Real User Stories
Dexcom CGM offers Dean healthier tomorrows with Type 1 diabetes
Feb. 28, 2025 • 6 min read
The content in this article should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider regarding your individual health needs.
When Dean Goldberg received his Type 1 diagnosis at age 8 in 1962, the endocrinologist told his mother there would be a cure for the disease within his lifetime.
“He was wrong,” Dean said.
Diabetes treatment and management have certainly come a long way since the discovery of insulin in 1921, and 70-year-old Dean has lived through the many diabetes treatment innovations both personally and professionally. A retired Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), he spent decades researching and teaching about diabetes at The University of Minnesota and in the healthcare industry.
But his vast knowledge about Type 1 began with a treatment regimen that today seems archaic.
“Back in the 1960s, you took one shot a day of an intermediate acting insulin, and I frequently got hypoglycemic in school at about 11:30 many days a week because my diet and insulin regimen wasn’t flexible." Dean recalled. "The glass syringes I used had big needles, and they were reused so they became dull and my mom had to sharpen them on a whetstone. I wasn't a clinician back then, but I think doctors were just trying to keep you out of ketoacidosis. We also weren't aware in those days that intensive insulin control, or diabetes control, was beneficial.”
Since then, insulins and syringes have improved, glucose self-monitoring through fingerstick took hold in the 1980s and Dean left behind the frequent urine self-testing that was helpful only to a certain degree. He’s lived his life with an intense and nearly constant focus on diabetes, yet his journey often remained challenging, as it is for many who have diabetes. “I'm knowledgeable about the disease, but that doesn't mean I do everything correctly,” he admitted.
A CGM epiphany
On his first day at work at The University of Minnesota’s College of Pharmacy, he had a hypoglycemic episode and was whisked away to the university hospital where he learned he had hypoglycemic unawareness, meaning he could no longer feel and recognize the early signs of his glucose levels going low.
Over time, his wife Barb, now a retired critical care nurse, developed an uncanny ability to see in his eyes when he was fading into hypoglycemia and became an important partner in managing his diabetes..
“She was a huge help because in the middle of the night when I’d get very low and I'd wake up, sweating and soaking wet, she'd be the one that would have to go get me something,” Dean said.
Of course, she couldn’t be with him in every moment to monitor his condition. Dean had another hypoglycemic episode while driving and ended up in an accident. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the event served as his wake-up call.
“I realized I’ve got to prevent this, and I really needed one of those CGMs,” Dean said.
That’s when the lifelong diabetes expert discovered there was still more to learn and a better way to manage Type 1 with hypoglycemic unawareness using a Dexcom CGM system.
“First of all, the ability to tell when your glucose levels are going low or high and to do something about it is so powerful,” Dean said. “My A1C has always been around 7% or 7.5%. When I started on Dexcom CGM, it got down to 5.7% and now it hovers around 6%‡. I could live a reasonably normal life and recognize when the glucose gets low or when it gets high, and I could do something about it to manage my diabetes better.”
His Dexcom CGM has also freed him to enjoy physical activities without having to stop as often to get his glucose in check.
“I play tennis, bike and do water aerobics, so having that alarm on my Apple Watch lets me know when I’m getting low,” Dean said. “And what a great feature! Because when I get low, it'll alarm and I can go out and treat it and not have to wait for another 30 to 45 minutes till I get out of the pool. I know when I’m too low and can immediately do something about it.”
While Barb still sees in his eyes when hypoglycemia hits, she can also now monitor him more accurately on the Follow app§. Though she rarely calls him to say, “Are you going to do something about that low,” Dean said his Dexcom CGM gives her peace of mind and a better night’s sleep.
“Now I get an alert that I can set to go off if my levels go below 80 mg/dL- still in the normal range but close to where I don't want to be - that wakes me up and I can go do something about it in the middle of the night and let her continue to sleep,” he said. “Especially with hypoglycemic unawareness, you're getting an alert well before, which gives you control that I think not only a clinician, but as somebody who's had diabetes for so long, that's life-changing.”
Dexcom data appeals to and empowers the clinician
Dean chose a Dexcom CGM because he liked having control over setting alarms to his preferences and the ability to read his numbers on his Apple Watch. And as a retired scientist, he values the power of knowledge Dexcom brings.
“I love data, and when I have information, I can use that to my benefit,” he said. “Dexcom gives you a ton of data. The device was life-changing to me when it came out because my life radically, logarithmically went up for the better when I could get a warning on my cell phone that told me my glucose was 80 mg/dL and it's going down.”
Knowledge also enables better control, which empowers a healthier tomorrow. Yet for as long as he can remember, Dean has felt his tomorrows were limited. “I've always believed I would not live a long life because of my diabetes, and I'm pretty paranoid about doing my best to keep my blood sugars under control, my lipids and my blood pressure, because that's about all you can do and the rest of it's up to genetics and God,” he said. “I retired in 2014 mostly because I’ve always been afraid I wasn’t going to live a long life, and there were other things I wanted to do. The good news is, I’m living a longer life and have longer to do those things.”
That includes serving others as a self-described “social justice freak” who puts into action the concept of “tikkun olam,” Hebrew for “repairing the world,” that comes from his strong Jewish faith. His volunteering focuses on the homelessness problem in Minnesota, particularly youth homelessness, and he has served as chairman of Temple Israel’s Committee to End Homelessness.
“It's important for everybody to do something to try and make our world a better place,” Dean said. “There's a lot of pain and misery in it, and it's up to those of us that can do something about that if we can. I also believe firmly that if there's something you don't like out there and you're not doing something to fix it, then you're a part of the problem. So those are the things that internally motivate me.”
Dean also enjoys having more quality time to spend with his children and grandchildren and watching his beloved Chicago Cubs. He and Barb recently returned from a vacation cruise on the Rhine River, and they look forward to wintering in their new townhouse in Tucson, Arizona, to escape Minnesota’s brutal winters.
Though his endocrinologist’s prediction in 1962 of a cure for Type 1 remains unfulfilled, Dean is optimistic.
“What's out there now is pretty darn close,” Dean said. “With the pumps and the Dexcom CGM device, I can do a pretty darn good job of controlling my glucose. It's still difficult. There's a lot that goes into it, but it's so much better and I can live a relatively normal life with these tools.”
Healthier Tomorrows begin with Dexcom G7
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with diabetes and are not using CGM, talk to a doctor about Dexcom G7. We can help you get started with a free benefits check. Fill out a quick form to send us some basic information and we’ll take it from there.
* Compatible smart devices sold separately: dexcom.com/compatibility.
† Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
‡ Individual results may vary.
§ Separate Dexcom Follow app and internet connection required.
† Fingersticks required for diabetes treatment decisions if symptoms or expectations do not match readings.
‡ Individual results may vary.
§ Separate Dexcom Follow app and internet connection required.
BRIEF SAFETY STATEMENT: Failure to use the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and its components according to the instructions for use provided with your device and available at https://www.dexcom.com/safety-information and to properly consider all indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and cautions in those instructions for use may result in you missing a severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) occurrence and/or making a treatment decision that may result in injury. If your glucose alerts and readings from the Dexcom CGM do not match symptoms, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. Seek medical advice and attention when appropriate, including for any medical emergency.