I hit a vein when I put on a new enlite sensor. Can I leave it in place. I have done this before and didn’t seem to have any issues
with it.
I use the libre sensor and I have experienced bleeding in some of them. I just wipe out the blood and wait for it to stop bleeding, and leave it on. No effect on the function. Worked just fine. At $89 per sensor here in Canada, I have to try to keep it on. So far so good. The libre sensor has a hole in the middle where the blood comes out if you hit a vein I think. It must be there by design.
I can’t personally speak for any sensor other than Dexcom, but I tend to get my best readings and longest sensor life with a bloody insertion.
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For me, more often than not, blood is a sign of erratic BG readings. I will swap out immediately any sensor where I see blood.
I’ve hit a vein a couple of times with my Libre and didn’t notice any irregularity with my readings.
I bled a lot last week when putting in an elite sensor, as in blood hitting the floor as I ran for tissue, but left it on and it had no effect on the readings.
I have read the instructions that come with the sensors and it says to replace it only if the bleeding doesn’t stop. It makes sense to me.
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A drop or two of blood - we ignore.
If the sticky patch appears to be more than half-way soaked then we pull that one, replace it and call Dexcom who sends us a replacement sensor. (At no additional charge.)
This used to happen maybe every couple months but for whatever reason seems to no longer be an issue. I can’t remember it happening now within the past year.
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We haven’t had any issues with Dexcom, not sure how much bleeding you are referring to though.
@Dee_Meloche. I did my training with a nurse and I bled through my enlite sensor as well. She told me I needed to throw it away because it could destroy the transmitter.
I went back to the freestyle libre because I found it way more accurate and easier to use (less finger pricks).
Well that sounds a bit extreme. If I was of the disbelieving type of person - I might not even believe the nurse.
(Oh - wait - maybe I am…)
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Yeah, I don’t know, it could be a ploy to sell more product. Either way I didn’t like this CGM, especially since I’ve had no issues with my Freestyle Libre for the past 8 months. Might as well stick with one you know you like.
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Would Medtronic replace a failed sensor too?
The sensor will likely have less life, given that dried blood will interfere with the electric current. I would not pull it until it is necessary, but I would be ready to pull it early.
Note: I am a Medtronic ambassador. My opinions are my own. They did not pay me to say nice things about Medtronic devices or the company. OK, they sent me a shirt and a cup but even I am more expensive than that.
One time when there was really a lot of blood, I called Dexcom tech. I was told that there was no problem if blood had not reached to between sensor(little black dots) and transmitter. If only between sensor and leg/stomach/etc, there was no problem.
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With Medtronic Enlight sensors, I had this happen a few times.
When it did, I noticed that the accuracy of my sensor readings went down and it was more likely to throw a “calibration not accepted” error.
But… This was with Enlight… So bad sensor readings and failed calebrations happened often enough without blood on the sensor that this could be a false correlation.
It was a sure sign of a failed sensor when I was using the FreeStyle Navigator II. The blood would clot around the probe and “isolate” it from the surrounding tissue. I now use the Enlite sensors and have never had any problems regarding this.