I have had the Dexcom in the past, but am considering getting the sensor that works with my Medtronic 722 pump. Any suggestions?!
I’ve never used the Dexcom but I’ve had the Enlite sensor for a little over a year now. When it’s accurate, I’m quite happy with it. Sometimes different sites don’t work out so well and I end up wasting a few days trying to get a “bad sensor” to work.
If you’re on a 722 they’ll probably put you on Sof Sensors instead of Enlites unless you can upgrade to the 530G first. Just a tip–if you can get your doctor to prescribe them “off label”, I have read that Enlite sensors will work with the older pumps since they use the same transmitter as the Sof Sensors. If you can get the Enlites instead, do it. The Sof Sensors are a bigger pain, both literally and figuratively.
If you’re on a 722 they’ll probably put you on Sof Sensors instead of Enlites unless you can upgrade to the 530G first. Just a tip–if you can get your doctor to prescribe them “off label”, I have read that Enlite sensors will work with the older pumps since they use the same transmitter as the Sof Sensors.Yes, I didn't think to post that, but I should have.
While you can certainly use the Enlite with both the Medtronic x22 & x23 pumps, you need to work with your doctor’s office to ensure this happens smoothly. Officially Medtronic can only claim that the Enlite is used with their 530G pump because that is the combination which was used in their US clinical trials. Using the Enlite with pumps other than the 530G means it is an “off-label” use which simply means your doctor decided to use a medicine or medical device for something which the FDA has not officially blessed by having it complete the extensive (time consuming) clinical testing process.
Medtronic likes (i.e. requires) you to have a prescription from your doctor on file in your account if you use the Enlite off-label. If you obtain your CGM supplies directly from Medtronic I believe this should happen automatically.
I have a Paradigm 723. Originally, mostly IMO because no one thought to ask me about it, I was sent & used the Sof-sensors. Eventually I switched to using the Enlite. They are in many ways much better than the Sof-sensor. FWIW, one popular nickname for the Medtronic Sof-sensor among those who used them was the “Harpoon” mostly because the introducer needle is rather imposing. Here is a picture of a comparison slide copied from a Diatribe article on the 2014 Medtronic DAF (Diabetes Advocate Forum).
-iJohn
There have been a number of studies comparing the two. Dexcom always wins. The accuracy touted by Medtronic is based on very controlled studies. Most common place for the Enlite to be kept is the junk drawer. With regard to the accuracy, ease of use, and duration of use, Dexcom G4 is vastly superior. In fact, most physicians recommend the G4. Moreover, most doctors with diabetes wear the Dexcom.
I had a Medtronic pump for close to 20 years and their cgms from 2008-2014. I switched to Dexcom over the summer and will never go back. Accuracy was horrible with Medtronic and Dexcom was always right on. Even when my insurance stopped paying and I had to use expired donated sensors, they worked perfectly. Using Medtronic CGMS (and I used many) was just frustrating, I won’t do it again.
Something else to keep in mind when choosing a CGM is customer service; I am currently on my 1st CGM which is a Medtronic Enlite, customer service from Medtronic is HORRID! When the time comes, and I am looking forward to that day, I will NOT be choosing Medtronic again. When they mail out my supplies, I am on auto-ship, they most often ship my supplies to somebody else, and they use FedEx, so when I logon to see who/where they delivered my shipment too, it shows that they delivered my package to my ‘porch’, then it is up to me to prove to Medtronic that I did NOT receive my supply order.
I have been a Medtronic pump user since the late 90’s after being diagnosed as T1 at 38.
I had the original Medtronic CGM which was unreliable - constantly losing signal with pump and generally not very accurate. Oh, and terribly painful to wear.
I recently got the ad life sensor and love it! It has none of the problems of the old sensor. ive averted lows and caught trending highs before either got beyond reach. My BG’s are much more stable and of course I can see the trends on the pump read out.
I recently got the ad life sensor and love it! It has none of the problems of the old sensor.
What device are you talking about? Neither I nor apparently Google have heard about an “ad life” glucose sensor. (However Google did offer me a number of links to information on vampires. Huh.)
-iJohn
There have been a number of studies comparing the two. Dexcom always wins. The accuracy touted by Medtronic is based on very controlled studies. Most common place for the Enlite to be kept is the junk drawer
@DocHam
One doesn’t have to browse too many discussion board posts to realize that many folks have had a bad experience with Medtronic CGM. However, I don’t previously recall seeing any allegations that somehow Medtronic’s potential accuracy results were “controlled”.
Can you point to some way in which the studies Medtronic conducted were different from Dexcom’s? Do you believe that Dexcom’s study results are not just as “controlled” as Medtronic’s?
What are you trying to say here?
-iJohn
IJohn -
It’s a supposition made by most diabetologists based on the fact that the MARD for the medtronic studies was strikingly lower than that found in the independent investigations which compared the devices and evaluated the accuracy thereof. Medtronic advertises their own statistics. I could do a full talk on the problems and biases of clinical study design but don’t have time right now.
It’s a supposition made by most diabetologists based on the fact that the MARD for the medtronic studies was strikingly lower than that found in the independent investigations which compared the devices and evaluated the accuracy thereof.Do you have any links or other references for the "independent investigations"? I'd like to have a closer look at them.
Contrarily, are there similar independent studies which endorse the results of Dexcom’s trials? Or is it likely that Dexcom takes a similar approach?
-iJohn
I am reading the poor service many of you have stated receiving from Medtronic. I must be a special case, since the customer service and support I have received has been satisfactory to excellent. This has been the case for 16+ years now.
I am a bit frustrated with the enlite CGM though. The applicator fails to work more than working. Change is difficult, so maybe I am a bit fearful of a change. I am approaching my 50 year mark with Juvenile onset, so I have seen allot get better over the years.
