Hi everyone, yesterday I inserted a new sensor and noticed there was blood in the plastic area I wasn’t sure what to do but I read online that some people said it was okay so I’ve left it in. I called dexcom and they’re sending me a new sensor because I had some crazy numbers but it seems to be settling down now. Has this ever happened to you and what did you do? I hate to remove a sensor if it will turn out to be okay. So far it doesn’t seem any worse than my usual LOL… 
Yes, yes and yes. My son, Caleb, has used Dexcom for six years. We’ve had a handful of bleeders. Maybe one of them was “off” bg wise, and it probably had nothing to do with the bleeding. We leave them. If it was causing him pain, or providing erratic results, I would pull it, as I would a non- bleeder. 
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Thanks Lorraine, This was my first bleeder! I think it will be ok. 
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Fingers crossed! Some of them are quite amazing - one just bled and kept bleeding down his arm. He was in no pain. It stopped and the sensor worked fine. What you find when you pull it off can be interesting!
I leave Medtronic sensors in with the blood and see if they work. I like the sensors more than blood and, particularly with the old “harpoon” model, once one was in, I didn’t want to take it out!
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I dreaded insertion of MM Soft sensors (I only used for a month and got a refund of the system).
I’ve used at least 15 Enlite sensors and while I saw a little blood around a couple of them, the blood never got beyond the tape that comes attached to the bottom of the Enlite sensor. Thankfully, insertion is always painless, unlike those old horrible Soft Sensors. I shudder when I think of them, like the MM angled sets (forgot the name)
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Silhouettes! I actually love those but have never used the inserter, I just stick them in with my hand…
that’s it! Man those suckers hurt and I can’t remember why I even tried them but I quickly gave up on them.
Mine only bled inside the plastic part, my cleo inset, first try, didn’t stick and bled a lot when I pulled it off,(all yesterday- so it was the day for bleeding for sure) but not terribly. Fortunately I don’t seem to bleed a lot when it happens. So far not too much pain, I sometimes have a little pain anyway without any bleeding. I’m afraid to see what will be there when I take it off 
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I feel like the dexcom needle is too big, which I mentioned on the phone call. The sensor is smaller than my pump cannula but the insertion needle is so much larger which causes more trauma and may effect the performance of the sensor… I also asked for a longer lasting sensor that is inserted completely under the skin. I think maybe that would eliminate a lot of the irritation I have. I read someone was working on that at some point but I can’t remember which company now or the device. I didn’t want to take this one out either because even a dexcom insertion is a big deal for me.
@pheonixbound you and Acid are brave! I don’t think I would use the mm soft sensors because everything I have read so far said they were larger and more painful.
I often have a spot of blood after insertion, doesn’t seem to matter in terms of accuracy. My last one bled quite a bit but was good for more than two weeks.
That’s good Lilli
LOL! Don’t consider me brave. I HATED inserting the Soft Sensors. I cringed, yet I can (and do) stick my fingers more than 15 times a day and have used needles in years past with nary any trepidation (other than the first year or so when needles still freaked me out. 
) Silhouettes and Soft Sensors (and I presume your Dexcom sensors) are on my list of I-never-want-to-insert-those-ever-again products.
@phoenixbound Ok, lol… I think the sensors are one of the worst things we have to do because the needles are much larger. But even the pen needles hurt me quite a bit at times. I really like not having to inject now that I’m on a pump. Although I don’t like being connected to all these devices. There are good and bad days. By day 2-3 the inset can sometimes start to irritate, officially I’m supposed to change every 2 days.
I had a terrible time with my first dexcom and sent it back. It was very inaccurate and painful. I inserted one into my arm and had to get someone to help me to take the inserter off my arm- that one gave me a migraine and at that point I gave up. I started the G4 in August and I would say I’m much better now at the insertion and overall it isn’t that bad. I have been having more irritation issues at the sensor site though and some seem to hurt if I get too close to muscle areas. So far I have only put them on my stomach or my hips, mostly the stomach, but I plan to try the hip again.
ps. I meant to reply to you here pheonix but I think I messed up, if I can figure out how to delete and reply again I will…
Thanks Thas, I guess I’m lucky it never happened before… I just wonder if I should take it off early in case of infection or something? It is a little more sore than the usual. But I will wait and see still I think.
That’s all you can do - wait and see. I didn’t have a problem with the site that bled that time, though. I guess see if it stops being irritated or gets worse.
Not brave, just crazy for more data. I think I’m the only person in the universe who liked the Sof-Sensor as they were instrumental in stretching my running out and pushing my A1C down at the same time. I much prefer the Enlite which just sort of tickles, sort of like a tattoo…
I’m a bit of a “needle-phobic” (I still almost pass out every time I get a blood test and have to take a deep breath and a long pause for sensor and infusion set insertions…). Regardless, The Dexcom insertion rarely feels like much more than a sharp “tap” on the skin. The blood was a one-time occurrence for me (coincidentally?) only on the first time I did it and - for me - affected nothing.
The G4, however, has been very accurate for me most of the time and has been a great help for me in getting reasonably tight control.
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