![]() The system is only as strong as your weakest CGM site, and every time my CGM site errors out, or doesn’t read my blood glucose (at all or even correctly), it throws the whole system off. The system has been amazing in many ways, but it’s still not perfect, and it definitely is no cure. It’s also extremely important to appropriately count carbohydrates, as the system does not run on AI and cannot predict your eating patterns or activity level without you explicitly telling the system what you’re about to do or are doing. Once that was adjusted, it’s been much lot smoother sailing. Turns out that mine was completely wrong when I started, and leading to a lot of lows. This is the amount your blood sugar will fall from dosing one unit of insulin. When starting the DIY hybrid closed-loop system, the most important adjustment is making sure your correction factor (CF) is appropriate. I’ve had much more success with the looping system than my old insulin pump when it comes to avoiding lows while exercising. ![]() When you are planning longer bouts of exercise (long hikes or races, for example), you can set your exercise mode to “on” for a few hours before you start (my exercise bg goal is 170), and the system will make sure you have little IOB before you begin, but that your blood sugar doesn’t soar above your target blood sugar, either. It will automatically adjust my basal rates all night long and early morning to accommodate for the dawn phenomenon I struggle with.Įxercising is also a lot easier with the DIY looping system. Since this is a hybrid closed-loop system (and not a completely closed-loop, that would be able to administer insulin for food and adjust dosing for exercise automatically), the system does best when there’s less outside interference (i.e. I’ve noticed the biggest, best improvement in my overnight blood sugar levels. Once you’re set up, you can always change these targets at any time you wish nothing is set in stone. You can also set exercise targets (I like to workout once I hit 170), pre-meal targets (mine is 80), as well as adjust basal rates for overnight and daytime, and all correction factors. Since the user builds the whole program themselves, the user can set their own target bg levels. Personalize Management and Improve Quality of Life It may be hard to find an endocrinologist who will explicitly recommend their patient trying looping, but few have explicitly advised against it. Note that this system is not FDA approved, and that’s why each individual user must build their own program (to protect against liability). All of the instructions for setup are available online, and there is even a Looped Facebook group for questions and support. I don’t code regularly, but it helps to know some of the basics for setting it up. ![]() You’ll need to buy a developer account through Apple to set up Xcode, as well as a Mac computer, iPhone, the Riley Link, and currently be on one of the compatible insulin pumps and CGM systems. Here’s what you need to know about looping, if you’re curious about this tech-savvy way to better manage your blood sugars! Setup is Hard, But Not That Hardīuilding the program takes about 3-4 hours. They have published full instructions on how you can loop too, and people are more than happy to help if needed. ![]() While the community, known as the #WeAreNotWaiting community is small, it is growing rapidly, and people are having better diabetes control than ever before as a result. ![]() DIY looping basically means hacking your insulin pump with a single-board computer, such a Raspberry Pi or Riley Link, to make it communicate with an existing continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to make basal adjustments accordingly. How is this possible? About a year ago, I started DIY “looping” with my Omnipod tubeless pump and a Dexcom G6. I’ve lived with type 1 diabetes for the past 20 years, and in that time frame, managing my diabetes has gone from manual finger pricks and twice-daily shots to checking my blood sugar on my iPhone, dosing my insulin from an app, and having my whole basal insulin program adjusted on the fly without me even thinking. ![]()
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