Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Interesting read.

My wife is T1D, moved to a closed loop last year. It has been life changing for her - this is not an understatement. Her mental health has massively improved because she isn't having up to 3-4 hypos a day.

One thing not mentioned in the intro, hormones hugely affect T1D. She's started perimenopause and everything went out of the window.

Closed loop has made this much more manageable.



Indeed, insulin sensitivity varies so based on amount of movement during day, stress, hormones, allergies, slight cold, etc that the rigid algorithmic approach they teach patients doesn't work in practice. I.e. you can follow what you're taught by diabetic nurse and you'll have bad control nonetheless.

What's the model she uses? My guess would be tslim+Dexcom? It does reduce stress a lot.


She's using omnipod + dexcom g6.

The omnipod was a good change for her as there was one fewer places to fail (being airbubbles in the piping).

And now with the closed loop, it's stepped up again.

One thing she has found though - her hypo awareness has dropped. They 'feel different'.


Out of curiosity, is your wife's closed loop solution official, or homebrew? (If official, which country do you live in, if I may ask?)


It's official - UK (England).


In the US, the official Omnipod 5 with Dexcom G6 closed loop solution is also available, starting early this year I think. My wife prefers her DIY AndroidAPS setup with Omnipod Dash and Dexcom G7, though, because the G7 allows you to warm up a new sensor when the old one is still active, so she doesn't have any gaps in her data.


The mental and physical benefits of improved glucose management cannot be overstated


Definitely - but it is also that she doesn't need to keep such a management on it, freeing her mentally. That and not yoyoing in sugars (and feeling like a failure).

Her description: what else can you do for 30 years and still feel like a failure as it isn't working like it should?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: