The Pros and Cons Of Blood-glucose Meters

When it comes to monitoring your blood-sugar levels there are two main sets of devices from which you can choose. There’s the continual blood-glucose meter (CGM) and the traditional blood-glucose meter (TGM), I outlined what these were and what they do in a separate article. In this article we’re going to look at the pros and cons of both so that we can work out which will be best suited for you and your life.

CGM Pros

–                    Constant information means you’ll have a much more specific view of your blood-glucose levels and you’ll be able to see just what stimuli makes it rise or fall. In terms of working out the best lifestyle changes for you in terms of managing your condition, this could be a god send!

–                    As it’s constantly checking your blood-glucose level, the CGM will let you react much more quickly to potential threats. You’ll be able to take immediate action if your blood-sugar begins to dip or rise drastically and save yourself from any damage.

–                    As you’ll only need to change the sensor once a week or so, the CGM is less invasive (you won’t have to stab yourself!).

CGM Cons

–                    CGM’s are expensive and one device can cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds. Not everyone can afford that.

–                    Accuracy can be an issue and as such, any sudden changes should be checked with a TGM before you take any action to counter one. Better safe than sorry!

TGM Pros

–                    TGM’s are very affordable and may be offered free in some areas.

–                    They’re much more accurate that CGM’s and as long as you learn to use them properly you shouldn’t have much of an issue in keeping yourself nice and healthy!

–                    They’re easy to use and can be mastered very quickly. As they’ve been around for years and years, manufacturers have had the time to make them as simple as possible.

TGM Cons

–                    They’re invasive in that you’ll need to draw blood every time you want to test yourself.

–                    You’re only testing yourself for that exact time and they won’t give you anything beyond your blood-sugar levels for then, this can make it hard to build up a larger picture.

–                    You need to remember to test or it’ll be entirely ineffective!