Apology and explanation, to Eric and all:
The apology.
Eric and all, it’s abundantly clear that I wrote a very bad post, and I apologize without reservation. I assert that Eric has a stellar reputation here, and he has vast knowledge and exceptional generosity in sharing it selflessly to help us. I know of no instance in which Eric has shown malice or deception.
The explanation.
This thread is called “One of these things is not like the other” and opens with a photo of 3 sets of sunglasses and one hat. For me that set a playful tone. It was followed by a photo of a CGM and two meters, with the CGM looking completely different. I shook my head in amusement because we can see the darndest things on CGM graphs depending on when we look. I supposed that Eric had measured after an IV correction for a persistent rise, and was showing us an outrageous (“outrageous” as in funny, not malicious) tableau. And I did shake my head in amusement, as I remembered a photo he posted quite a while ago that showed a CGM with a down arrow together with a meter with an up arrow, and the numbers were quite different. I commented in that thread and he indicated that yes, probably this photo was at a BG turning point. So I thought the photo here was just another example and said nothing. Initially. But then I got to thinking about the considerable influx of new members, and what this photo would teach someone who doesn’t have experience with CGMs. To my considerable regret, I had overlooked or forgotten posts like Some Dexcom disappointment and Sometimes acting on Dexcom data really needs a fingerprick which seriously point out that CGM is a YDMV technology and it works poorly for some. Instead I was thinking of posts like Why is Sam trying to kill me? that feature “blooper photos”. Anyway, there are obvious conclusions that a new member could draw from the photo of a CGM showing a wildly different story than a pair of meters. Things like CGM technology is dangerously bad, it never should have been approved by the FDA, and closed-loop systems are more likely to kill than to help until somebody manages to invent a good CGM. I was pushing for an explanation of the photo’s context because it truly hadn’t entered my mind that the CGM could be so persistently and grossly wrong, as it apparently is for several members. I will regret for a long time that what I posted was so poorly written and grounded on such incorrect assumptions that it was widely received as an attack on Eric and an indictment of his honesty and motives. Even after DN posted her reply which prompted me to re-read what I had written, I still didn’t get it.
Eric, I was way wrong and I’m truly sorry for the grief I caused you and the other members.