Diabetes management: could this new machine be for you?

Checking your blood sugar levels regularly is a fact of life for diabetics, and if you care about staying well, you will not be careless about this.

However, for some people it's not enough to monitor on a daily basis, or even several times a day. People who are at serious risk for severe complications and whose doctors want to be alerted at the first sign of trouble may have found a new weapon against diabetic complications in this new machine. It's called the Continuous Glucose Monitoring System.

To use this system, an electrode has to be inserted into the abdomen and connected to a small device a bit like a pager. Patients no longer have to measure the blood levels themselves because the machine does it for them --- every few seconds! After using the system for three days, the information is downloaded into a computer, which provides a complete picture of glucose fluctuations that have taken place.

Better long term control of glucose levels has long been known to be important in the prevention of heart disease, kidney and eye disease associated with diabetes. This treatment seems a bit radical and probably isn't for everyone, but it will no doubt be a lifesaver for diabetics in specific situations.

At present the system is available only at Flinders Medical Centre in South Adelaide, Australia, but if it proves as useful as doctors there expect, no doubt its use will soon spread.