Sometimes we restart.
12 or 13 days is our typical max when we can get to a restart.
No idea why difference in sensor life. Pretty much rules out the adhesive as a factor (in our case).
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I average about 26 days for each one and have had a couple go to 32-36 days. A couple have only lasted 14 or so days. It’s interesting why they last longer on some people than on others.
It’s so much easier just keeping them on for me!
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I only get 9-10 days out of my G5 before the numbers are not reliable.
I was almost always limited by how well I could get it to stick to my body. I have ran the G5 sensors for long period with no issues other than too much skintac and overtape, etc.
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I just restarted this sensor this morning day 20 and I’ve tested it twice with my contour meter and it’s been within 3 points each time so no calibration even needed.
I do have to keep applying Skin Tac, it used to get really messy, now I get my husband to use a Q tip to put it just on the adhesive tape part and that has been working good. Showers where I wash my hair always loosen an area. I think it’s either the shampoo or conditioner hitting it that is causing the issue. I have long hair so lots of both are used!
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Wow. I’m only getting 8/9 days out of my G6.
I would usually get 14-21 days out of my G5. I’m getting 10-15 days out of my G6.
The only correlation I see on lifetime for both versions is tenderness around the insertion site. About 50% or the time failure happens shortly after the site becomes tender to the touch (not from adhesive - I’ve never had a problem with that). In some cases the sensor is still functioning but I pull it because of the irritation.
For the G6 I start a presoak on a new sensor after I see two calibration or sensor errors in a 24-hour period. I imagine I could get more life out of the sensor if I was less aggressive.
I also have a high deductible insurance plan, and am about to have my 2nd eversense sensor put in…something to consider, they have a bridge program where you pay 99 for the 1st sensor and 99 for the 2nd sensor also…many insurance companies claimed it was too experimental, so eversense tries to bill the insurance company, but 99 is all you are responsible for other than the insertion procedure, which they also will try to bill the insurance company and usually set some sort of insertion/removal limit on the patient side(220 or 250)… mine has been in for 90 days and I like it a lot better than Dexcom and the libre…I recently went camping, removed it for an hour or 2 while I was in The water, and put it back on when I was done…
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I contacted Dexcom and received a printable coupon for the system…up to $140 off. My pharmacy would not allow me to use the coupon code but maybe yours would?
what kind of insurance do you have? i ran into the same issue with walgreens telling me some insane amount that it would be out of pocket. im on medicare. its fully covered with my supplement. they pharmacists at walgreens dont know anything about part b and were trying to make me pay cash by looking at my part d benefits
I have private insurance (from employer) through Aetna and CVS Caremark for prescriptions. I have had a lot of changes over the past year to try to manage my diabetes. Every med was changed and now they want me on a CGM. This month, my DM meds and supplies were over $700 out of pocket…and I refused one script due to cost. I am taking 6-7 injections daily plus a weekly one. Ouch…to the finances. My endo wants me on an insulin pump…I shudder at the costs involved in that. My insurance says I do not qualify…yet.
You may want to forget the insurance for some of your DM meds and just pay out of pocket by buying your insulin directly from Canada at 1/10th the US list price. I buy my insulin out of pocket direct as it costs me a small fraction of even my copay.
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I think this makes sense for those with high deductibles or high maximum. Need to estimate full year costs and then compare.
Paying with HSA or FSA is another way to lower net cost in some cases.
You also need to factor in how much you pay in premiums. I have a part D medicare drug plan that gives me minimum drug coverage, like free statin but would be very expensive for insulin, however, my drug plan only costs $15/month. I could pay $300+ a month to have a low copay on insulin like about $60/month but my out of pocket to the insurance company would be annually over $4000. $4000 would buy me $40,000 of insulin in Canada at US rates, which would last me decades or go stale.
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I highly recommend going with a libre and miaomiao2 as a Cgm…it is the least expensive option now…even without insurance coverage on The libre, 2 14 day libres are usually under $70, and the miaomiao2 is a one time purchase of about $200 after shipping… the only problem is the miaomiao2 usually takes about a month to receive, and you have to use Android phones… if you prefer apple, the blucon is another option, but I prefer Android… I’m not a fan of pumps… they Always fell off on The 2nd or early 3rd day when I did not have an extra pod, or Infusion set and at the time, my insurance would cover pens or vials, not both… I might consider a pump if tresiba didnt work, but for me, tresiba works great…I also have an Owen Mumford auto pen which helps, and a few humapen savvio s that I had to buy from canada. Having a decent Insulin pen helps… tell your endo you’ll get the Cgm first, and the pump 2nd…and later remind your endo there are studies linking Cgms to better hba1cs, but a pump without a Cgm did not lead to better hba1cs.
How does that even work when prescriptions are electronic?
Simple, you tell whomever issues your prescriptions that for insulin, for example, “I do not want it sent electronically, please give me a printed prescription”. That way I still get the prescriptions I want sent electronically and for those I will fill myself, I get a printed prescription. In Canada, you do not need a prescription if you are a Canadian resident for insulin. For US residents, however, many Canadian pharmacies now require a copy of your US prescription regardless if you pick it up in Canada or have it delivered by mail to the US. Until recently, you were not required a prescription, even for a US resident to purchase in Canada.
The libre can be as accurate as dexcom if you dont use the libre app. I dont know your situation but you can calibrate libre 14 day sensor using the tomato and or element app. You will need a miao miao or xdrip. So many people pay three times as much for dexcom becuase libre uses factory calibration. To get it spot on you need to calibrate it and use third party software. I run it as a full cgm real time to my pump with androidaps. Works great.
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Thanks @Flynn_Simon I was perfectly happy with the Libre, until I switched lol…I am lucky in Dexcom is completely paid for by insurance. But I still use a Libre on my diabetic dog, I have downloaded the tomato ap in preparation for getting a Miao Miao for her. How do you like the tomato ap? I have heard people don’t think it’s that great. But I have an iphone and I think that is my only choice.
I think it must be built by the Chinese. Bad support. But fortuately pretty solid. Libre 2 is also coming out