Changed sensors yesterday and the new one is registering up and down, w-a-a-a-a-a-y off, much more than the expected day one erraticism, which for me is usually pretty minimal. Bit of pain there overnight, pretty sure I must have hit a blood vessel of some kind. In the past when I’ve hit one I’ve found they usually settle down after a day or so. But here’s the dilemma: do I try to calibrate to get it back to reality (currently showing 170 while fingerstick says 120)? Or just wait it out? Or option 3: sacrifice sensor and try a different spot, b/c it’s going to keep being irritated. What do you do?
I will restart a sensor sometimes if it acting wacky. Doesn’t always work but does sometimes
1 Like
Assuming Dex, if it completely soaks the patch then we call Dex, report it, they ship a new sensor and we pull the sensor and insert a new one.
1 Like
As the morning went on it became increasingly painful so I ended up yanking it. And yup, it was bloody, but not enough to show through the patch though it left an ugly mark on my skin. In the past I’ve waited them out and it’s usually fine after 24 hrs, but still hurting after 12 hours or so seems like it’s just a bad insertion and needs to be swapped out. No sense fighting with it. My last attempt to get Dexcom’s attention was a long hold followed by “leave your number and we’ll call you back,” which they never did. But I’ve been rolling sensors over to a second week for a while now so I’m not desperate.
Oh yeah - We would pull that also.
If I have any doubt about the safety or efficacy of a CGM or infusion site, I just pull it and move on. In the past, I’ve tried to give these doubtful sites some more time and I’ve sometimes been rewarded with continued service and sometimes left with complete failure.
I know there’s an economic consideration that may influence the decision, but I’d rather swap out a “good” site too early than stick with a bad site for any length of time.
Worst one I ever had was last year when I was using the Medtronic Guardian 3s. Someone in the FB 670 group advocated placement on the back of the calf and a number of people were trying it and finding it very satisfactory. MedT made a point about lying on the sensor overnight being a source of error and thus throwing off the hybrid algorithm. I was having a lot of trouble with that, and back of the calf is a good spot when it comes to sleep position. So I gave it a try, even though it seemed unlikely (not a lot of subcu fat there!). First time was fine, no pain, no problem, worked great though the life of the sensor. Virgin territory, I thought, Yay! Second time seemed great too, then a couple of days into the session I was driving and suddenly started getting this sharp needle-like pain in the back of my calf. In some positions it would go away, but then… yow! Intolerable. Getting out of the car was the worst. I managed to hobble my way down the block to the restaurant we were going to, headed for the Men’s and yanked the thing out. Phew! Haven’t tried it again since.
I know you’re on a Dexcom but for the Libre I usually just leave it in. It doesn’t seem to affect the accuracy and since I would already be bruised then no reason to mess with it. However if it was the next day and it was hurting then I would suspect a bad insertion not just hitting a blood vessel.