very confusing there are just some information
that you don't hear from a healthcare provider, that you learn from the other
community members, I learned so much, just reading comments under my YouTube
videos from my viewers, who shared their experience there and I implemented some
of the tips they gave me so the community is very strong,
and sometimes the actual day-to-day users
can give you more relevant and more actionable information
than your medical service provider
thanks so much again Christel for inviting me, keep up the great work,
and I will see you next time, ciao
thank you so much, Tom, we really appreciate your time,
we appreciate you sharing all your experience with us
so guys, you can find Tom on his YouTube channel Type One Talks
as well as on social media, so go check out his channel
and just to round out this conversation about CGMs
which CGM, or if you choose a CGM at all, of course will depend on a lot of different
factors including accessibility and price, but I do hope that Tom's experience
can help you make a more informed choice if you choose to go for a CGM
thank you so much for watching this video
if you liked it please give it a like below and leave Tom and I a comment
also if you do like my content, if you'd like to see more, remember to
click that subscribe button turn on notifications
and you'll be informed whenever I post new content
thank you so much for watching