March 3, 2025 • 25 mins
Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) are changing the landscape of health management, empowering individuals to take charge of their glucose levels in real-time. In this enlightening episode, we unpack the importance and functionality of these devices, revealing how they provide critical insights into bodily responses influenced by food, exercise, sleep, and stress. We dive into the serious implications of insulin resistance, discussing how millions of people may unknowingly be at risk for conditions like diabetes and how CGMs can help monitor and prevent these issues proactively. Jen shares practical advice for maximizing the benefits of CGMs. Additionally, learn about the logistics of acquiring a CGM—navigating prescription options and emerging over-the-counter solutions.
Join us as we highlight the revolutionary power of Continuous Glucose Monitors in promoting better health and making informed decisions about wellness. Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review to support us on this journey toward holistic well-being.
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email: Jen@HalfwayToDeadPodcast.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey friend, welcome back to the halfway to dead mini
edition.
It's time to hit you with somewellness wisdom.
Today, guys, we have to takecare of our aging mind and body
so we can finish this lifestrong.
Are you ready?
Okay, jump in, ride shotgunwith me as we continue on this
midlife spiritual journeytogether.
(00:24):
Hey guys, welcome back to theHalfway to Dead Wellness Wisdom
Mini Edition.
(00:44):
So today we're talking aboutcontinuousuous Glucose Monitors,
or CGMs, what they are, howthey work and why they are not
just for people with diabetesanymore.
We'll explore their benefits,limitations and how they've
become a game changer foroptimizing your health.
And just a quick disclaimer aswith everything I bring to you
guys, I'm not an expert and I'mnot your healthcare provider.
(01:05):
So you're going to, of course,talk to your healthcare provider
, whoever that is, whether it'syour nurse practitioner, your PA
, your physician, holisticpractitioner, whoever it is.
Talk about it first, make surethis is a good idea for you,
because what I'm doing isbringing these things to you.
All right, I don't know if it'sright or not for you.
I'm just going to present youwith all the information and
(01:25):
then you guys can talk with yourhealth care provider, do some
research and figure out if thisis best for you.
Okay, so let's talk about theseCGMs.
What are they?
How do they work?
At a very basic level, a CGM isa small wearable device that
tracks your glucose levelsthroughout the day and night.
It gives real-time data so youcan see how your body responds
(01:47):
to things like food, exercise,sleep, stress.
So how do they work?
It's got a sensor and atransmitter.
That's what you're going toapply to your body, and then
you're either going to get amonitor with it or you're going
to use your smartphone.
Most of us are going to use oursmartphone and upload the data
into an app.
What's it testing?
So I want to be clear these arenot monitoring your blood
(02:09):
glucose levels.
They're monitoring yourinterstitial fluid glucose
levels.
So they're not the exact samevalue.
Okay, to be clear, let's beclear on that.
But they're close enough toeach other in accuracy that
you're definitely going to stillsee how the different things
you're doing are affecting yourbody.
(02:30):
And it's so much better thanwhen they used to just give us a
glucose monitor and somelancets and you had to prick
your fingers several times a dayand then still, you're only
getting a small glimpse of thepicture right, because you would
take it.
You know they'd have us take itwhen we were fasting and after
a meal and all that stuff, butstill we weren't getting enough
(02:51):
information.
So now, with these continuousglucose monitors, you're going
to get a readout it's like agraph and you're going to get
this data throughout the day andit's really going to help you
evaluate average glucose, yourglucose variability and your
peak glucose numbers.
And I know what you're thinkinghow do you wear this thing?
Is it going to hurt?
(03:12):
Let me just tell you this whenI put my first one in, I was a
hot mess, all right, I wasscared.
It took forever to insert itand then, after I finally did it
, sucked it up and got thatthing in.
I totally laughed at myselfbecause it was so simple and I
really didn't even feel it.
So keep an eye on my socialsthis week for halfway to dead,
(03:33):
because I made a video for youguys showing my CGM and you can
watch me put mine in and I talka little bit about it.
So keep your eye out for that.
But basically, you're going toinsert that sensor that has the
transmitter embedded in it.
You're going to insert thatusually into the back of your
upper arm in the fatty tissuearea.
You know that little flap, thatlittle wing we have at this age
(03:56):
.
That's where it goes and it'sgoing to stay in for about 14
days.
But no worries, because you'regoing to be able to shower and
do all the things you normallydo for the most part.
And just a little pro tip, itdoesn't come with all of them,
but they have these roundstickers they kind of look like
a round band-aid looking thingand also these little desolvent
pads, because you know, when youtake like a band-aid off or a
(04:19):
dressing you've worn for a longtime and you've got that gook
left on you, okay.
So I'm going to recommend thatyou get both of those and I just
get them real cheap on Amazon.
Then, once it's in, it'scontinuously monitoring your
glucose levels 24-7.
You just need to remember toscan your sensor at least every
eight hours, to upload that datainto the app on your phone.
(04:40):
So it's best if you scan it,you know, like before you eat,
before you work out, when youwake up in the morning, all of
that so that you can add notes,so you can track what's causing
your spikes.
We'll talk more about thatlater.
But basically you want to scanit, kind of note in there what
you're about to eat.
That way you can check it againtwo, three hours later or even,
(05:02):
you know, if you forget, eighthours later it's still.
It's still recording it andyou'll see what what that did to
your body.
All right, we'll talk more aboutthat later, but I just want you
to start thinking about a CGMas a smartwatch for your glucose
, because it's keeping track inreal time of whether the glucose
and insulin in your body is ontrack.
(05:22):
I mean, we're thesesmartwatches, you know.
We get all kinds of informationheart rate, oxygenation levels,
they monitor all the things.
So the CGM is like that, and myopinion is that tracking your
glucose is even more importantthan some of those other things,
just depending on what yourhealth conditions are.
Okay, I think this is veryimportant.
So why?
Why is it important, jen?
(05:44):
Let me throw some stats at you.
So, according to the CDC, morethan 37 million Americans are
living with diabetes and another96 million have prediabetes.
All right, and of you guyslistening, one out of three of
you are prediabetic and you maynot even know it.
