I’ve had the G4 platinum a few months. A few days ago I called Dexcom about two issues: First, after a few days of wearing a sensor on my abdomen I feel an almost continuous pinching. It is very very annoying and sometimes mildly painful. Second, my CGM # is routinely 20 points lower than a fingerstick. Occasionally more. I can “assume” and add 20 to whatever # i see on the CGM, but it is annoying when the automated alarm blares at “55” and I check and the # is 75-80!
I was told by Dexcom’s technical rep that both issues are due to lack of body fat. The pinching is the sensor wire working it’s way into or rubbing on muscle. And the deviation of #'s is because the sensor uses interstitial fluid to give a BG #. Without adequate body fat the deviation may be greater.
@Vhm1 - Have you tried alternate locations? I know these are not “approved” by Dexcom per se, but a lot of people have had success in the upper thigh, back of the arm, or lower back/hip areas.
I’ve had my Dexcom G4 Platinum for about 6 weeks now, and I’m beyond thrilled with it. I started out with A1Cs in the 9s and up to 10. Now my average for the last 2 months is 141. I recognize that’s still higher than I’d like, but I still have a few things to adjust. In the first few days I discovered my dawn phenomenon and exactly when it happens and how long it lasts. That allowed me to change my basal rate from 4am - 7am and now I’m steady throughout the night and into the morning. Recently I’m discovering that it takes MUCH longer for my breakfast insulin to be processed than at any other time of day. By the time I finally have it down 3 hours later after I’ve been adding a correction bolus, I start to drop too low. This makes me think 1 of 2 things is happening: 1) My basal rate between 8:30am - 11:30am is too low or 2) My body thinks splenda is sugar, and spikes my sugar to spite me, but then since it’s not really sugar, it drops too low once I’ve corrected for it. I’m going to cut out splenda in my morning coffee for the next week to see if that affects it. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to change my basal rate.
These are things that I did not realize when I was only checking 4 times a day. No, the dexcom is not accurate 100% of the time. But it’s pretty darn close. The thing it’s best for is showing you your trends throughout the day. I had the first Minimed CGM back in 2007 (I think?) and I HATED it. It was painful to insert, it was awkward, the sensors gave me almost constant errors, and it was very inaccurate. The Dexcom is a dream compared to the original Minimed. I can’t comment on the new enlite.
I think my other favorite thing about the Dexcom is that I rarely remember I’m wearing it. Whether it’s in the back of my arm or my hip (I mean my abdomen, b/c of course that’s where it goes!), it’s not in the way. I agree 100% with all those who say the adhesive pad doesn’t work for long, but I’ve been cutting a hole in the 4" optiflex tape and it lasts for 2-2.5 weeks (I mean 7 days exactly, b/c of course that’s how long I leave it in for).
Vhm1: yes, I personally recommend trying the back of the arm, reasonably close to the armpit. I’m a fairly lean guy, and I’ve found that the most reliable spot.
AU325: I think I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s not the splenda thing. Like you say, it could be a basal problem; best way to find out is don’t eat anything until 2pm one day and see what happens. Another possibility is that your insulin is literally absorbed/processed slower at breakfast. If that’s the case, you could 1) try a large prebolus time at breakfast 2) maybe think about trying symlin 3) eat high-fat breakfast foods… Oh, it could also be that you need a higher icr at breakfast (more bolus insulin), though that wouldn’t explain the late lows then.
Nothing’s ever simple, huh?
Had the Medtronic variety CGM for several years. Medicare will not pay for CGMs so I could not get the newest and greatest 530 pump with the enlite. I tried using the enlite with my Revel pump. It was just not very accurate. With sever hypoglycemia at times it was mandatory that I have a more dependable system. I have been using the Dexcom G4 Platinum approx. a month. It has the “Share” feature where my husband has access to my BS via Bluetooth. He sets his iPhone to be alerted for “lows”. That has given both of us greater peace of mind and me more freedom. He is not constantly asking me what my BS is. We all know how irritating that can be. lol Medicare does not pay for ANY CGM so I am paying out-of-pocket. Expensive but very worth it to me.
Me, again. Catching up on a few posts. All CGMs work on interstitial fluid. My son told me I just need to “get fat”!! ha Since the majority of T1D are slim to begin with and most of us try hard to take care of our bodies [i.e. eat well, exercise, etc], we have lean fairly “hard” bodies. There is not a lot of fat or room to be putting extra paraphernalia-such as CGMs. Naturally, children have this problem. It is a constant challenge to find spots to place needles & catheters. The old adage of “pinch an inch” is a good place to start. If you can pinch up a good amount of “fat”, you probably have a viable site. Those of you who talk about “rotating sites” are also doing the right thing. We all have a limited amount of real estate with which to work. I was told that even though Dexcom has only approved their product for the abdomen, you can use other spots with a doctor’s letter of approval. This is a CYA event for the company. Love reading all of your posts and knowing I am NOT alone!!
Don’t forget Nextcare Waterproof Tape - it will stay on up to 2 weeks. When Dexcom sensors used to last that long the waterproof tape was the only way to keep the Dexcom tape on. Now that Dexcom has tweaked the algorithym to make sure we don’t cheat them out of a week, I don’t need waterproof tape anymore, but life got way more expensive.
I love my Dexcom G4! It is so nice to be able to see where my BS is going and how fast, especially when working out. I first started on the Dexcom when I did not have an insulin pump. I had never wanted a pump because I did not want something attached to me all the time. I got really used to wearing the Dexcom and then looked into, and eventually got an Omnipod, which I also love!
As far as the adhesive not holding very well, I work out a lot and was having the same problems. I have found that if I put it on my hip it tends to stay better. I switch hips every week when I change it. I use IV3000 to help it stick and it works well…just make sure to not put the cannula through where you wiped with the IV3000, wipe a small area with alcohol where you plan to insert the cannula. When I change my Dexcom, I usually leave it off for a few hours and plug the receiver in then, this usually works for the week.
It’s crazy how different insurance companies are…I’m lucky because my insurance pays 100% for my CGM and supplies.
I’ve had the Dexcom G4 since October of 2014, there’s definitely some pros and cons that come with this device. It isn’t always accurate because it’s not testing blood glucose, it’s testing interstitial fluid that’s in the skin. So with that in mind there’s going to be some discrepancies between results. The one thing I love about the device is that it’s able to track where your glucose has been throughout the day/week. Another positive is that you’re able to upload all of the data into the Dexcom Studio software and look for patterns and see what your blood sugars have been doing. A downside to the sensor is the adhesive doesn’t always take very well so I use the Skin Tac wipes to ensure that the sensor will stick. All in all, I like the Dexcom G4.
Send in for an appeal - almost all insurance companies reject the first time around.
Absolutely love having it for my baby girl. She was 9 months old when she was first diagnosed - I can’t believe their were and are parents out there that are currently dealing with or have dealt with this disease without this technology…
this is a game changer… highly recommended to anyone - but especially little ones!
I have been using dexcom for a few years now and I love it. I started off with the Medtronic cgm and I hated it. It wasn’t very accurate. That’s when I switched to dexcom. It can read your blood sugar from 20 ft away and it notifies you of lows and highs sooner. I would highly recommend this cgm. It makes life easier!
I am a mother of a 11 year old VERY active boy. He has had T1d SINCE December OF 2014. I am looking into getting the Dexcom G4 with Share. How do you like it?
I was told that even though Dexcom has only approved their product for the abdomen, you can use other spots with a doctor’s letter of approval. This is a CYA event for the company.