If I have rather normal skin, will I necessarily need skin tac, hypa fix tape, tegaderms etc to get a week out of a sensor? My Dexcom is coming Thursday(finally-long story), my local pharmacies only have Tegaderm. I would have to order anything else. Are the majority of Dexcom users needing all this stuff, or are these things for people with skin issues or trying to get more than a week per sensor? Thanks for any advice!
I use Skin-Tac. If I don't, I have difficulty going 14 days and keeping the sensor in place. If you want to try and get by without any extra adhesive, wash the intended site with soap, hot water, and a wash cloth. Wipe the wash cloth firmly against the skin, enough to leave the skin turning red. Thoroughly dry and then place the sensor. With all the natural skin oils cleansed from the site, you have the best chance of keeping it in place for at least a week. By the way, I often consider the second-week accuracy better than the first.
I've had very good performance using the Skin-Tac, even when I've soaked in a hot tub. I may try my next sensor without using Skin-Tac as I suggested above, to see if I can make sensor placement easier and hopefully still last as long.
Good luck with the Dex. I consider it an essential tool for my BG control. I would hate to live without it!
I'm almost a newbie to Dexcom too! But I also use the Omnipod insulin pumps. At first, I used tegaderms quite a bit, but have found that under normal conditions the pump never has a problem sticking with no other help. I'm going to assume the Dexcom sensor will be the same, but it will be worn much longer periods so maybe at least the tegaderm covering it would not be a bad idea. I have normal skin too, so that's my take on your question.
I could easily get a week out of the dexcom sensor without adding anything to it. My skin is normal like yours. But to get 2 or 3 weeks out of a sensor and to have it stay in place during intense racquetball games or long walks with my dog, I find that opsite flexifix tape keeps it secure and does not cause any irritation. A single roll of 4" wide tape has kept a years' worth of sensors securely affixed and I still have a bunch left on the roll, so the $20 investment has been well worth it.
I only wear the sensors on my upper thighs so they are constantly getting rubbed by my clothes. I also routinely spend an hour in the pool so they're wet a lot as well.
I think I have pretty normal skin. I've never used any tapes or stick-ums or anything. I can get two weeks from a sensor easy. I wear them on my arms, and have had great success there going back and forth between my left and right.
I could get more time out of a sensor, but feel uneasy about leaving something 'plugged in' to me for longer than that. Also, the sensor itself starts to get pretty nasty by that amount of time. I got up to about 20 days one time with no issues.
I might just be lucky. Live in SoCal, where the weather is generally dry, but had the same performance when we visited various different locales -- Maine, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona.
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Clare....do you glue it right over the top of it, or do you cut out the transmitter area? How large of a piece do you use? Now I use skin-tac when it lifts up; but next the adhesive turns hard and it is hard to re-glue....only gives me a couple additional days. I need to try something else.
I cut a hole out for the transmitter. The piece is 4" x ~3". I have never used skin-tac because the opsite flexifix was recommended to me and I bought a roll a year ago and I still have some of that roll leftover.
A week should be fine. I do the other stuff because I'm going (against FDA and manufacturer's recommendations) a month. You can get the other stuff is fairly cheap off Amazon, and if you go with a partner business, it typically is reasonably fast.
I have seldom needed any extra adhesive, however, when I have I found that Extra Large bandaids have worked They are about 4 inches by 2 inches and can be found at most drug stores. The other products have to be "Specially ordered" and are rather expensive. I am sure they are good and reliable but I have few problems with the adhesion of the Sensors. I know some users have constant trouble so I can understand the use of them. If the Sensors are used more then 7 days you might need more adhesion. I wear my sensors about 14 days or so and sometimes I will add small bandaids onto the sides if they start to come loose.
Dondi:
Do you simply place the entire bandaid so it's centered over the receiver, or cut out the center of the bandaid first, or something else?
I have used it over it without cutting it. It overlaps all edges of the original sensor. I only done it a couple times but it was quick and seemed to work for me. As I said my sensors mostly hold on without much help. The bandaids are cheap.
Good idea-I will put a few of those in my kit I keep in my purse for problems while I'm out and about-we happen to already have some on hand for the kids and their all too common "mishaps". I had to buy a bigger purse-darn. The glucometer case(it's bigger than my old one before the pump) and small makeup bag of pump supplies I now carry take up a lot of room! My new pump and Dexcom "babies" almost need their own diaper bag!
Just started the Dexcom this week-I will now be ordering some flexifix. The Dexcom so far is sticking fine, but I just replaced my pump site last night(routine change) and it slipped straight out after my shower this morning. I don't know if it was the soap, my hair conditioner or what, the previous 3 sites had stuck just fine, but this one fell out with no effort. It looked fine before the shower. So now I'm nervous the Dexcom will do the same thing. Thanks for the tip! In the meantime while waiting for it to arrive I will use Dondi's tip below on the oversized bandaids if need be.
I carry a separate pack with both Dexcom, Omnipod and other Diabetic supplies with me such as pens alcohol swabs. It is embroidered on top Medical Device so now one will mistake it for something with money or credit cards in it which I never carry in it.
Good idea-was that a bag I could order off the internet? I haven't seen one with anything embroidered on top except from LLBean or something. I am currently using a black insulated lunchbag, but it looks plain and could be overlooked or discarded by accident.
The bag I got was from Princess Cruise line on a ship. The embroidery was done by me with a small embroidery machine which I own. I wish I could offer where to get one as it is a perfect size, about 8 wide inches by 10 inches long and about 3 inches thick, it has a number of zippered pockets and works well. I went on another cruise recently and bought a second one as a spare. I will embroider it with "Medical Device" and my wife suggested adding a phone number. It has a small shoulder strap and also belt loops so I could add it to my belt. I have a small paperback book "the CalorieKing calorie and fat and Carbohydrate counter" that I use for carb counting. It fits perfectly and I use it as my constant companion. I have tried several other bags but this works best for me. I have to contend with other men accusing me of carrying a purse but being my life depends on it I just smile and say so what! Most people who know me understand.
Haha-I cruise on Carnival-maybe I will have to jump ship to Princess to get a bag lol! My lunchbag actually works fine-it's just so plain and dark, I'm afraid I'll lose it or something. I never thought about having it embroidered-there is a shop near me that does that sort of thing. I may ask them if they can do it. Thanks for the idea!
When I went looking for Tegaderm at my local pharmacy with my new girlfriend and I told her about this problem with sensors not sticking she thought for a few seconds and immediately led me to the make-up aisle. She handed me a small bottle of false eyelash adhesive and asked if that would work. It was a fraction of the price of Tagaderm so I went ahead and tried it and found out it works great! I figured since it was made to be used around your eyes it had to be pretty safe for skin. And it’s also water resistant. It keeps the sensor secure for an additional week and when its time to remove the sensor the adhesive just peals right off.
Thank you, Heidi!
I’d love to hear if this solution works for some of the people here that are sensitive to other adhesives.
Hmmm, may have to try that! The Dexcom is sticking fine, but my inset sites are not. I have tried IV prep, skin tac and tegaderm and I have only had one site last 3 days. I had one that lasted about 16 hours-not good. The rest have been lucky to survive 48 hours. I guess a lot more trial and error is coming my way! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks Clare! I accidentally bought the 2" opsite flexifix from Amazon instead of the 3" or 4", but I cut 2 1" pieces off and taped down both ends. I really like it! I used it on a week old sensor and the ends were curling up. I usually use skin-tac for that, but it causes the tape to harden up after a day or two and it isn't usually a long term fix. This worked fantastic! I can't feel a thing. Thanks!