It's going to creep up on you.
(06:05):
This happened to me, so you cantake my word for this.
Also, the amount of peopleworldwide with health conditions
affected by unstable glucoselevels is estimated at around 1
billion.
That's, with a B, you guys,billion.
So these continuous glucosemonitors are revolutionizing how
we manage and prevent this.
Continuous glucose monitors arerevolutionizing how we manage
(06:26):
and prevent this.
There is, you know, a huge risein diabetes right now because,
duh, we're eating highlyprocessed foods, we freaking,
supersize everything, ourportion control is out of
control and we're we stop movingour bodies very much.
And I'm not pointing fingers atyou guys, because I'm this is
me, I'm.
(06:46):
Most people make an average of227 food decisions daily, and
every single one of thosedecisions will impact your blood
sugar.
So let's talk about what'shappening inside of our body.
What exactly is regulating theglucose in your body?
Well, I mean, it's a complexthing, you guys, but if I can
(07:08):
just simplify it, it's not justyour pancreas.
Okay, I know you may realizethat our pancreas is what throws
out that extra insulin in ourbody when we need it.
So, yes, our pancreas is a bigone, but we've also got our
liver involved, right.
Our muscles, our fatty tissue,our brain, our gut, our
(07:30):
intestines are affecting all ofthis, your hormonal regulation.
So, guys, this is superimportant Bottom line.
Our gut, our intestines areaffecting all of this, your
hormonal regulation.
So, guys, this is superimportant Bottom line.
It's affecting all the parts ofyour body.
Okay, this is not just apancreas thing.
So what are some of these otherconditions that are affecting us
?
Because it isn't just aboutdiabetes.
So what other conditions canlead to insulin resistance?
(07:50):
Okay, so you might be hearingthe term insulin resistance
being thrown around out there.
So this is a condition in whichthe cells in the body become
less responsive to the effectsof insulin and this is going to
cause the old pancreas toproduce more insulin to
compensate, and this can lead tosignificant metabolic
dysfunctions associated with allkinds of medical conditions.
(08:12):
Okay, let me just, I'm going tothrow a few at you.
I'm going to throw a few ofthese conditions at you.
Obesity you know that.
Abdominal obesity that we'reall.
You know that dang fat we'recollecting right around the
middle, right around the middleof our body.
Especially in middle age, westart to collect it right in the
middle of our body.
That is directly correlatedwith insulin resistance.
(08:34):
Non-alcoholic fatty liverdisease, pcos, you guys.
Cushing syndrome,hypothyroidism, you've got your
cardiovascular health likehypertension, and then, you know
God, at this age, we're allstarting to deal with chronic
inflammation and theseautoimmune conditions.
All right, we've got therheumatoid arthritis, the lupus,
(08:56):
chronic kidney disease,psoriasis, chronic infections.
And here's another big one thatwe're thinking about as we're
all aging, you guys Alzheimer'sdisease.
Did you know that Alzheimer'sdisease is also now known as
type 3 diabetes?
That is how linked it is toinsulin resistance, also cancer.
(09:18):
I mean, there's also somethingcalled postmenopausal insulin
resistance.
Hello, okay, guys, are youlistening yet?
Have you realized?
This is for everyone, for allof us.
Do not disclude yourself inthis conversation.
Okay, so let's go over thereasons why we would want to use
one of these CGMs.
First of all, if you'repre-diabetic or diabetic, you're
(09:40):
going to want to use this.
Okay, that makes complete senseto you guys.
We won't spend too long on that.
But there's also a lot ofnon-diabetics and this is a
rising trend.
You guys, a lot of biohackers,fitness enthusiasts and just
everyday people wanting tomonitor their glucose, because
it's going to optimizeeverything, including your
(10:01):
athletic performance.
It's also going to help youidentify food sensitivities and
manage your energy levels.
It's going to help you getbetter sleep.
It's going to help you preventall those chronic diseases we
just talked about.
Because if we can see thesethings coming earlier right,
(10:21):
these fluctuations we canaddress them and take care of
them before we ever get to thisstage where we need to really
get forced to listen to ourdoctors and start taking the
meds and doing all the things.
And I'm going to speak from myfirsthand experience here,
because I did not keep track ofall these things.
And here I sit, okay, type twodiabetic.
Here that's me, and I fought itfor a long time until the
(10:42):
doctor was like okay, fine,jenny, okay, call it whatever
you want, but you're diabeticand if you don't start
addressing it seriously withmedications, et cetera, you're,
you know, you're going to starthaving this, this and this
happening to your body, and noneof them are good Little heads
up there.
So you don't want to be at riskfor all this stuff.
So take it seriously now, youguys.
(11:03):
And if you're like me andyou're already here, it's okay,
because we can manage this andwe can reverse it if we want to.
Okay, but we're going to needthe CGM to figure this all out,
okay.
So now let's talk about sometips for using your CGM
effectively, because I'm goingto do a whole separate episode
coming up here on tips andtricks of how to manage your
insulin resistance, manage yourglucose levels better, but
(11:28):
that's a different episode.
I just want to focus on the CGMfor this one.
So you have a fullunderstanding of if you should
be using this.
Okay, so, to get the most outof the data, you're going to
link it up to one of the apps onyour phone, depending on where
you end up getting your yoursthrough.
Some have their own app andsome are just ones that are
available online.
This is all going to be in theshow notes and we're going to
(11:48):
talk a little bit more about itlater in this episode.
So you're going to talk alittle bit more about it later
in this episode.
So you're going to scan yoursensor with your phone and
you're going to note when youeat and what you ate.
You're also going to note whenyou exercise and how much you
know like how long, how intensewas it.
You're going to take a look andsee what happens to your
glucose in extremely stressfulsituations.
(12:10):
You're going to keep an eye outfor what it looks like through
the night while you're sleeping.
You're going to see how yourbedtime routine can affect your
glucose while you're sleeping.
So you're going to startrealizing what you're doing to
your damn body, because there'sno more denial with these.
This is a big reason for itsuse.
