I am probably jinxing myslef, but here goes. I started this sensor on my upper thigh on March 7th. Since then I have spent 15 hours in the pool and walked approximately 50 miles. Not only is it still firmly attached it is still remarkably accurate.
I love that the Dex CGM exceeds its promise. I’ve never had an issue with sticking (I use skin-tac, but don’t swim like you.) but have found I usually start to lose accuracy after 14 days. My first indication that a sensor is near the end of its usefulness is that the line, instead of a smooth trace, starts to get jittery.
I have a question about you using your thigh. I am not super-fit but I can’t feel much fat on my thighs. I’ve always discounted using my thighs for that reason. I’ve seen more than one report from others here that successfully use this location, however. Do you think I should try this location or perhaps this spot works better for women than men?
Hi Terry,
To be honest with swimming, walking and tennis, my thighs do not have a lot of fat on them. The 2 longest lasting and most accurate and most comfortable sensors I have used since getting the system in November have both been on my right thigh. At the same time I don't have a lot of fat on my arms either and those sensors have been quite accurate and long lasting too. The only place I have not had good luck is on my abdomen which as we know is the only place that Dexcom supports using it. I can't really make a call for you as far as placement goes, I can only say what works for me and so far the thigh has been exceptional. But I have also read reports on here of people trying their thighs and having really bad luck.
About how high (or low) is that on your thigh? I have no fat there at all - is it right on a muscle? Always looking for new spots...Thanks!
One more question - do you use the skintac?
i tried mine on my inner arm last week, it didn't work after 2 days. yes, where on your thigh are you doing this, I too have very little fat anywhere?
Also, just a question...so, about 45 minutes ago I just had a low of 43 am feeling pretty awful right now...how are you setting your Dex to alert you? I noticed it because i started to sweat and started seeing spots, but my Dex said 88 with 1 arrow down but no buzzer...I was 43 and on my other meter 45...of course, fifteen minutes later my dex buzzed with a 44 and arrow down. Not sure how this is beneficial if it's not alerting of my lows until 15 minutes after the low when it's too late? any advice? geez, i'm feeling awful right now....i think I've over corrected too, wanted to eat the entire refrig..ugh. Does anyone get really thirsty when they're low. maybe it's from all the sweating and heart racing?
thanks!
Wow, 17 days!! I’m pondering taking a shower or bath instead of sponge bathing tonight, as I’m due to change my site tomorrow. . . How do you override the change site notification?
Sarah Hope your better now. Maybe if you concentrate on eating instead of typing - a little diabetic humor! LOL. We can be funny, right?
In your case - how long have you had the current Dex on? Was it trained well the first day? I go super low alot so if I see it going straight down, I'll generally check it. It shouldn't be doing that though, you're right.
Did you correct the Dex at the time you tested? If I know the Dex is just going crazy sometimes I talk mean to it but I also feed it info. Then let it go and it usually rights itself. Good luck! And don't you hate the spots?!
go to the menu, scroll down to the bottom to "stop sensor", hit that then go to the menu again and hit "start sensor". Do this when you have the time to wait 2 hours because it needs to go through the 2 hour calibration period you just don't actually take the sensor off and change it.
I have my low alert set for 70. I am hypo unaware so I don't get the sweaty, shaky stuff til it is almost too late. But as you know the Dex is always at least 15 minutes behind what is actually happening with your blood sugar. If you do tend to go low quickly then I would suggest maybe setting the low alert to 80 or 90 ? And I also do what Laura said below, if you feel low and the dex is saying you're fine check your blood sugar and enter it. A piece of platinum wire and some enzymes cannot replace your own sense of self. The G4 is just a guide and meters are just a guide how you feel is far more accurate than either one.
We are all the same - if we're low we want to get back to normal as quickly as possible, if we're high we want to get back to normal as quickly as possible. In both cases this really isn't possible and it leads to over-correcting in either direction. In my brain, I know that 4 glucose tablets will generally "cure" a low. But when my brain is starved of sugar it's not really working that well anyway and it's easy to over do it. The roller coaster sucks.