When using the sensor on your arms or legs, do you place it horizontally (perpendicular to your limb) or vertically (parallel)? I know Dexcom says to place it horizontally, but it it also says to just use your abdomen…
I’m planning on trying out my thigh when I start a new one, and I want to do all I can on my end to make it work as long as possible!
I do vertically on my arms pretty often, with no problems.
havent ever done vertical. I do horizontal on my thigh. Dont know the scientific basis of dexcom saying it has to be vertical
I do vertically on my thigh. On day 18.
I always go vertically on thigh/arm sites. My educator told me that they tell you to go horizontal simply because when using your abdomen, this is the most comfortable way to wear the sensor. Think about it, if you put it vertical on your abdomen and bend over…depending on your placement, you’d practically stab yourself with the big chunk of plastic. Also, if you think about the curvature of your arm/thigh verses that of your abdomen, placing the sensor perpendicular on a limb (which is much more curved than your abdomen) would keep it from sitting relatively flat on your skin and cause the sensor adhesive to wear out faster. But, as with all things D-related, you’ll probably need to experiment a little to find out what works best for you.
that makes sense
Thanks everyone! I think I’m going to go with vertically this time and see how that works. 
I put it in the direction that will pinch up most easily. Up and down on arm, across on torso, up and down on thigh. A tip from the thoughtful member Helmut.
Where in the thigh do you find is the best location. I am a heavy lifter, training almost daily, I have a lot of real estate to choose from on thighs and arms.
Replied to this in another thread too. Let me know if it’s still not clear. OK, a little hard to describe. I sit in a chair, go down about 1/4 the way down my leg. That’s the upper part. I find inner by squeezing my thighs together (still sitting) and using the spot closest to inner thigh that is still exposed, plus maybe 1". No, it doesn’t hurt. You have to be careful pulling pants up/down.
Frank I wouldn’t say what I do is heavy lifting although it’s not exactly Barbie weights either anyway I’ve found that for the most part the sensor on the thighs hasn’t been a problem unless I had it too far towards the front of the thigh. In that position sometimes the barbell would come too close for comfort or I’d lose form in an effort to save the sensor. I’ve found that about half way between the front and side of the thigh is about perfect it’s out of the way of most of the barbell or dumbell lifts I do.
I’ve actually had more problems with my pump getting in the way. At least that I can move. Once when I was trialing the Omnipod I had a demo pod on my lower abdomen I was doing bent over rows with barbell and I ended up rowing right into that pod. Oh man that hurt. The pod appeared to hold up really well but I sure had a bruise afterwards.
How high do you usually place it? I don’t have a lot of fat on my legs(abdomen is a different story), but the weight belts usually get in the way of an abdomen placement. My first sensor has lasted about 4 days now, but I had to reinforce the attachment w/ tegaderm to keep it on because the adhesive failed during my first workout(less than 24 hours). I had an Omni-Pod for a month. I never got a pod to last more than 2 days, and most failed within 24 hours. The adhesive never failed, but the pods were tearing away from the backing with very little force. I also got an occlusion with almost every pod I used. I went back to my ping and I have gotten occlusions 4 times in 2 years. My lifts are on the extreme side with squats around 600lb and benches roughly at 400lb. I know these devices are not made for extreme conditions like mine, but It is helping so far and I want to get the best results possible.
Thanks
F
Frank, I always use opsite flexifix around the edges of the dex tape. Even if the dex tape pulls up, the flexifix stays tight and holds it in. I don’t do anything nearly as strenuous as you do but my last sensor lasted 19 days. Pretty ugly around the edges but it worked great.
Good tip, Thanks, I don’t think the level of the workout has much to do with it really because nothing comes in contact w/ the sensor. It was mainly sweat that made it come loos. I am going to get some of the flexifit, and maybe try mastisol as well. Duct Tape is my last resort.
I’ve had the sensor all over my thigh even close to the knee and it worked pretty well. I carry a bit of fluff in my hips/thighs though. I wasn’t sure if I had enough fat nearer to my knee but I just pinched up during insertion and it seemed to work ok.
If you end up being too muscular on the thighs for the sensor could you still use your abdomen if it wasn’t near the edges of the weight belt where it would rub? I also would think it would be ok if you wore the sensor really low where it would be fully under the belt too. Does the belt shift around during your lifts? Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the belt? I can’t see where it would hurt anything trying a sensor underneath the weight belt. It seems to me the worse that would happen would be the Dex could read false lows from the pressure.
If the adhesive is failing that early on and during workouts it’s probably from sweat and what I found works the best for me is a barrier used before insertion like Skin Tac or Bard Skin Prep etc. In the summer I use Skin Tac for both pump sites and sensors otherwise I just use Skin Prep. For edges peeling up over time you can reinforce with tape. I’ve been using hypafix for that. Others like flexifix.
Be careful of using anything where the sensor will be inserted. It’s coated with an enzyme and things like skin prep can compromise it. It’s fine under the adhesive though.
I got some mastisol and tegaderm and IV3000 last night, I have a pharmacy nearby that will sell the tegaderm and IV3000 a few at a time so I can try them out. The Mastisol is sticking right now though, I just re-glued the adhesive pad.