There is no more denial of whatthese things are doing to your
(12:30):
body, because good old Jen hereI can tell you don't drink
orange juice for breakfast.
But you're going to say I don'tthink that's right, jen,
because I don't know.
She's more overweight than me,she's admitted she doesn't work
out, she's older than me.
That's what we do.
We come up with excuses of whysomething's bad for someone else
and not for us.
This is what we do, and so wecan't make any more excuses,
(12:53):
because you're going to, you'regoing to throw this, you're
going to throw this baby in,you're going to throw the CGM in
and you're going to startseeing your own data.
And it's science and there's nodenying when you're harming
your body, you guys, it's goingto be in your face.
So this is a very amazingaccountability partner right.
This is one of the main reasonsI put it back into this day,
(13:14):
because I've done all theexperiments.
But you know what Sometimes Iput mine in just to be my
accountability partner, becauseyou're going to eat and you're
going to look back and you'regoing to say, damn it, I screwed
up again and you're going to dobetter.
Because you're seeing exactlywhat you just did to your body
right, it's in your face, it'sright there.
Exactly what you just did toyour body right, it's in your
(13:35):
face, it's right there.
Denial, we can't do it anymore.
And also it works the other way, because then, when you've had
a really good day, you're goingto look at it and you're going
to be like Jen, you kicked asstoday.
You know what?
You did a great look at this,you did a great job, and it's a
nice little pat on the back too.
Okay.
So this is this is why Icontinue to use mine, even
(13:56):
though I've already done a lotof this, seeing what's bad for
my body and what's good for mybody, cause, you know, I like to
forget.
I like to forget and go back tomy old ways, and so it's time
to throw in another CGM, usuallythen, okay.
So we're going to look at ourapp and we're going to see what
our glucose has been doing.
We're going to see this graph,you guys, and what does it need
to look like?
Well, if you're doing a reallygood job, they're going to be
(14:18):
like pretty little rolling hills, pretty little rolling hillside
guys, up and down, nice andeasy going right, because we
need our sugar to go up and down.
That's normal.
But if yours is looking morelike an EKG, with all these
little pointy tips at the topand bottom just fluctuating, if
you've got too many you knowrooftops too many pointy tips,
(14:40):
that's not good.
Those are your insulin spikesand a problem you're going to
have to address.
So once you get your CGM going,you're going to do some
experiments.
You're going to want toprobably spend a couple days not
changing anything, eating likeyou normally do, just to see
what that looks like.
And then you're going to wantto start playing with some food
(15:01):
pairings.
All right, you're going to seethe difference between, if
you're a pop drinker, like whata regular Coke versus a Diet
Coke looks like, or what yourDiet Coke versus water looks
like.
You're going to want to see thedifference between eating a
banana and oatmeal for breakfastversus eggs and a protein shake
.
You're going to want to do allkinds of cool experiments with
(15:22):
your pre-workout food, yourpost-workout food, how close to
bedtime you should be eating toget some good sleep, all kinds
of stuff, all right, and we'llgo more into that in the other
episode too.
But you're going to want to doexperiments and listen, I'm not
telling you to wear these CGMsfor the rest of your life.
You may be one of those peoplewho just needs to wear it for a
(15:43):
couple of weeks, maybe even amonth, maybe two months If
you're on a big health journey,maybe longer, but you're going
to want to wear it long enoughthat you can do all these
experiments and see what you'redoing to your body so that you
can make the modification.
So let's talk about somereasons why you would not be a
good candidate to get one.
Well, first of all, if you're atype 1 diabetic or you struggle
(16:07):
with hypoglycemia, where yourblood sugars just all of a
sudden drop pretty low, this isnot going to be for you, and
I'll tell you why.
I know you're thinking well,wouldn't that be the perfect
person?
This is for no, because theseparticular CGMs do not alert you
when your blood sugars getextremely high or extremely low.
You have to actually scan itand be taking a look at it to
(16:29):
know.
So, for type 1 diabetics andsevere hypoglycemics, they need
to know right away.
Because you've got to take yourinsulin, you've got to make
some adjustments.
It's more of a life-threateningthing for those people.
And listen, if you have theseconditions, you already know,
you're already monitoring adifferent way, so this is
(16:49):
irrelevant to you.
All right, you guys, all youknow all the things already.
It's also not for anyone underthe age of 18, right, this isn't
for kids, unless your actualpediatrician has recommended it.
Okay, for a specific healthcondition, but just because you
think your kid's getting alittle pudgy, no, we don't throw
CGM in.
That's not what this is for.
(17:09):
Let's not damage the kids.
All right, it's also not forpeople with eating disorders or
even just someone with really,really high anxiety.
This might not be the best idea.
Again, talk to your healthcareprovider.
But if you're already obsessingabout your food intake, this is
just one more thing for you toobsess about, and this probably
(17:30):
isn't going to help you on yourhealing journey for your eating
disorder.
Right, and that's all I'm goingto say about that.
Okay, it might not be the bestidea.
Also, it's not recommendedduring pregnancy or if you're on
dialysis if you've got somestuff going on with your kidneys
.
So again, check with yourhealthcare provider and make
sure that this is a good optionfor you.
(17:50):
Okay, so you've decided you wantin.
You want to start using the oldCGM.
How do you get one?
So you've decided, you want in,you want to start using the old
CGM.
How do you get one?
So I've talked about thisbefore but these insurance
companies, they're not going tocover it.
I don't know why.
I do know why, we all know why,but they're not going to cover
it.
So let me just tell you rightnow, even if you're a type 2
diabetic, many, many insurancecompanies will not cover it.
For instance, myself, I'm atype 2 diabetic.
(18:13):
I have excellent insurance, butthey will not cover my CGM.
They'll cover me to get aglucose monitor and lens sets
and tell me to prick myselfseveral times a day for limited
data.
No, don't get me started, I'mnot, I'm not down with that.
So I found, I found my own wayto do this on my own, because we
are not at the mercy of theseinsurance companies.
(18:35):
Right, we have other ways to dothings.
