last night my dexcom cgm went bonkers. the High alarm kept going off w/ an UP direction arrow. i did a finger stick; my BG was 145 (pretty good) so i recalibrated my receiver. then, w/in 1/2 hour, my alarm went off again, this time LOW. i did another finger stick; BG 125; no problem. so i reclaibrated again. this went on all night at least 5 to 6 times. it kept waking me up when the alarms went off. my husband is a light sleeper and the alarms were driving him crazy. also, i kept having to use up my test strips, which are very expensive.
this morning i ripped the darn thing off and put on a new one to start a sensor “session.” i must have hit a blood vessel, b/c blood started coming out around the sensor. so, i ripped this one off, which was also expensive b/c i use the NEXCARE tape over the transmitter. next, i put another sensor on, and i hit a nerve. oooow what pain!!! so i took that one off. now, i am on my 3rd sensor. finally, w/ this one i got lucky; the sensor felt comfortable and i was ready to go for the 2 hour wait period to calibrate with the 2 BG #s.
when the “session” period was over, i calibrated the 1st BG#, which was 194. then i did my 2nd finger stick and the BG# was 176; the HIGH alarm went off. what should i do? i called dexcom and asked them what to do. i think that i finally have reached success, but i probably won’t know until later on in the day. Luckily, w/ DEXCOM, they will always replaced bum sensors, so there was no worry about that expense.
anyone have a story like mine? anyone have solutions that have worked?( a reminder: i am very lean and have very little body fat.) S.O.S.
The first 24 hours with a sensor can be wonky. I once had my sensor reading HIGH (as in above 22 mmol/L) when the fingerstick said I was 11.3 mmol/L. I called Dexcom, and the lady said that was “normal” for the first day! They told me to calibrate three times, 15 minutes apart, and to call them back if there was still a large difference between meter and sensor. Luckily there wasn’t.
Sorry, no good solutions for you. Like @Jen says, those first 24 to sometimes 48 hours can be problematic.
I just had a similar experience. I hit a blood vessel first, so had to trash that sensor, but I didn’t realize it at first, so I was nearly 8 hours in before I realized the problem.
Then my next sensor gave me wacky readings - 53 when I was 166, then after recalibrating (with two fingersticks, BTW), I started getting seriously high readings 253 when I was 141, then 309 when I was 133, along with intermittent bunches of “???” and “—”.
Because of this, my Dex screen had what looked like random dots for the next 8 hours.
Every time this routine happens, I get worried about what life with a Bionic/Artificial Pancreas will actually be like.
thanks so much for your compassion. i am very glad that dexcom stands by their products. these sensors are expensive, and little things add up (test strips, loss of sleep, tegaderm tape.) usually i don’t have a problem w/ calibrations during my 1st 24hrs. i generally get 3 decent days out of my sensor. after that, all goes to hell. i know that you are only guaranteed one week per sensor, but i have friends who wear them for 2 weeks w/out a problem. god forbid i go into the shower wearing my sensor, i am almost certain to get the ??? afterwards, followed by a loss in the direction arrow. and, then i am lucky if the sensor starts working again. i call dexcom around once a week to report sensor failures and they continue to replace them at no cost to me (which, don’t get me wrong, i appreciate) but even though i am not paying out of my wallet, i am still paying physically speaking. each time there is a problem, i am the one who has to arrange my life around another insertion, etc…this can really get me down and frustrated.
my sensor life is not so great, b/c of many different problems, I.E: too thin, hit nerves and/or muscles, blood vessels, etc. i get a solid 3 days w/ a sensor w/out many problems. since i have been using the tegaderm (2 weeks now) the sensor stays on better and showers don’t seem to be effected by the water. the tegaderm really seals in the sensor and it stays stuck on my skin.
YogaO- i had one sensor which peeled off in 3 days. when i was trying to change my latest sensor, i could barely get the tegaderm off. it was a 5 minute procedure!!! i just make certain that i use alcohol wipes on my skin before i put on the sensor, and i make certain that the area is perfectly dry. i cut out the part of the tegaderm to leave an opening for the transmitter, and then i place the whole thing over the sensor. it seems to depend on how much i rub against the area (i.e. excursive, sleeping, laying on the sofa….)
I can normally get through the first week pretty easily, but once I get to the end of the second week, the spot where the sensor enters my skin gets really itchy.
That’s a bummer! My Enlites never get itchy or sore, even after 25 days. My sets from ages ago use to bother me a lot–the Quicksets, and the Soft Sets–both cannula-type sets. Wearing something 24/7 that itches is beyond annoying, as I well know.
My sensor sites seems itchy/sore the FIRST 1-3 days, then, it usually settles down, so that by the end of the week, I don’t even know it’s there. Only once or twice did I have one get a little itchy/sore, but that was in the middle of a 4th week.
Thas: you can wear your sensor for up to 4 weeks??? mine barely last 3 days, and if i am very lucky, i can squeeze 5 days out of them. thank god that DEXCOM insures their sensors b/c i have so many failures in such short periods of time; i just call them up (tech support) and tell them what has happened, and they send me out a new one over night.
as for the itchy/sorness issue, i don’t experience any of that; and, i put the tegaderm over the sensor as well to keep the whole thing on as securely as possible.
I’ve had sensors that failed or fell off within a day or two, as well; but I usually get at least two or three weeks from sensors. I don’t use Tagedern. To hold them on longer, I use Opsite Flexfix tape (which comes in a roll that you have to cut to size). I don’t put the tape over the sensor or transmitter, but cut a hole (or use strips) and place it over the Dexcom tape to make a larger taped surface. I usually have to repair the tape every 3-4 days – more if it was particularly hot weather or I was particularly sweaty.
Lately, I’ve had more failures than usual, to be honest. Dexcom says they did not change the tape at all, but I have had more of them fall off or fail entirely since they changed to the newer, lower-profile sensors. I make sure to call them in!
