You should not use this if you have Type-1 diabetes. It's (supposedly) not cleared to the same FDA standards, and if you tell the app you're diabetic, it locks you out from using this. I'm under the impression the Stelo (OTC version) is the same as the G7 (prescription version) with a different logo and box. I think the only practical difference is that this version has a longer lifespan (15 vs <10 days), and that it's not configured to actually alarm when it detects something dangerous. I'm not sure if any science showed the last 5 days have reduced accuracy, but I wouldn't risk my health on it if there were alternatives available.
If you have T1d, you've been able to get the prescription-variant of this product for years with insurance, so there really is no reason to get this unless you're un-insured.
The lack of a hypo alarm is the reason the Stelo is not past FDA, yet.
Luckily, there's xDrip4iOS and xDrip++, not to mention Suggah and others, who will happily do the alarming part for you. Not to mention, that to many of us T1D, the CGM is just a secondary data point for our loop, which has a CGM already built in.
I beliebe xdrip is not (yet) steel compatible. Also interesting to see if this thing really sends data only every 15mins or is it done in the app. 15min is way too much for looping.
Surely you’re not a US resident, because “covered by insurance” is definitely not a good enough reason on its own to not consider this here. 30 days of CGM device coverage from our insurance costs more than this.
That said, one actually legitimate reason a T1D may be better off with their prescribed device is if Dexcom doesn’t readily replace the OTC versions the way they do for prescriptions.
This happens way more often than I imagine most who are unfamiliar would think. Anecdotal from an internet stranger, but just last night, we had a third G7 in a row fail well before the 10 day timeline. And speaking of insurance..they wouldn’t cover the early refill we tried to get a week ago when we hadn’t yet received replacements from Dexcom.
Each insurance is different, of course, and it depends on the patient. It also varies if you’re type 1 or 2, and if you’re prescribed insulin. I’m not either, so I don’t know for sure. The American healthcare system (which I am part of) is pretty opaque.
That said, I’ve heard people quote an insurance price of about $100/mo for a g7 (which is the same as this), and Medicare should cover it outright. I’ve seen companies sells the G7 for ~$200/mo if you don’t have insurance, but without a prescription I’ve never actually gone and bought one so I don’t know if I’m missing something.
> If you have T1d, you've been able to get the prescription-variant of this product for years with insurance, so there really is no reason to get this unless you're un-insured.
is dishonest at face value.
The OOP cost can wildly vary per insurer. As important is whether or not the insurance company covers it when you need it.
Typically insurance only covers 30 days at a time. That means on day 29, insurance will refuse to cover the cost at the pharmacy.
Real world schedules, flukey tech and devices, fluctuating pharmacy inventory, and occasionally needing an endo to confirm that you still aren’t the first person in human history to reverse Type 1 diabetes, etc. make “this was covered by prescription insurance” a flimsy-at-best argument against T1Ds considering this.