And that's not to say, if youhave insurance, if you get your
doctor to write one and we'regoing to talk about that in a
second let your pharmacist runit through your insurance,
because sometimes it'll getdenied but it'll come back at a
lower rate for you.
So you'll pay out of pocket,but less.
So still, let them run it andif they say that didn't work,
(19:01):
then let's talk about whatyou're going to do.
First of all, you're going towork with your healthcare
provider and they may write youa script for one.
They may not.
A lot of doctors don't evensuggest it because they know
insurance doesn't cover it.
They know it's a good idea butthey're not going to actually
recommend it because, again,they know your insurance isn't
going to cover it.
So what do you need to say toyour doctor?
Let's run through what youshould say.
So you're talking to yourhealthcare provider and you're
going to say I would like tostart monitoring my glucose a
(19:23):
little bit better.
Yes, I know I'm not diabeticright now, but I want to monitor
what my glucose is doingthroughout the day as part of my
health journey.
So whether it's to lose weight,whether it's because you're not
sleeping well, you're having alot of fatigue, you just tell
them you would like to see howyour glucose levels are playing
into this.
So could you please prescribeme a CGM?
(19:44):
All right, and they'll writeone for you and you'll take it
to the pharmacy and even if yourinsurance won't cover it, I use
GoodRx.
Go on GoodRx and see where theyou know your cheapest pharmacy
in town has it.
I have them run it through myinsurance.
It denies it, gives them a rateand then they use the GoodRx
coupon on it and I pay $79 amonth.
(20:09):
So that's for two sets becausethey last for two weeks each and
again, I don't wear them allthe time anymore, I just use
them when I need thataccountability, when things are
going a little awry.
Okay, so you can look into that.
But also I have some big news.
(20:31):
As of March of 2024, the FDAhas now cleared Dexcom's glucose
biosensor system as the firstover-the-counter CGM.
Abbott also has one that's beenapproved.
It's called the Lingo, Ibelieve, and it's now available
for purchase online without aprescription.
Okay, so you don't even need adoctor's prescription for it.
So if you're someone who maybe,you know, go to the doctor a
lot but you are interested inchecking into all this glucose
(20:53):
thing, you can still go onlineand get one.
I still think you should talkto your healthcare provider, but
you can still go online and getone.
Order it yourself.
So there's a few differentcompanies out there and I'm
going to put them in the shownotes so you can click through
them and kind of evaluate themfor yourselves.
I use the Freestyle Libre, butthere's also you can go to Lingo
, and I believe when Iresearched on there, it's $49
(21:17):
for one sensor which will lastyou the two weeks, and there's
no commitment with that.
So you do not need to sign upfor a program.
If you just want to use it fortwo weeks, use it for two weeks.
You can buy more than that,like if you know that you're
going to use it for a couplemonths, or if you're like, no, I
know I want to do this, I'mgoing to commit to doing this
for three months.
Okay, then you can buy theirthree-month package and save
(21:37):
some money.
Okay.
There's also some differentcompanies that are a little
pricier.
I used NutriSense in the past,like when I first started this.
They're more expensive, but youget to use their app and it's a
really good app.
It's more detailed than theones that you get for free with
some of the CGMs, and you alsoget a nutritionist and
dietitians that work directlywith you, so they'll help you
(21:59):
interpret your results and giveyou good ideas of what to do.
So if you're one of thosepeople that needs extra help and
you have the money to do so, goahead and do that.
But if you just want to startdoing some testing on your own
and money is an issue, thenthese other options are going to
work just fine.
You're still going to get yourdebt.
Also, you can use your FSA,which is your flexible spending
(22:21):
account, or your HSA, which isyour health savings account.
If you don't know if you haveone of those, ask your employer.
And so what it is is you putyour money in from your paycheck
tax-free.
That money's sitting there andyou're only allowed to use it
for healthcare stuff, medicalsupplies and things like that.
So you may be someone who hasmoney sitting there and I don't
(22:41):
really have a bunch of suppliesor things I need to get.
Well, this may be something youcan use that on, because
sometimes, if you don't use it,you lose it.
Okay, so, guys, if you areinterested and you're curious
about trying a CGM, talk to yourhealthcare provider.
Do a little research onlineabout which company seems to be
the right fit for you based onwhat your budget is and what
(23:01):
you're looking for, and whetheryou need a nutritionist or you
just need the monitor.
I hope you guys gain someinsight into CGMs and continuous
glucose monitoring.
Be sure to keep an eye out onthe Halfway to Dead Facebook and
Instagram because I'm releasinglike I told you guys I've done
the video showing you exactlywhat my CGM looks like and how I
(23:22):
put it in.
I also have some videos comingout showing you some of the
testing that I do, showing youwhat different things do to my
body, so you guys can seeexactly how to use the monitor
in different ways, differentlittle experiments you can do.
So those videos are coming outstarting this week, so keep an
eye out for that.
And then on the next WellnessWisdom, we're going to discuss
(23:42):
some real life tips and tricksto improve your glucose levels.
All right and I'm not, don'tworry, I'm not going to be
throwing at you eat less carbs,eat more veggies.
You guys know all that shit.
Come on, we're old enough,we've done all the damn fat
diets, we know, but these areactual things that you can
implement into your day-to-dayto help manage your glucose and
(24:05):
insulin levels.
Real world stuff, you guys,stuff you can do without having
to even really alter exactlywhat you're eating.
All right, we're going to talkabout some different tips and
tricks about the order you eatyour foods, food pairings, all
kinds of stuff in the nextepisode, but for this one, I
just want to familiarize youguys with what a continuous
(24:26):
glucose monitor is, how to getyour hands on one and why you
should be getting your hands onone.
This is part of the spiritualjourney we got to take care of
these bodies, so let's do it.
All right, thanks, guys, and Iwill see you next week for some
more wellness wisdom.
I hope you learned somethingtoday that you can implement
(24:53):
into your life, and remember touse the links in the show notes
to do your own personal deepdive into today's wellness
wisdom topic.
Also, please share this episodewith a friend who might be
looking for ways to improvetheir health and wellness too.
Thank you so much for spendingtime with me today and I can't
wait to hit you with some morewellness wisdom next Monday.
Oh, and I really can't forgetthe fine print again.
(25:15):
You know that legal jargon.
This podcast is presentedsolely for educational and
entertainment purposes.
We're just two friends on thisjourney together and this
podcast is not intended as asubstitute for the advice of a
physician, professional coach,psychotherapist or any other
qualified professional.
I know you guys get it, so I'llsee you next time.
Hey friend, welcome back to the halfway to dead mini
edition.
It's time to hit you with somewellness wisdom.
Today, guys, we have to takecare of our aging mind and body
so we can finish this lifestrong.
Are you ready?
Okay, jump in, ride shotgunwith me as we continue on this
midlife spiritual journeytogether.
(00:24):
Hey guys, welcome back to theHalfway to Dead Wellness Wisdom
Mini Edition.
(00:44):
So today we're talking aboutcontinuousuous Glucose Monitors,
or CGMs, what they are, howthey work and why they are not
just for people with diabetesanymore.
We'll explore their benefits,limitations and how they've
become a game changer foroptimizing your health.
And just a quick disclaimer aswith everything I bring to you
guys, I'm not an expert and I'mnot your healthcare provider.
(01:05):
So you're going to, of course,talk to your healthcare provider
, whoever that is, whether it'syour nurse practitioner, your PA
, your physician, holisticpractitioner, whoever it is.
Talk about it first, make surethis is a good idea for you,
because what I'm doing isbringing these things to you.
All right, I don't know if it'sright or not for you.
I'm just going to present youwith all the information and
(01:25):
then you guys can talk with yourhealth care provider, do some
research and figure out if thisis best for you.
Okay, so let's talk about theseCGMs.
What are they?
How do they work?
At a very basic level, a CGM isa small wearable device that
tracks your glucose levelsthroughout the day and night.
It gives real-time data so youcan see how your body responds
(01:47):
to things like food, exercise,sleep, stress.
So how do they work?
It's got a sensor and atransmitter.
That's what you're going toapply to your body, and then
you're either going to get amonitor with it or you're going
to use your smartphone.
Most of us are going to use oursmartphone and upload the data
into an app.
What's it testing?
So I want to be clear these arenot monitoring your blood
(02:09):
glucose levels.
They're monitoring yourinterstitial fluid glucose
levels.
So they're not the exact samevalue.
Okay, to be clear, let's beclear on that.
But they're close enough toeach other in accuracy that
you're definitely going to stillsee how the different things
you're doing are affecting yourbody.
(02:30):
And it's so much better thanwhen they used to just give us a
glucose monitor and somelancets and you had to prick
your fingers several times a dayand then still, you're only
getting a small glimpse of thepicture right, because you would
take it.
You know they'd have us take itwhen we were fasting and after
a meal and all that stuff, butstill we weren't getting enough
(02:51):
information.
So now, with these continuousglucose monitors, you're going
to get a readout it's like agraph and you're going to get
this data throughout the day andit's really going to help you
evaluate average glucose, yourglucose variability and your
peak glucose numbers.
And I know what you're thinkinghow do you wear this thing?
Is it going to hurt?
(03:12):
Let me just tell you this whenI put my first one in, I was a
hot mess, all right, I wasscared.
It took forever to insert itand then, after I finally did it
, sucked it up and got thatthing in.
I totally laughed at myselfbecause it was so simple and I
really didn't even feel it.
So keep an eye on my socialsthis week for halfway to dead,
(03:33):
because I made a video for youguys showing my CGM and you can
watch me put mine in and I talka little bit about it.
So keep your eye out for that.
But basically, you're going toinsert that sensor that has the
transmitter embedded in it.
You're going to insert thatusually into the back of your
upper arm in the fatty tissuearea.
You know that little flap, thatlittle wing we have at this age
(03:56):
.
That's where it goes and it'sgoing to stay in for about 14
days.
But no worries, because you'regoing to be able to shower and
do all the things you normallydo for the most part.
And just a little pro tip, itdoesn't come with all of them,
but they have these roundstickers they kind of look like
a round band-aid looking thingand also these little desolvent
pads, because you know, when youtake like a band-aid off or a
(04:19):
dressing you've worn for a longtime and you've got that gook
left on you, okay.
So I'm going to recommend thatyou get both of those and I just
get them real cheap on Amazon.
Then, once it's in, it'scontinuously monitoring your
glucose levels 24-7.
You just need to remember toscan your sensor at least every
eight hours, to upload that datainto the app on your phone.
(04:40):
So it's best if you scan it,you know, like before you eat,
before you work out, when youwake up in the morning, all of
that so that you can add notes,so you can track what's causing
your spikes.
We'll talk more about thatlater.
But basically you want to scanit, kind of note in there what
you're about to eat.
That way you can check it againtwo, three hours later or even,
(05:02):
you know, if you forget, eighthours later it's still.
It's still recording it andyou'll see what what that did to
your body.
All right, we'll talk more aboutthat later, but I just want you
to start thinking about a CGMas a smartwatch for your glucose
, because it's keeping track inreal time of whether the glucose
and insulin in your body is ontrack.
(05:22):
I mean, we're thesesmartwatches, you know.
We get all kinds of informationheart rate, oxygenation levels,
they monitor all the things.
So the CGM is like that, and myopinion is that tracking your
glucose is even more importantthan some of those other things,
just depending on what yourhealth conditions are.
Okay, I think this is veryimportant.
So why?
Why is it important, jen?
(05:44):
Let me throw some stats at you.
So, according to the CDC, morethan 37 million Americans are
living with diabetes and another96 million have prediabetes.
All right, and of you guyslistening, one out of three of
you are prediabetic and you maynot even know it.
It's going to creep up on you.
(06:05):
This happened to me, so you cantake my word for this.
Also, the amount of peopleworldwide with health conditions
affected by unstable glucoselevels is estimated at around 1
billion.
That's, with a B, you guys,billion.
So these continuous glucosemonitors are revolutionizing how
we manage and prevent this.
Continuous glucose monitors arerevolutionizing how we manage
(06:26):
and prevent this.
