Addicting?

Hey there,
Does anyone else feel absolutely worried about their sugars when the dexcom isn't on them? Im very paranoid about it now. To be honest I don't really like the dexcom, i think its uncomfortable and the numbers are rarely right for me. But whenever I don't wear it i just worry about my sugars getting low or something. =[

My daughter wears a Dex. Sometimes she would really like a break. Dex has alarmed us and prevented two major lows (you know double arrows down and you're meter reads in the 60's) , one that was two hours before I would have checked her bg while she was sleeping and the other was at school 45 mins prior to her bg lunch check. I think we've lost a few more cells recently or she's coming out of the honeymoon now, so her basals and I:C ratios are kind of a gamble at times right now. I would love to give her a break from Dex...but for now I know it will not be until Christmas break when she is under my care 24/7. Yes, this mom is paranoid about sugars when my sweetie is without Dex. :)

can she feel her lows?e

Honestly, I feel naked without it. It's saved me from some really low BGs when sleeping, as well as alerting me when I'm dropping fast at other times. I was at PT the other day getting traction (no exercise) and ignored it when it beeped...10 minutes later when I could check I was at 58.

Just curious, you don't feel your sugar dropping?

Not unless I go super low, like high 40s or so. If I'm lying down, as I was in traction, I don't feel it till I stand up.

Not always for sure.

I like it for security...but when not on it...I remind myself that 40 years I survived without it....I can live a few days no problem.Just end up testing mcuh more in the day.

Hope you can relax a little with whatever the day brings. Stress is not helping the BGs!

Good luck.

I do feel the same way. I didn't think I needed it but after I got it, now I constantly look at it...

I'm in the same boat... I would love not to wear it (I feel like Batman with all the stuff on my belt)... At the same time, I don't feel lows until I'm in my 30's. Soooo I guess it's better than not knowing I'm low. I took a day or two off, but started getting paranoid about where my sugar level was...

A few months ago, I developed hypoglycemia unawareness, which I still have. I keep the Dexcom around all the time to help me manage my blood glucose and to keep an eye out for when it may be dipping. It's saved my life on occasion.

As far as numbers are concerned, the Dexcom is not always right. I usually test my blood glucose with a fingerstick before taking any drastic action (whether a correctional bolus or treating a hypo). Even if the numbers may be off, the Dexcom tells me the direction they are going, and that helps a lot. If I'm hypo the my numbers are rising, I won't treat it. Same if my blood glucose is high but steadily coming down. There's a big difference between being at 200 (which is what my blood glucose monitor will tell me) and being at 200 with an arrow pointing down.

That said, thanks to the Dexcom I am addicted to knowing where I am, generally speaking, regarding blood glucose. When it's not working, I feel lost.

Same here! I feel lost without it and I haven't even had it that long. This morning as I left for work I got ??? with no reading and I've read that you're supposed to wait 3 hours to see if it starts reading again. All the way to work I kept thinking what if I'm going low and can't feel it. I don't feel it most times any more unless I'm in the 40s. I was so relieved a few minutes ago to see that the dex started reading again. I really don't find the dex uncomfortable though... I don't feel it when I have it on.

Ha! I feel the same way. I think it may be addicting! Then when it's not on, I feel I'm low or high and test every 5 minutes. It's crazy!

I am annoyed at myself that I also find it a bit addicting, considering I also frequently get readings that are off. Then frustration follows, and it's an endless cycle. But it has been very very helpful for the lows, which is the main reason I got it. At this point, I've had Type1 for about 10 yrs andI don't feel my lows, even during the day, until it's down to 45-50. I set it to alarm at 80, which is kind of high, only because the numbers are sometimes off with the true bg reading and the true reading is maybe 65 or something. I at least want to be forewarned. BTW, i don't feel my sensor in me at all, and barely during insertion. I am fairly lean, so that's not a consideration. I guess i'm lucky, as I was really worried about how it would feel inside me. What I don't like is the bulkiness of the sensor, and having to wear two things poked into my body! (my Animas and the Dex.) Hopefully in the next few years they will integrate.

Yes, I'm hoping that they integrate also - and not grow in size. Another question - when you take your Dexcom sensor out, is the wire bent in the middle, like the wire itself goes in bent around the needle that puts it in? I hope that makes sense....

My wire is straight when I pull it out... Only time it was bent was the last one - and the sensor failed after 3 days... I figured I had hit some scar tissue in my arm.

That's funny - almost all of mine are bent. I wonder what I am doing wrong. I guess I've had straight ones but most are bent right in the middle.

It may have more to do with how you take the sensor off than the condition of putting it in... Just guessing here :)

That's what I was thinking - I actually have someone else do it....it's a long story.. We keep the plunger pushed in, grab the bottom of the syringe to lift it up. Then squeeze the top of the sensor and it releases. Does that sound right?

Sounds correct to me...
1. Push in plunger
2. Pull collar up to retract needle
3. Squeeze two sides of sensor case to release needle mechanism...
4. Snap in transmitter