After 34 years of finger sticks I recently bought the Dexcom G4 CGM! So far, so good…I have far less anxiety about my bgs throughout the day. I would be interested to hear feedback/advice about day to day use - e.g. best way to calibrate, how many times, placement,tape, sensor life, etc. I’m paying for it out of pocket so the more accurate it is, the better! There’s a tremendous amount of user experience and feedback out there, hard to always know what to follow.
I have found the Dexcom is most accurate with only 2 calibrations per day - the Dex will tell you when with the drop of blood icon on the screen…calibrating too frequently or if your trend arrows are not level can mess up the accuracy.
I have been able to get 14 days out of a sensor - you just stop the session and restart it (I would be able to get more but the tape starts to fall off, and I get a rash if I wear it too long). Some people add Opsite Flexifit tape to get even more time - but again I get skin issues so that does not work for me.
The best way to prep I have found is to use Sensicare skin barrier spray and then Skin Tac adhesive before attaching the sensor.
Good luck - I have found it to be the best tool I have for managing my T1D - even more than pump.
Hi Janlb,
Thanks for the message and support. I make sure to let the ROC arrow settle before any calibration. Two makes would be great per sensor, more would be even better! I will look into that tape - I’ve reached the end of week one and haven’t needed any extra adhesive in addition to the skintac I used with the original sensor adhesive.
I started on the Dexcom G4 sensor, and was upgraded to a G4 with Share. I found that if I had my preference, I would prefer to have an option to either continue with the “old” transmitter to receiver method, meaning non-Bluetooth, which I learned does not drain the battery as fast, or Bluetooth. I now have a G5 receiver and transmitter.
I use the receiver for my device, and not my smart phone, so this might just be my choice.
As for user comments, I like the product, and find the twice daily calibrations easy to do, and think that their readings generally agree with the number I get on my meter.
The 14 day suggestion is one I have not tried. This is because of what I have learned from my pump sites. I think that anything you have to place (or inject) through your skin, can become a possible site for infection. I cannot hope to presume how you react to things that a injected into your body and attached, but, an infection is something I try to avoid, and by removing something after 7 days, this sorks for me.
Again, as insurance coverage varies, and I get 4 sensors per month, with no additional charges for me, and due to the fact that Dexcom will replace a sensor that does not last me for the full 7 days (at no charge), I do not need to stretch the sensor usage.
Just my two cents … my opinion … I hope this helps.