Using a CGM Without Obsessing Over It

A continuous glucose monitor gives you a reading every few minutes, and for some people that turns diabetes from a few daily decisions into a constant one.

The problem is that a CGM shows you normal variation you were previously unaware of. Glucose moves all day in everyone, including people without diabetes. Seeing it move is not the same as needing to act.

Rules that keep it useful

• Look at the day, not the moment. The number that matters is time in range across a week — the consensus target is more than 70% of the day between 70 and 180 mg/dL.
• Do not correct a rise that is already turning. Acting on every upward arrow leads to stacking doses and then to lows.
• Set alarms for safety, not for tidiness. A low alarm earns its place. An alarm at 160 mg/dL will wake you for nothing.
• Pick review times. Once in the morning and once in the evening is enough for most people, plus whenever an alarm sounds.
• Expect a lag. A sensor reads fluid under the skin, not blood, so it trails a finger-prick during fast changes.

More on whether a CGM is worth it for you.