· CDE Mehandi Sharma
CGM or Glucometer: Which Should You Use?
A glucometer and a continuous glucose monitor are not competing versions of the same thing. They answer different questions.
| Glucometer | CGM | |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Blood, at the moment you test | Fluid under the skin, every few minutes |
| What you learn | The points in time you chose to test | The shape of the whole day, including sleep |
| Cost in India | Low: the meter is cheap, strips are the running cost | Much higher: a sensor every 14 days or so |
| Best for | Confirming a number, checking around meals | Finding overnight lows, patterns, time in range |
A CGM is the only way to measure time in range — the share of the day spent between 70 and 180 mg/dL, where the consensus target for most adults is above 70%. Finger-pricks cannot tell you what happened between them.
A CGM is most worth its cost if you take insulin, have lows you do not feel coming, have unexplained morning highs, or are pregnant. For someone on metformin alone with steady readings, a meter used well is usually enough.
Two practical notes. A sensor lags behind blood during rapid changes, so confirm with a finger-prick before treating a low. And most people do best with both — a sensor for the pattern, a meter to check it.
More on whether a CGM is worth it for you.