People with diabetes are encouraged to check their blood glucose levels frequently. And now the availability of the continuous glucose monitor (a sensor device) makes testing easier and less painful.

Self-testing of blood glucose with a blood glucose meter is the backbone of diabetes management. Results from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) indicate that people with diabetes should be more aggressive in their daily monitoring of blood glucose levels if they want to reduce their risk of diabetes complications. This means not only more frequent blood glucose testing but also adjusting your diet, exercise, and doses of insulin or oral medications according to the results of your tests.

Frequent blood testing takes time and requires lots of finger pricks. But what if you could test your glucose 288 times a day without turning into a human pincushion? You might be able to with a continuous glucose monitor, according to a recent study of people with diabetes who used insulin.

A continuous glucose monitor consists of a small sensor wire inserted beneath the skin of the abdomen and held in place with an adhesive patch. Every five minutes, the sensor measures blood glucose and transmits the information to a pager-sized receiver with a digital readout that attaches to your clothing.

In the study, 91 people wore a continuous glucose monitor. Half of them saw their blood glucose levels displayed on the readout, were informed if their blood glucose levels were too high or too low, and heard an alarm when their blood glucose fell below 55 mg/dL. The remaining participants did not see their glucose levels on the readout or receive any warnings. Over a three-day period, volunteers who received feedback on their blood glucose levels spent 26% more time with their glucose under control and 23% less time with their glucose at hypoglycemia levels than those who didn’t receive the feedback. This study was reported in the journal Diabetes Care (Volume 29, page 44).