Bent CGM sensor tip leads to overnight hypo

In my opinion, if you are not confident in your CGM readings, you should be doing more fingersticks until you do know whether or not it is working properly. For myself, I always do frequent fingersticks the first day of using a new CGM (I use the Freestyle Libre but I would do this no matter what brand/model of CGM i was using).

I agree with this but it does not answer the question I posed.

What’s your take on the appearance of blood when inserting a sensor? Do you lose confidence that the sensor will be able to give reliable readings or is it even a factor in your confidence in that sensor?

I do not like to see any blood when I insert a new sensor; however, because where I live, the CGMs are NOT covered and I have to pay for them myself, if I do see any blood, I will do more fingerpricks until I am confident that the sensor is working properly. Sorry – I think what I was trying to say in my initial response is that I would keep the sensor in but would do extensive fingerpricks to ensure that it was indeed working.

Thanks for clarifying, Ken. I understand your position better now.

I had an experience with bent sensor filaments not working in two of my Libre sensors (from the same batch) several months ago. They just did not work at all from the get-go, and no blood was observed. When I took the first one out due to it never starting-up (and giving the “No Sensor Found” or somesuch notice), I saw that the sensor filament was bent at a right angle, so tried to be particularly careful inserting the second one. Same thing happened, and Abbott was prompt in replacing them. Never had another problem like that since using the Freestyle Libre over the last 4 years ever since it’s been available. So I think that if the sensor somehow gets bent upon insertion, it’s just not going to work, or work right – blood or no blood.

Thanks for reporting your experience with the Abbott CGM. If this is true for the Dexcom G6, then that supports the idea that the acute bend at the sensor tip happened after I withdrew the sensor.

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After using two sensors which were accurate from the start, I have one now which showed a bit of blood upon insertion, and it is fairly inaccurate. I can’t get myself to remove it, because I know that sometimes they will eventually give more accurate readings. I am on the second day of having to finger stick all day and once at night.

I would replace it if I could be sure that it would be accurate without the 24 hrs of even worse readings.

Next time there is blood when I insert the sensor, I will most likely immediately change sensors.

I have found that if I replace the sensor several hours before the the old sensor has run out and after soaking, the new sensor will be accurate from the first reading. That has worked for me twice anyway.

I am a person who has a love/hate relationship with sensors, because for me, they are inaccurate too often.

Edit. Soaking a new sensor.

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I’ve had 2 bent G6 sensor wires in the last 24 hrs. Am not sure what made are this happen but it is the first time. Dexcom is replacing the first sensor but haven’t reported the second one yet.
Wonder if it’s some sort of quality issue - if it happens again on this new sensor I just used, I’d say Dexcom might be cutting some corners.