I watched several youtube videos on the subject before giving it a try and wasn’t impressed with how much difficulty the folks making the videos had with gettting the xmitter to pop out.
Upon doing it myself for the first time I soon discovered the difference in technique between success and failure: If you are using a test strip, be sure than the strip is pushed down into the gap ALL THE WAY until it hits bottom, and then slide it from the rounded end of the xmitter, towards the opposite end. Start where there is a vertical slot (it’s where the sensor bends 90 degrees when a xmitter is removed with the sensor already removed from the body. The xmitter should pop up as you drag the strip along. Then go to the other side and do the same thing. The xmitter should pop right out.
If you think you have inserted the strip deeply enough, but you actually didn’t, you may be fussing with extraction for some time.
EDIT: I find that a plastic card thinner than a credit card (my library card fits that description) works better than strips. Use the corner of it. Or try a guitar pick (others like that method and I bet it works like a champ)
Very clear explanation @Dave44, and very well timed as my current session is ending in a day or so. I have struggled with exactly the problem you describe—I get the basic idea but actually getting the release to pop has required multiple attempts and munged strips, and when it has finally popped out I’m still at a loss for what I did that made it work. It’s especially difficult with upper arm location because you just can’t see what you’re doing well enough, and it’s very hard to do the mental reversal required for managing a fiddling little maneuver like this while looking in the mirror. Looking forward to giving it another go with your advice in mind. Thanks!
Thanks! I can’t do things backwards by looking into a mirror either.
I undid my wife’s G6. My first G6 is on day 6 so I have a few more days before I try it on myself. It is on my abdomen, towards my hip, so I have a somewhat clear view of it. I say “somewhat” because my head doesn’t move well since 2 cervical fusions limit its mobility.
And good luck on getting it to pop out given it’s location. Let us know how it goes.
Perhaps practicing this technique with an intact sensor/transmitter/holder assembly that is removed from the skin would enable better visual and lighting conditions. Why not practice the transmitter removal technique with a sensor/holder/transmitter assembly that has been removed at the end of a final sensor session?
Its not that difficult if one just inserts the strip in the manner that I mentioned. The youtube videos are either too blurry or the person is too inept to be using it as a proper instructional. I don’t see any reason to practice on one that isn’t inserted, given that in a few moments I could determine what key information wasn’t mentioned in any of the videos that I watched.
It’s a little harder on the back of the arm because you have to rely either on feel or the mirror. But if you get it in the right spot it’s easy! It’s just getting it in the right spot!!!
Anyways I’ve had it pop right out with no issues to struggling one time to find the correct spot by mirror, so that is helpful @Dave44 because maybe I didn’t have it all the way down that time. I will have to pay attention to that. This one is on the front/side of my arm again so I expect no issues! Easy peasy lol when you can see it!!!
The head mobility thing is very familiar to me. Four cervical fusions plus one that was congenitally fused (runs in the family) means I only have one working joint. So I have to do EVERYTHING by reference to a mirror. You have my sympathy.
No spinal fusions for me, but osteoarthritis in my neck and shoulder. That constraints my ability to see a site clearly as well as reaching it to execute a process that takes a good deal of manual dexterity. That’s why I was so disappointed when Dexcom squashed the hands-off methods.
Starting with 8Gxxx G6 transmitter, Dexcom updated logic to recognize sensor end, and requires separation from transmitter.
Otherwise you get error message saying no restarts.
Don’t look at it as “Why does the transmitter have to be removed for restarts?”
Removing the transmitter is the easiest and most foolproof restart method I have found, it works every time and takes less than a minute once you understand the technique. It doesn’t require any third party software and doesn’t require you to have the Dexcom Receiver, which I consider a waste of money. If you are not having any luck restarting Dexcom G6 sensors, your are doing it wrong - try the transmitter removal technique.
As for the YouTube videos, I had no problem finding a good one where the sensor was close-up, in focus, and the person demonstrating the technique was far from “inept”. If you are looking for a good example try Youtuber Type1Tech TipsnTricks.
The process works far better with my plastic library card than a strip. I got the transmitter out in a couple of seconds. Using a strip is far more fiddly.
When I was removing a couple of transmitters for my wife, it was easy with the strips, but when I’m trying to do it on myself, the location makes using the too-bendy strips just a bit more fiddly than I’d like. A thin card, in my case a library card, works like magic, to release the transmitter.
I had some problems with Dexcom G6 restarts. But now I think I have it wired and I want to share what I have learned.
My transmitter begins with 8H, and it would not allow a restart without removing the transmitter. For my first successful restart, I removed the transmitter and waited 30 minutes for restarting, as suggested in another thread, and that worked. For the next restart, I waited only 10 minutes before re-inserting the transmitter, and I got the error message about Re-Starts Not Allowed. So I tried again, waiting for 30 minutes, and that worked.
I had a lot of trouble getting the transmitter to pop out. I tried test strips, I tried a nail file, but what finally worked for me was a tiny screwdriver that came as part of an eyeglass repair kit that had been sitting in my desk.
I also had trouble because I was under the mistaken impression that a sliding motion was required. Instead, you need to come straight down.
What really helped was to look carefully at the sensor and the transmitter after removal. I have highlighted the clip in this picture.
