I'm just not getting the longevity that I was 6 months ago. Maybe it is a site thing.
I had that a few sensors back, not lasting barely 2 weeks. But I just changed one out after 5 weeks of wearing it, which is too long but I got lazy and didn't want to change it until it started getting sore which it did so I gave up on it. Probably would have gone longer. It seems like maybe it's a tide thing, sometimes they last, sometimes they don't.
I am getting significantly longer recently. My last 4 sensors have been on and accurate for a combined 108 days. All summer I wore them on the back of my arms. I started my most recent one on Monday on my thigh. It is accurate and we'll see how long it lasts.
I have had similar experiences. For a long time, all lots I had used seemed to consistently last 2+ weeks, but every now and then I would get a box that had 1 or 2 that barely went 2 weeks.
I'm guessing here, but most likely the manufacturing process for that lot of sensors may have varied enough that day or week so that whatever allows them to last that long is lessened. It would be interesting to see if there were any correlation between lot number, date of manufacture, and expiring date to sensor life. If we all weren't collecting other data for diabetes maybe it would be a more appealing task :)
Mine are worse as the weeks go by also. The tape is the first thing usually but now the reading on the sensor starts going out at 5 days! The last 3 have done that starting with the ??? and then just going blank. I'm not happy at all. The current one started out that way but seems to be leveling off somewhat now. Have they changed the sensors? I was sure they would after reading this blog with everyone talking about how long they last.....and the tape is pretty bad lately. Still wish they'd talk to the insulin pump people about tape. :)
I've seen the same thing and recently I have changed site and no difference. As soon as I restart it for another 7 days, it craps out after 1-2 days :(
I am new with using the DexcomG4 ( after giving up on the Medtronic Enlite ) I trialed the Dex end of last year ...close to 17 complete days .Rebooted my first self purchased sensor and the second 7 days quite a few times of " ??? " .I was willing to hang in , added medical tape to keep the sensor tape in place . BG numbers compared to sensor record at the end of this 7 day stint became a bit questionable .Rebooted again and gave up after 2 days .I should have giving up likely after 12 days ??
Not only that but it seems especially bad when I get high BS. It's fine if I stick in the 80-100 range but goes kaput at anything over 150. Strange.
I guess I'll try the arm again. Nice to know that some are still getting them to last a while. I'd be okay with it, but for me it really hits its sweet spot in the 2nd week, so if it doesn't last, I'm spending more money for worse performance.
My 3 year old just started using the Dexcom and his sensors have only lasted a week before it tells me to change it.
My husband has been able to wear his longer, So I am not sure if its just certain boxes. I can say its very frustrating to change this every 7 days on a 3 year old. Also note the first one we put on him error-ed out after only a couple hours
My sensors always tell me to change them after a week. I don't change them. Once I get the change sensor now prompt, I just hit "start sensor". It goes through the 2 hour calibration period and then continues reading. Dex doesn't "know" if it's a new sensor or the old sensor. I usually get better readings in the 2nd and 3rd weeks and after that I get an increase of dropped readings and eventually change it for real.
NO!!!! Very upsetting. Not only do they not seem to be working as long but the tack that sticks them isn't as strong. I always double taped them after a week or sooner but I had one fall right off when running once. :(
I have noticed that I will get a ??? into the second week but I ignore it and let it ride and it eventually restarts. You do realize that they watch these sights and know everything that we do to make them last longer, we shouldn't be letting them know what we're doing and it would be fine.I've noticed this. We used to get 14-21 days. Now we get 7-14. Could it be that Dexcom changed something. They obviously make more $$ if we change them more often.
Check your transmitter... how old is it? My first one lasted 14 months before I started have lots of issues with ???, and the receiver never indicated the transmitter battery was anything but OK.
A new transmitter solved the problem. No complaints -- I got 14 months out of it.
Just to confound the anecdotal data here, I'm getting longer accurate use out of my sensors lately than I used to. I'm getting 3 solid weeks most of the time now when six months ago and back it was a solid 2, with the occasional bonus days beyond.
I doubt that they are able to “change” anything because they have to sell the sensors as they were approved by the FDA. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t variations between different production lots of sensors.
That's an excellent point. A superbly insightful point. Kicking myself for not thinking of it.
FDA approval is required for any change at all -- including the packaging. If any change were made to the wire, the formulation of the enzymes on it, etc., we'd hear about it because there would be an FDA submittal and approval, which is public.
Just to add my 2 cents. I got a new receiver & transmitter about a month ago... and I haven't had a sensor last more than 5 days since! Start getting ??? and dropped, wildly off readings, had one fail after 3 days. Don't know if it's just a bad box of sensors or if the new receiver and/or transmitter are bad. Calling Dexcom tomorrow and see what they have to say.
That's been my experience as well.
Using the Dexcom 7 and my first G4 monitor, my sensors easily lasted 2 weeks and (sometimes) more before beginning to peel off. Now, as others have indicated, they are beginning to peel before 7 days are up. Likewise, the reactant on the newer sensors is definitely being used up faster, as the ???s begin to appear after just 7-10 days and despite my having reinforced any peeling tape to keep the sensor wire in place! I believe that Dexcom need only meet the FDA standard of being (relatively) accurate for 7 days and that prior to this past year that they were being conservative in order to meet this goal.I would trust your experience and keep on questioning whether Dexcom’s allegience is first to the consumer or to the shareholder!