A better way to manage diabetes

WHEN you think of humans with implants, you may picture sinister movie characters, such as Dr. No with bionic metal hands or the Borg from “Star Trek.” But a newly approved, implantable glucose monitor may turn you into a diabetes-vanquishing, fighting machine.

One challenge of managing insulindependent diabetes (everyone with Type 1 and 30 to 40 percent of folks with Type 2) is knowing how much insulin to use and what to eat, so you can keep glucose levels in a healthy range and dodge high (hyper) and low (hypo) glucose readings.

Highs can lead to complications; the lows can be life-threatening. But knowing your numbers so you can adjust your medication and food intake often means frequent finger sticks using a glucose meter.

Enter continuous glucose monitors. For a few years the devices have been available, using an implanted sensor that’s replaced every six to 14 days, plus a transmitter and a receiver.

Now there’s a newly approved continuous glucose monitor with a tiny sensor/transmitter that can stay implanted in your upper arm for 90 days, and it sends data directly to your smartphone. It alerts you 24/7 to both hyper- and hypoglycemia. However, with averages of 17 and 16 percent false positives respectively, you need to use your low-tech glucose meter to check its readings.

Then, careful monitoring along with regular exercise and eating right will improve your glucose control, so you’re less likely to have complications.

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