From the Editor’s Desk: Hard Health Numbers for the Win (Premium)

In the June 19 edition of From the Editor’s Desk in the Thurrott Premium newsletter, I discussed my desire to get on top of my overall health by being proactive with my doctor with regard to basic health metrics (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose), and my sleep apnea and the CPAP machine I need to use to treat that, with the general goal of losing weight and being generally healthier. Separately, but related, I was also diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, albeit without the hyperactivity) and have taken the first steps to address that.

The biggest thing in there, for me, is the blood glucose, which is a measurement of the blood sugar levels in your blood. I’ve had borderline high blood glucose for over 20 years, with the weird caveat that it’s been roughly stable for that entire time as well. But I want this to be normal. And there are two ways you can test for high blood glucose, which indicates whether you have or are on the path to being prediabetic or have full-on Type-2 diabetes: a fasting blood sugar test, which is taken first thing in the morning, and a so-called A1C test, which indicates your blood sugar level over the past 2 to 3 months.

Most people (in the U.S.) get an A1C blood glucose test once per year as part of a routine set of bloodwork, and if things are going well, there’s usually no reason to do more. But if you are worried about this, as I am, or in harm’s way, you can get over-the-counter blood glucose testing kits in which you prick your finger to see where you’re at at any point in time. This is tedious, and it can be painful, but it can help you see what your fasting blood sugar is in the morning, and you can test yourself two hours after meals to see how particular foods impact you. Because everyone is different and we all handle different foods differently, this is crucial.

What I wanted to get was a continuous blood glucose monitor. This is a small disc that you apply to your arm---a needle inserts a filament into you, painlessly---and wear for about two weeks at a time. As its name implies, this device tests your blood glucose continuously, so you don’t just get point-in-time measurements as with the over-the-counter kit. You also get a much better idea of how foods---and sleep and exercise---impact you. For people that want hard data about this aspect of their health, as I do, a continuous blood glucose monitor is ideal: you sync its data to your phone and an associated app whenever you want and it gives you instant feedback plus, over time, an excellent understanding of where you’re at.

The problem, as I noted in that original editorial, is that our healthcare system is broken. And while my doctor loved that I was being proactive about my health, she explained that my insurance company would not pay for this device, which is expensive at about $100 a pop every two weeks. Insurance only pays for these devices when the patient has diabetes. (That is...