Make your own solar eclipse viewer from a Dexcom box

Dexcom Eclipse Viewer

We wanted to see the eclipse but couldn't find those paper glasses and a proper filter for my camera was nearly $250! I definitely want to check out the NASA website and watch like an astronaut but we also want to go outside and experience the magic first-hand. So we made our own viewer from a Dexcom box and you can too. All you'll need is a pair of scissors, aluminum foil, some clear tape and a box.

I followed the instruction in this NASA video because if they don't know, who does?

You don't necessarily need fancy equipment to watch one of the sky's most awesome shows: a solar eclipse. With just a few simple supplies, you can make a pinhole camera that allows you to view the event safely and easily.

Finished viewer. I already tried it and it works great. The only thing left to do is hope for clear skies. Good luck!

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Please remember that it is almost NEVER safe to look directly at the sun, even today. Unless you are somewhere that will experience a total eclipse and then you can only look while the sun is completely blocked by the moon. Everything you need to know about that can be found here. CNN story. When in doubt always choose to not fry your eyes, they don't regenerate like your skin does when sunburned. 

Shameless plug: You'll be outside for a while... might as well bring the Juicebox Podcast with you to help pass the time. You can listen online (below) or with your Apple device or Android phone.

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Dexcom Announces FDA Approval of G5 Mobile App for Android Devices

FINALLY!!!!!!

Rejoice Android users..... rejoice!

from Dexcom.com

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DexCom, Inc. (Nasdaq: DXCM) the leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for people with diabetes, is pleased to announce the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Dexcom G5 mobile app for Android devices. Beginning in June, Android users will have access to the free app for the Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM System, allowing people with diabetes to view and monitor their glucose levels on their mobile devices to manage their diabetes in real time. The Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM System is the first and only CGM platform available for Android in the United States, complementing the 2015 iOS launch.

Download for free at the Google Play store here: bit.ly/AndroidDexcomG5MobileApp

The Dexcom G5 Mobile is a compact CGM system that works to display real-time glucose activity on certain approved display devices. The launch of Dexcom G5 Mobile for Android allows people to manage their diabetes in a more personal and discrete way by providing glucose data on their Android mobile device, as well as the ability to share it safely and conveniently. This empowers them to make informed and timely decisions about their diabetes, resulting in better health outcomes.

"Providing Android users with access to the Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM System has been a priority for Dexcom," said Kevin Sayer, President and CEO, Dexcom. "The new Android app has been thoughtfully designed with customer needs and feedback in mind. It focuses on delivering technology that empowers users by putting critical glucose information on their phones and is compatible with the most popular Android devices currently in the market."

Once commercially available, the new app will make the Dexcom G5 Mobile available on millions of additional phones in the United States. The Dexcom G5 Mobile app for Android will initially be available on several Android devices from Samsung, Motorola and LG, as well as Android Wear watches.

A current list of compatible devices can be found at www.dexcom.com/compatibility.

Medicare Announces Criteria Covering Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM for All People with Diabetes

press release

March 24, 2017

Medicare Announces Criteria Covering Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM for All People with Diabetes on Intensive Insulin Therapy

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), the leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for people with diabetes, is pleased to announce that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published an article clarifying criteria for coverage and coding of the Dexcom G5 Mobile system, the only therapeutic CGM under this CMS classification. People covered by Medicarewho have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and intensively manage their insulin will now be able to obtain reimbursement.

"This is a new era and a huge win for people with diabetes on Medicare who can benefit from therapeutic CGM," said Kevin Sayer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dexcom. "This decision supports the emerging consensus that CGM is the standard of care for any patient on intensive insulin therapy, regardless of age."

According to CMS, therapeutic CGM may be covered by Medicare when all of the following criteria are met:

• The beneficiary has diabetes mellitus; and,
• The beneficiary has been using a home blood glucose monitor (BGM) and performing frequent (four or more times a day) BGM testing; and,
• The beneficiary is insulin-treated with multiple daily injections (MDI) of insulin or a continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) pump; and,
• The patient's insulin treatment regimen requires frequent adjustment by the beneficiary on the basis of therapeutic CGM testing results.

