There might not be an answer to this dilemma, but I’m hopeful. My son is about to leave for his freshman year at college. He sleeps so deeply that the CGM alarm does not wake him up. (He also tends to fall back to sleep when his clock alarm goes off, but separate issue.) The vibration while he wears it isn’t working either. A diabetes coordinator suggested we put the CGM into a glass filled with marbles to enhance the sound when it vibrates. It was loud, but it didn’t wake him up. Since his diagnosis, we’ve checked him at 2:00 am. Now that he’ll have one or two roommates, I’m sure they’d appreciate an alarm going off only when necessary. Plus, my son would get better sleep too, and he’ll need it when the stresses of college life really hit him.
I haven’t used a CGM so I don’t know all the particulars, but let’s think creatively.
Most receivers that I have seen have both an audible and a vibration alarm like what I have on my pump. My pump vibration may not wake me on the first try but eventually it does, especially when the vibration and audible come on together. I realize that to customary practice is to have the receiver on a bedside table - but since that doesn’t work try a different approach.
Put the CGM receiver on vibrate and have him wear it against his body - try different locations - have it so it doesn’t interfere too much with his falling asleep but locate it where he is sensitive.
I put my receiver in a porcelain cup on my nightstand right next to where I am laying in bed. I am positive there have been times I have missed hearing it the first time, but the Dexcom receiver wants you to acknowledge the alarms. So it will continuously alarm with the auditory part (for hearing it) getting louder and louder. Is he using a different CGM than the Dexcom? You might trying using Velcro and attaching it to either your son or the headboard of his bed. Just some suggestions to try and make college life easier for him.
Hello Shellie,
I do not use the Dexcom CGM. I use the enlite with medtronic pump. But doesnt the Dexcom have the ability
to pair with a cell phone? IF the audio is paired as well as the visual data, maybe a cell phone IN addition
to the cgm device may be more noise to wake him ???