There is, you know, a huge risein diabetes right now because,
duh, we're eating highlyprocessed foods, we freaking,
supersize everything, ourportion control is out of
control and we're we stop movingour bodies very much.
And I'm not pointing fingers atyou guys, because I'm this is
me, I'm.
(06:46):
Most people make an average of227 food decisions daily, and
every single one of thosedecisions will impact your blood
sugar.
So let's talk about what'shappening inside of our body.
What exactly is regulating theglucose in your body?
Well, I mean, it's a complexthing, you guys, but if I can
(07:08):
just simplify it, it's not justyour pancreas.
Okay, I know you may realizethat our pancreas is what throws
out that extra insulin in ourbody when we need it.
So, yes, our pancreas is a bigone, but we've also got our
liver involved, right.
Our muscles, our fatty tissue,our brain, our gut, our
(07:30):
intestines are affecting all ofthis, your hormonal regulation.
So, guys, this is superimportant Bottom line.
Our gut, our intestines areaffecting all of this, your
hormonal regulation.
So, guys, this is superimportant Bottom line.
It's affecting all the parts ofyour body.
Okay, this is not just apancreas thing.
So what are some of these otherconditions that are affecting us
?
Because it isn't just aboutdiabetes.
So what other conditions canlead to insulin resistance?
(07:50):
Okay, so you might be hearingthe term insulin resistance
being thrown around out there.
So this is a condition in whichthe cells in the body become
less responsive to the effectsof insulin and this is going to
cause the old pancreas toproduce more insulin to
compensate, and this can lead tosignificant metabolic
dysfunctions associated with allkinds of medical conditions.
(08:12):
Okay, let me just, I'm going tothrow a few at you.
I'm going to throw a few ofthese conditions at you.
Obesity you know that.
Abdominal obesity that we'reall.
You know that dang fat we'recollecting right around the
middle, right around the middleof our body.
Especially in middle age, westart to collect it right in the
middle of our body.
That is directly correlatedwith insulin resistance.
(08:34):
Non-alcoholic fatty liverdisease, pcos, you guys.
Cushing syndrome,hypothyroidism, you've got your
cardiovascular health likehypertension, and then, you know
God, at this age, we're allstarting to deal with chronic
inflammation and theseautoimmune conditions.
All right, we've got therheumatoid arthritis, the lupus,
(08:56):
chronic kidney disease,psoriasis, chronic infections.
And here's another big one thatwe're thinking about as we're
all aging, you guys Alzheimer'sdisease.
Did you know that Alzheimer'sdisease is also now known as
type 3 diabetes?
That is how linked it is toinsulin resistance, also cancer.
(09:18):
I mean, there's also somethingcalled postmenopausal insulin
resistance.
Hello, okay, guys, are youlistening yet?
Have you realized?
This is for everyone, for allof us.
Do not disclude yourself inthis conversation.
Okay, so let's go over thereasons why we would want to use
one of these CGMs.
First of all, if you'repre-diabetic or diabetic, you're
(09:40):
going to want to use this.
Okay, that makes complete senseto you guys.
We won't spend too long on that.
But there's also a lot ofnon-diabetics and this is a
rising trend.
You guys, a lot of biohackers,fitness enthusiasts and just
everyday people wanting tomonitor their glucose, because
it's going to optimizeeverything, including your
(10:01):
athletic performance.
It's also going to help youidentify food sensitivities and
manage your energy levels.
It's going to help you getbetter sleep.
It's going to help you preventall those chronic diseases we
just talked about.
Because if we can see thesethings coming earlier right,
(10:21):
these fluctuations we canaddress them and take care of
them before we ever get to thisstage where we need to really
get forced to listen to ourdoctors and start taking the
meds and doing all the things.
And I'm going to speak from myfirsthand experience here,
because I did not keep track ofall these things.
And here I sit, okay, type twodiabetic.
Here that's me, and I fought itfor a long time until the
(10:42):
doctor was like okay, fine,jenny, okay, call it whatever
you want, but you're diabeticand if you don't start
addressing it seriously withmedications, et cetera, you're,
you know, you're going to starthaving this, this and this
happening to your body, and noneof them are good Little heads
up there.
So you don't want to be at riskfor all this stuff.
So take it seriously now, youguys.
(11:03):
And if you're like me andyou're already here, it's okay,
because we can manage this andwe can reverse it if we want to.
Okay, but we're going to needthe CGM to figure this all out,
okay.
So now let's talk about sometips for using your CGM
effectively, because I'm goingto do a whole separate episode
coming up here on tips andtricks of how to manage your
insulin resistance, manage yourglucose levels better, but
(11:28):
that's a different episode.
I just want to focus on the CGMfor this one.
So you have a fullunderstanding of if you should
be using this.
Okay, so, to get the most outof the data, you're going to
link it up to one of the apps onyour phone, depending on where
you end up getting your yoursthrough.
Some have their own app andsome are just ones that are
available online.
This is all going to be in theshow notes and we're going to
(11:48):
talk a little bit more about itlater in this episode.
So you're going to talk alittle bit more about it later
in this episode.
So you're going to scan yoursensor with your phone and
you're going to note when youeat and what you ate.
You're also going to note whenyou exercise and how much you
know like how long, how intensewas it.
You're going to take a look andsee what happens to your
glucose in extremely stressfulsituations.
(12:10):
You're going to keep an eye outfor what it looks like through
the night while you're sleeping.
You're going to see how yourbedtime routine can affect your
glucose while you're sleeping.
So you're going to startrealizing what you're doing to
your damn body, because there'sno more denial with these.
This is a big reason for itsuse.
There is no more denial of whatthese things are doing to your
(12:30):
body, because good old Jen hereI can tell you don't drink
orange juice for breakfast.
But you're going to say I don'tthink that's right, jen,
because I don't know.
She's more overweight than me,she's admitted she doesn't work
out, she's older than me.
That's what we do.
We come up with excuses of whysomething's bad for someone else
and not for us.
