Hi, I’ve had a Medtronic pump and Cgm for about 4-5years. I never had any problems with the Guardian 2 Cgm, I wish I could say the same about the 3. Each sensor is supposed to last 7 days, the most I can get out of mine recently is 3 days. After 9 sensors not playing ball. I feel like giving up. The support received from Medtronic is just appalling, they don’t seem willing or able to find a fix. Is anyone else having problems using the Guardian 3? Ps, I’m using a Dexcom g6 as a temp measure, it works like a dream.
I’m sure you’ll get some replies to your question but while you wait you might want to scroll through some of the previous discussions Search results for 'Medtronic guardian' - JDRF TypeOneNation Community Forum.
Sometimes people find work arounds, causes and even suggestions that solve the issue - you never know what you might stumble across, depending of course on the nature of the issue.
Wishing you the best - sorry you’re having so much difficulty.
Hi, thanks I will. I had searched for previous questions but couldn’t find any, thanks for the links
So I have looked at the thread you shared but it doesn’t really relate to my issues it seems, so will delete the post as it appears nobody else has this issue. Frustrating…
Give it a little time - sometimes it takes a little while for people to get back.
@Scrumpyjack65, @wadawabbit. There is one other group with a Medtronic discussion. I may get demerits for suggesting this. Try: forum.tudiabetes.org Although it uses a Spanish name for “Your Diabetes”, the forum is in English.
Let us know what you learn. Sharing is how we all learn and help others.
@Scrumpyjack65 - My husband uses the Guardian 3 with a 670g pump. He has had two instances in 2-1/2 years where his sensor did not last the full 7 days. In both instances, he had other issues going on, like his pump was sounding alarms for highs, lows, whatever constantly. We later attributed it to Novolog insulin versus Humalog (his body doesn’t like Novolog). With fewer alarms, the sensors last the full week. But he also had some issues regarding the location of the sensor. At that time he was using the front part of his abdomen. After many failures (not necessarily just fewer days), his diabetes educator suggested switching to the “love handle” location way off to either side of his torso (I will say he is a thin person with not much fat in that area). Because the Medtronic tape is tricky to attach when you can’t really see to align it, he switched to using SkinTac prep swabs and SimPatch tape purchased from Amazon (one oval piece with no hole). This gave him the ability to stand in front of a mirror and just apply one complete piece of tape instead of two (and the tape is AWESOME). Since switching sensor sites, he has not had any issues whatsoever. I honestly believe the educator was correct in guessing that he had a buildup of scar tissue in the center of his abdomen, and the very fine needle on the sensor was either bending slightly or not inserting properly. At any rate, it may be worth a try. Good luck!
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Everyone has the same issues. Mine usually start updating on day five and rarely last through day 6. Call them and they will send you a replacement. You can do it online but that limits you to 3 replacements. There are so many causes, they will never be able to narrow down what caused your issue. They are working on new sensors and transmitter but that could take 2 years. You are not alone!!
I’ve been using these for 2 to 3 years now and found that I was having similar issues for the first year and a half. I think that in the last year I have only had about 3 that didn’t last the full week. Putting them into the arm with the serter is incredibly tricky at first and I initially gave up even trying that for over a year. There are a couple issues with putting it in which I initially found easier to overcome by trying alternative sites such as abdomen, outer thigh butt cheeks/love handles. Places where you can see without a mirror. Skin tac does help but how you hold the serter on your body and how you pull the needle thingy out of the sensor also affects things. Once I got a good feel for removing that my sensor life improved dramatically. . when I started using this I honestly was going crazy and wanted to get off of this system, but with more experience it does get better…
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I have had up and down luck with the guardian 3 sensors. I have learned that I don’t want to calibrate when bg readings are below about 75 or over about 190. I have also learned that if you get a bg reading that is more than about 20% off the sensor reading don’t calibrate. I forced calibrations in the beginning and finally figured out I was causing most of my own problems with very early failure with non best practice calibrations. I also don’t calibrate with a bolus on board or within a short time of treating a low. Following these own self serving rules I have all but eliminated the failure of sensors prior to about the 6th day. I do still lose many prior to the 7th day but usually only by hours not days.
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