I am sorry to hear that people are having bad experiences with Mini med customer service. I’ve had great experiences, ande have been using their pumps for 15+ years.
I have been using the 530G with Enlite for a bit over a year and haven’t had any issues knock on wood with them. I’m happy to share some tricks & tips with you @Jdole if you’re up for it.
Just switched our 11 year old from Enlite to Dexcom and will not go back to Enlite. Less painful, extremely accurate, loud alarms, dependability. Awesome! I had a great experience with Medtronic customer service and extreme wait time on hold with Dexcom but I didn’t care because Dexcom is hand down our choice.
As someone who just recently (and happily) made the switch from Medtronic to Dexcom for CGM, I have to give credit where credit is due: I historically had very good experience with Medtronic customer service. In fact, long before CGM, when I was a 20-something living paycheck to paycheck using a Medtronic pump and the insurance from my day job du jour presented some convoluted issues for my specific medical needs, one customer service rep at Medtronic in particular was truly a godsend, and I will never forget that.
That said, I noticed a deterioration in customer service at Medtronic in the past year or so, since around the time of the (unflattering) press coverage when they outsourced much of their operations overseas. I can’t say for sure there’s a correlation there, but I can’t deny I have a much lower opinion of Medtronic now. FWIW, my last dealing with Medtronic’s customer service was particularly abysmal. Weeks before the Dexcom G5 — which I had been waiting for — was approved, I had an upcoming doctor’s appointment and suddenly neither my home computer nor work computer met Medtronic’s seemingly arbitrary requirements to be able to download data from my sensor that I needed to provide for my doctor. The Medtronic rep I spoke to suggested that I “upgrade” to some new accessory that Medtronic had launched (which my insurance would not pay for), because they recently revamped their whole site to accommodate that device. I said that I’d sooner switch to Dexcom, and that’s what I’ve done…and, in the meantime, I borrowed a friend’s computer that met Medtronic’s requirements, and got the CGM data to my endo in the nick of time.
My nine year old daughter has been on a Medtronic 530G since 6 months after diagnosis at age 7. Shortly afterwards we began using the Enlite Sensor, and ten months ago switched to the DexCom G4 with Share. The Dexcom sensor is substantially more accurate (and there is plenty of data from the Bionic Pancreas project to back this up), lasts longer, is less painful to insert, and the Share functionality has literally changed our lives. Formerly we used Medtronic’s very cumbersome and expensive Sentry to monitor our daughter at night, and the Share is a huge improvement. Our daughter’s life at school is also much easier with Share as her teacher and administrator are both Share users on their iPhones. I am happy to discuss with any forum members who would like to email me for contact info.
I have used the 3 of them. The first one was the Medtronic SofSensor for more than 2 years. Because of its inaccuracies and because the insertion method for the Enlite was advertised to be more users’ friendly, I switched to the Enlite.
For me it was a complete nightmare. I found the insertion device extremely complicated and in about a month I had to have it replaced because it would just not release the sensor. First time I’ve had been without a sensor in a long time while I waited for the new device to be delivered.
In other words, it didn’t help me at all with either an easier insertion method or any more accuracy. On the other hand most of the time the inaccuracies were horrific. It beeped at night with false alarms to the point that in a couple of occasions I turned the alarms off in order to sleep. I used it with a Medtronic Rebel 523 and maybe you really need to have the 530G pump.
I finally decided to go with Dexcom even thought I now have to have an additional device with me (the Dexcom receiver). Its worth the trouble though and not as difficult as I once thought. DEXCOM is so much more reliable. I would never go back to a Medtronic sensor.
I can also used the Dexcom for more that 7 days and have used the same one for up to 14 days with a pretty good accuracy, some times better than the first 7 days. There is no comparison between the two brands. DEXCOM’s reliability is so much better, like day and night.
I used the Medtronic CGM off and on for about 2-3 years. During that time I had ONE sensor that calibrated well for the three day period. The sensors were VERY painful to insert, often hurt after insertion, readings very rarely followed meter readings, sensor was bulky and had to be taped so it would not fall off. All I got out of the process was pain and frustration. From talking with Minimed customer service I got the impression that I was one of very few who had problems with it. Also got very little sleep due to all of the false alarms. Got to the point that I just ignored nocturnal alarms despite my hypoglycemic unawareness. I gave up about three years ago.
On Monday, FedEx will be delivering my new Dexcom G4 which my insurance finally approved on Thursday after making me jump thru hoops for two months. I am part of a research study for T1’s. Eight of them are happy Dexcom users. The other two of us have been trying to get them approved. This should beat getting up at 2AM every morning to check my BG. My Great Dane wakes me up sometimes but does not have 100% accuracy (yet). Minimed CGM is a piece of junk unless there have been radical improvements in the last couple of years. ( I was one of their loyal pump users for more than 25 years.)
Love my Medtronic Pump, absolutely thought their CGS sensor was a complete waste of time and money. I had two sensors in a row that didn’t work and had to be replaced. By that time I was totally disillusioned. It wasn’t worth the effort or dealing with the blood and brusiing from the insertion site.
Several years later my doctor suggested I try DEXCOM. What a complete difference. Easy to use, not intimidating with the size of the needle. Very seldom is their bruising or bleeding. I got it a year ago and have found it to be extremely accurate and wear it all the time. On the couple of occasions that I haven’t had it on, I have felt completely lost without it. It really is a lifesaver to be able to know how your glucose is trending, what it is at any time without have to stop and test. The phone app for SHARE is great as well and helpful to other family members. I highly recommend it!
When I was first diagnosed 39 years ago it was really easy to know when I was going low. Not as easy anymore. It is scary when it gets below 50 and very helpful to know before you get to that point.