In order to be included in this category, the system must be defined as therapeutic CGM, meaning you can make treatment decisions using the device. Dexcom G5 Mobile is the only system approved by the FDA to meet that criteria.

The entire release can be found here

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Little Girls are like Snowflakes

Little girls are like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same...

Snow day! It is snowing here as I write this post which is strange because it was sixty-five degrees yesterday afternoon when Arden came home from school and asked me this question.

"Can I have a sleepover tonight if school gets cancelled tomorrow because of snow?".

I thought for a moment and decided that if Arden had friends overnight then they would stay up late and if they stayed up late... then they would sleep in. I immediately imagined a morning to myself, smiled and said "sure!". 

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The sleepover brought one surprise that I hadn't pre-planned for, I needed more food at dinner time then I had in the house and so we ordered out. When the pizza, fries and some other stuff arrived at the door we bolused, set an increased temp basal and Arden ate. About an hour later her BG began to slowly drift up. I had been noticing all day that her BG wasn't responding to boluses the way I expected and began considering if we needed a new pump site. An hour later after I wasn't getting the movement that I wanted (her BG was 160) Arden changed her pump. 

I was aggressive with the insulin after the site change because of the new infusion, pizza in her belly and the excitement of a sleepover. Still around midnight her BG was still stuck at 150. When I went into Arden's room the three girls were passed out on an inflatable mattress that they set up next to Arden's bed. So it was air mattress on the far side of the room, then Arden's bed, then me. I was farthest from the air mattress because of where Arden's Omnipod PDM was located. I clicked a few buttons sent a bolus to her pod (it has great range) and went back to bed.

Not ten minutes later I decided that I should have also used an increased temp basal rate and so I snuck back in to the room. It was dark but I could see that Arden had made her way from the air mattress and was now sleeping in her bed. I crouched down next to her and held the wireless PDM close to her abdomen where she had recently put her new pod. The PDM couldn't connect. I tried again, wouldn't connect. I jammed the PDM between Arden and the mattress... nothing. As I began to worry that the new pod might not be working correctly Arden jumped up in the darkness, I had scared her. This felt wrong as she has never responded in the middle of the night like that. As I was about to ask if she was okay a voice said, "Sorry you scared me... Mr. B... I'm not Arden".

So it turns out that Nadia, Arden's friend was the one who moved from the air mattress to Arden's bed and the reason I couldn't connect to Arden's pod? It was across the room and Nadia's body was absorbing the signal.

We don't get too many middle of the night insulin related laughs around here and I imagine that you don't either so I wanted to share. I have to remember to tell this story on the podcast sometime. I felt like an idiot. 

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Dexcom G5 Mobile Gains Apple Watch Complications!

Do you know what watch complications are? 

Complications are the newest feature for the Apple Watch app. Dexcom G5 users with an Apple Watch can choose from 4 different watch faces and by just lifting their wrist they can quickly and easily see their glucose level and trend arrow.

“Complications are small visual elements on the watch face that communicate important information to the user. The term complication comes from watch making, where the addition of features added complexity to the watch construction. Complications are visible whenever the user looks at the watch face, and users can customize which complications are displayed. The number of slots available for complications on a given watch face varies, but most support at least two or three complications.”

— Apple Developer Website

Dexcom representatives told me....

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"We have seen many social media posts indicating that our users have purchased the Apple Watch primarily because Dexcom CGM glucose data is available on the watch. We are excited that this release will allow our users with an Apple Watch even greater convenience for those who want this important information in an easy-to-use and discreet form."

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"Close collaboration took place with Apple to get the watch platform to support our use case of 288 updates/day to make this feature possible for CGM. The Dexcom Watch Face was shown at last year’s World Wide Developers Conference in September, and its currently being promoted on Apple’s website in two locations, (1) on great new features of watchOS3, and (2) third-party ecosystems that make the Apple Watch great. Below are screenshots from both of Apple’s website locations."

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"As part of Dexcom’s commitment of continuous improvement in the quality and user experience of our apps, the 1.6 release also includes several sustaining improvements and enhancements."

Dexcom apps are available for iOS here. 

Click here to learn more about Dexcom

Dexcom G5 App v1.6 and Apple Watch running watchOS 3 or later required. US only.

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