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The difference between CGMs and traditional glucose monitoring
The difference between CGMs and traditional glucose monitoring

Understand the difference between your Vively CGM data and other glucose testing methods.

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Written by Anna Tondo
Updated over 2 years ago

Your Vively CGM and traditional blood glucose testing is different in several ways.

Firstly let's go over the two common types of blood glucose monitoring, these include:

BGMs

BGMs are single-use blood tests to check your blood glucose levels. It is a manual process in which you need to prick your finger, collect a blood sample, and run the test through a small machine to obtain their current blood sugar level.

CGMs

CGMs are a sensor that you attach to your arm that wirelessly transmits the results to a monitor e.g. your phone. CGMs check your blood glucose levels automatically at timed intervals.

The differences

  • CGMs measure from the interstitial fluid (the fluid between your cells), whereas BGMs measure using your blood.

  • CGMs track trends over time and give you a more general look at your blood glucose levels, whereas BGM gives you an exact snapshot of that period of time

  • There is typically a delay between glucose levels in the blood and the interstitial fluid of around 5-15 minutes

  • You can often set alarms on your CGM to alert you if your blood sugar is too high or too low

Here at Vively, we use CGMs as they provide a more general look at your overall metabolic system and they can help you track trends over time.

As you can see though, they are quite different! It's important if you have diabetes or any other condition that requires specific monitoring of your blood glucose levels, that you see your healthcare provider to find what suits you best.


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