As the title states, Anybody using Levels CGM that can give feedback? Looks like it’s a monthly sub service.
Here is their website: https://www.levelshealth.com
As the title states, Anybody using Levels CGM that can give feedback? Looks like it’s a monthly sub service.
Here is their website: https://www.levelshealth.com
The only thing I can tell is they use both the freestyle Libre andor dexcomm CGM.
So they look like a service that sits on top of an underlying CGM.
Did you go ahead with the Levels subscription? Interested on this as well.
Did you go ahead with the Levels subscription? Interested on this as well.
Sorry, I didn’t. Suffered a setback (injury) but will definitely look back into it when I’m back at it.
I’ve used it for a month now. It has provided me with some interesting, albeit anecdotal, observations.
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I found it surprising how much variation there is in blood glucose (BG) between similar meals. For example, my routine starts each day with the same protein/supplement shake. At first, I noticed that some days this would cause a significant (30-40mg/dL) spike in blood glucose. Other days, there would be almost no response (10mg/dL). I am now experimenting with whether this is simply a function of how fast I consume it; some days I chug it before I leave the house whereas others I sip it on the office drive.
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The app lets you log food and exercise, and provides some good insights for diet control with focus on BG. These have been useful. Granted my personal take is that most of what it teaches should be in the high-school curriculum, but it is not. Even so, I have learned a few tweaks that I can make to my diet that improve my BG without significant compromise to my quality of life.
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So far, I’ve found it of limited use during exercise. I’m sure there is progress to be made in this avenue but honestly, I haven’t had the time or inclination to really dig into the finer grain details. Broadly, BG levels have remained stable during exercise. Over longer workouts there is a little reduction (e.g. from ~95-100 dropping to ~85-90), with a spike immediately on exercise completion. This makes sense from a physiological perspective but until more is done here I just don’t know the utility. Perhaps it’s my particular case, but I have done longer rides where I feel shredded long before any useful “signal” from BG.
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What gets monitored gets managed. I have found a small but non-zero psychological benefit in diet control knowing that the actual data will be recorded. This is over and above keeping a food diary or logging in myfitnesspal, and I think it may be because you’re recording the physiological effect, rather than the cause. Also, this is partially offset by the perverse part of my brain that wants to see just how wild my numbers can get if I pound a stack of girl scout cookies… so YMMV.
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I first got the CGM as I was stepping back into the world of endurance training. During my ~ 6 year hiatus I became significantly more interested in the field of longevity and so I was curious to get a baseline for my BG and general health metrics - particularly as I re-devoted myself to a hobby where I can drink a full size bottle of maple syrup in a week of workouts… In that light, it’s been excellent. I have been able to perform self-directed OGTT (though without the insulin measurements, to date) as well as take advantage of some at-home labs that are available through Levels*. As my labs seem to be in great shape, I consider this a purely data collection exercise for throwing into my big personal Excel sheet to track and trend over time.
*I appreciate that this is a tangent but I also found ownyourlabs.com to offer an wider suite of testing, for lower prices than the at-home phlebotomy through Levels.
Thank you for tacking on there. Your #5 is sort of where I’m at with my interest in this.
I have understood that maybe 5 years ago, the Abbott Libre was ~20% inaccurate, but I’ve seen it touted as being the most accurate 14-day CGM in 2022. Do you know if you have the Libre or the CG6? Based on your wording, I assume you see that BG variation across other meals and different food groups aside from the shake, correct? Do you wonder if the accuracy of the device could be the reason?
I am using the Dexcom G6, and confirm I see BG levels change with other meals also - the shake was only an example.
I specifically wanted the Dexcom for its accuracy, having heard the same things as you. I selected it on the recommendation of Peter Attia, who was written and podcasted relatively extensively about his experience with CGM.
Generally, I see stable values during longer fasted periods and rises after meals, both within the normal range - these values give me little reason to doubt the accuracy of the CGM. These also tend to correlate broadly with what I would expect; e.g. the aforementioned girl scout cookies causing a v significant but shorter duration spike (as BG rises then the insulin system responds) vs a bowl of pasta seeing a lower, longer bump as the body digests it.
Additionally, the average BG levels I have seen correlate well with my lab-measured A1C (acknowledging the many limitations of an A1C in the first place).
Finally, although I haven’t done so, it is possible to perform additional calibration with a fingerstick. This isn’t required as part of standard practice, but is a capability within the Dexcom ecosystem. I can’t speak for whether this is possible with the Libre.
Okay - last question, I think. Do you get to select the CG6 or the Libre as an option with the Levels subscription? Or, was it just luck of the draw? Didn’t see how that exactly shakes out on their website. I didn’t go down any paths of actually signing up, but didn’t see it in FAQs either.
I got to select. I believe they were priced at $99/mo for the Libre, and $199 for the Dex G6.
Generally, there can be about a 15 minute delay between CGM readings and actual blood sugar readings. Ie, the CGM gives a reading that your blood sugar was at 15 minutes ago. CGM is reading interstitial fluid not the blood directly.
This is constantly borne out by blood test readings I do. CGM gives me a guide on where blood sugar is at or heading, blood sugar test is what I use to actually make decisions when it comes to insulin.
Type 1 diabetic here. On a different note I had a ‘lo’ reading for 4 hours of last night - CGMs are invaluable for diabetics for this reason as nocturnal hypos can be deadly.
think they are a waste of time and money for anyone who isn’t.