This is what we do, and so wecan't make any more excuses,
(12:53):
because you're going to, you'regoing to throw this, you're
going to throw this baby in,you're going to throw the CGM in
and you're going to startseeing your own data.
And it's science and there's nodenying when you're harming
your body, you guys, it's goingto be in your face.
So this is a very amazingaccountability partner right.
This is one of the main reasonsI put it back into this day,
(13:14):
because I've done all theexperiments.
But you know what Sometimes Iput mine in just to be my
accountability partner, becauseyou're going to eat and you're
going to look back and you'regoing to say, damn it, I screwed
up again and you're going to dobetter.
Because you're seeing exactlywhat you just did to your body
right, it's in your face, it'sright there.
Exactly what you just did toyour body right, it's in your
(13:35):
face, it's right there.
Denial, we can't do it anymore.
And also it works the other way, because then, when you've had
a really good day, you're goingto look at it and you're going
to be like Jen, you kicked asstoday.
You know what?
You did a great look at this,you did a great job, and it's a
nice little pat on the back too.
Okay.
So this is this is why Icontinue to use mine, even
(13:56):
though I've already done a lotof this, seeing what's bad for
my body and what's good for mybody, cause, you know, I like to
forget.
I like to forget and go back tomy old ways, and so it's time
to throw in another CGM, usuallythen, okay.
So we're going to look at ourapp and we're going to see what
our glucose has been doing.
We're going to see this graph,you guys, and what does it need
to look like?
Well, if you're doing a reallygood job, they're going to be
(14:18):
like pretty little rolling hills, pretty little rolling hillside
guys, up and down, nice andeasy going right, because we
need our sugar to go up and down.
That's normal.
But if yours is looking morelike an EKG, with all these
little pointy tips at the topand bottom just fluctuating, if
you've got too many you knowrooftops too many pointy tips,
(14:40):
that's not good.
Those are your insulin spikesand a problem you're going to
have to address.
So once you get your CGM going,you're going to do some
experiments.
You're going to want toprobably spend a couple days not
changing anything, eating likeyou normally do, just to see
what that looks like.
And then you're going to wantto start playing with some food
(15:01):
pairings.
All right, you're going to seethe difference between, if
you're a pop drinker, like whata regular Coke versus a Diet
Coke looks like, or what yourDiet Coke versus water looks
like.
You're going to want to see thedifference between eating a
banana and oatmeal for breakfastversus eggs and a protein shake
.
You're going to want to do allkinds of cool experiments with
(15:22):
your pre-workout food, yourpost-workout food, how close to
bedtime you should be eating toget some good sleep, all kinds
of stuff, all right, and we'llgo more into that in the other
episode too.
But you're going to want to doexperiments and listen, I'm not
telling you to wear these CGMsfor the rest of your life.
You may be one of those peoplewho just needs to wear it for a
(15:43):
couple of weeks, maybe even amonth, maybe two months If
you're on a big health journey,maybe longer, but you're going
to want to wear it long enoughthat you can do all these
experiments and see what you'redoing to your body so that you
can make the modification.
So let's talk about somereasons why you would not be a
good candidate to get one.
Well, first of all, if you're atype 1 diabetic or you struggle
(16:07):
with hypoglycemia, where yourblood sugars just all of a
sudden drop pretty low, this isnot going to be for you, and
I'll tell you why.
I know you're thinking well,wouldn't that be the perfect
person?
This is for no, because theseparticular CGMs do not alert you
when your blood sugars getextremely high or extremely low.
You have to actually scan itand be taking a look at it to
(16:29):
know.
So, for type 1 diabetics andsevere hypoglycemics, they need
to know right away.
Because you've got to take yourinsulin, you've got to make
some adjustments.
It's more of a life-threateningthing for those people.
And listen, if you have theseconditions, you already know,
you're already monitoring adifferent way, so this is
(16:49):
irrelevant to you.
All right, you guys, all youknow all the things already.
It's also not for anyone underthe age of 18, right, this isn't
for kids, unless your actualpediatrician has recommended it.
Okay, for a specific healthcondition, but just because you
think your kid's getting alittle pudgy, no, we don't throw
CGM in.
That's not what this is for.
(17:09):
Let's not damage the kids.
All right, it's also not forpeople with eating disorders or
even just someone with really,really high anxiety.
This might not be the best idea.
Again, talk to your healthcareprovider.
But if you're already obsessingabout your food intake, this is
just one more thing for you toobsess about, and this probably
(17:30):
isn't going to help you on yourhealing journey for your eating
disorder.
Right, and that's all I'm goingto say about that.
Okay, it might not be the bestidea.
Also, it's not recommendedduring pregnancy or if you're on
dialysis if you've got somestuff going on with your kidneys
.
So again, check with yourhealthcare provider and make
sure that this is a good optionfor you.
(17:50):
Okay, so you've decided you wantin.
You want to start using the oldCGM.
How do you get one?
So you've decided, you want in,you want to start using the old
CGM.
How do you get one?
So I've talked about thisbefore but these insurance
companies, they're not going tocover it.
I don't know why.
I do know why, we all know why,but they're not going to cover
it.
So let me just tell you rightnow, even if you're a type 2
diabetic, many, many insurancecompanies will not cover it.
For instance, myself, I'm atype 2 diabetic.
(18:13):
I have excellent insurance, butthey will not cover my CGM.
They'll cover me to get aglucose monitor and lens sets
and tell me to prick myselfseveral times a day for limited
data.
No, don't get me started, I'mnot, I'm not down with that.
So I found, I found my own wayto do this on my own, because we
are not at the mercy of theseinsurance companies.
(18:35):
Right, we have other ways to dothings.
And that's not to say, if youhave insurance, if you get your
doctor to write one and we'regoing to talk about that in a
second let your pharmacist runit through your insurance,
because sometimes it'll getdenied but it'll come back at a
lower rate for you.
So you'll pay out of pocket,but less.
So still, let them run it andif they say that didn't work,
(19:01):
then let's talk about whatyou're going to do.
First of all, you're going towork with your healthcare
provider and they may write youa script for one.
They may not.
A lot of doctors don't evensuggest it because they know
insurance doesn't cover it.
They know it's a good idea butthey're not going to actually
recommend it because, again,they know your insurance isn't
going to cover it.
So what do you need to say toyour doctor?
Let's run through what youshould say.
So you're talking to yourhealthcare provider and you're
going to say I would like tostart monitoring my glucose a
(19:23):
little bit better.
Yes, I know I'm not diabeticright now, but I want to monitor
what my glucose is doingthroughout the day as part of my
health journey.
So whether it's to lose weight,whether it's because you're not
sleeping well, you're having alot of fatigue, you just tell
them you would like to see howyour glucose levels are playing
into this.
So could you please prescribeme a CGM?
(19:44):
All right, and they'll writeone for you and you'll take it
to the pharmacy and even if yourinsurance won't cover it, I use
GoodRx.
Go on GoodRx and see where theyou know your cheapest pharmacy
in town has it.
I have them run it through myinsurance.
It denies it, gives them a rateand then they use the GoodRx
coupon on it and I pay $79 amonth.
(20:09):
So that's for two sets becausethey last for two weeks each and
again, I don't wear them allthe time anymore, I just use
them when I need thataccountability, when things are
going a little awry.
Okay, so you can look into that.
But also I have some big news.
(20:31):
As of March of 2024, the FDAhas now cleared Dexcom's glucose
biosensor system as the firstover-the-counter CGM.
Abbott also has one that's beenapproved.
It's called the Lingo, Ibelieve, and it's now available
for purchase online without aprescription.
Okay, so you don't even need adoctor's prescription for it.
So if you're someone who maybe,you know, go to the doctor a
lot but you are interested inchecking into all this glucose
(20:53):
thing, you can still go onlineand get one.
I still think you should talkto your healthcare provider, but
you can still go online and getone.
Order it yourself.
So there's a few differentcompanies out there and I'm
going to put them in the shownotes so you can click through
them and kind of evaluate themfor yourselves.
I use the Freestyle Libre, butthere's also you can go to Lingo
, and I believe when Iresearched on there, it's $49
(21:17):
for one sensor which will lastyou the two weeks, and there's
no commitment with that.
So you do not need to sign upfor a program.
If you just want to use it fortwo weeks, use it for two weeks.
You can buy more than that,like if you know that you're
going to use it for a couplemonths, or if you're like, no, I
know I want to do this, I'mgoing to commit to doing this
for three months.
Okay, then you can buy theirthree-month package and save
(21:37):
some money.
Okay.
There's also some differentcompanies that are a little
pricier.
I used NutriSense in the past,like when I first started this.
They're more expensive, but youget to use their app and it's a
really good app.
It's more detailed than theones that you get for free with
some of the CGMs, and you alsoget a nutritionist and
dietitians that work directlywith you, so they'll help you
(21:59):
interpret your results and giveyou good ideas of what to do.
So if you're one of thosepeople that needs extra help and
you have the money to do so, goahead and do that.
But if you just want to startdoing some testing on your own
and money is an issue, thenthese other options are going to
work just fine.
You're still going to get yourdebt.
Also, you can use your FSA,which is your flexible spending
(22:21):
account, or your HSA, which isyour health savings account.
If you don't know if you haveone of those, ask your employer.
And so what it is is you putyour money in from your paycheck
tax-free.
That money's sitting there andyou're only allowed to use it
for healthcare stuff, medicalsupplies and things like that.
So you may be someone who hasmoney sitting there and I don't
(22:41):
really have a bunch of suppliesor things I need to get.
Well, this may be something youcan use that on, because
sometimes, if you don't use it,you lose it.
Okay, so, guys, if you areinterested and you're curious
about trying a CGM, talk to yourhealthcare provider.
Do a little research onlineabout which company seems to be
the right fit for you based onwhat your budget is and what
(23:01):
you're looking for, and whetheryou need a nutritionist or you
just need the monitor.
I hope you guys gain someinsight into CGMs and continuous
glucose monitoring.
Be sure to keep an eye out onthe Halfway to Dead Facebook and
Instagram because I'm releasinglike I told you guys I've done
the video showing you exactlywhat my CGM looks like and how I
(23:22):
put it in.
I also have some videos comingout showing you some of the
testing that I do, showing youwhat different things do to my
body, so you guys can seeexactly how to use the monitor
in different ways, differentlittle experiments you can do.
So those videos are coming outstarting this week, so keep an
eye out for that.
And then on the next WellnessWisdom, we're going to discuss
(23:42):
some real life tips and tricksto improve your glucose levels.
All right and I'm not, don'tworry, I'm not going to be
throwing at you eat less carbs,eat more veggies.
You guys know all that shit.
Come on, we're old enough,we've done all the damn fat
diets, we know, but these areactual things that you can
implement into your day-to-dayto help manage your glucose and
(24:05):
insulin levels.
Real world stuff, you guys,stuff you can do without having
to even really alter exactlywhat you're eating.
All right, we're going to talkabout some different tips and
tricks about the order you eatyour foods, food pairings, all
kinds of stuff in the nextepisode, but for this one, I
just want to familiarize youguys with what a continuous
(24:26):
glucose monitor is, how to getyour hands on one and why you
should be getting your hands onone.
This is part of the spiritualjourney we got to take care of
these bodies, so let's do it.
All right, thanks, guys, and Iwill see you next week for some
more wellness wisdom.
I hope you learned somethingtoday that you can implement
(24:53):
into your life, and remember touse the links in the show notes
to do your own personal deepdive into today's wellness
wisdom topic.
Also, please share this episodewith a friend who might be
looking for ways to improvetheir health and wellness too.
Thank you so much for spendingtime with me today and I can't
wait to hit you with some morewellness wisdom next Monday.
Oh, and I really can't forgetthe fine print again.
(25:15):
You know that legal jargon.
This podcast is presentedsolely for educational and
entertainment purposes.
We're just two friends on thisjourney together and this
podcast is not intended as asubstitute for the advice of a
physician, professional coach,psychotherapist or any other
qualified professional.
I know you guys get it, so I'llsee you next time.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!