This only my 2nd sensor. It runs fine while I'm awake, but the past couple nights around 4 AM the receiver alarm goes off, it shows my BG readings nose dive for 20 min, and then it loses signal (gives ??? and hourglass symbols). My BG levels are fine.
I used skin prep before inserting the sensor, and I did go with an alternative site. It is a bit below my hips on the right hand side. It seems to be a good spot and my readings tend to be accurate. The first night (maybe 2nd) I had it on a window sill 3 ft away from the bed, but last night I clipped it to my shorts. Also I'm a side sleeper, so I wasn't sleeping on the transmitter.
FYI, Dexcom will not support the sensor unless it is on your belly. Below your hip will not qualify. As for losing signal, there are a couple of things. I can keep my in the other room and it will pickup my sensor at night, unless it's near a cordless phone. Something about them being on the same bandwidth interferes with the Dexcom. The other time it loses signal is when I sleep on it all night long; just every now and then. I don't recommend sleeping with it on you; it's too fragile. I'm on my 4th Dexcom G4 (broken USB doors)
I sleep with mine under my pillow (a suggestion from other users here) and it works well. That way it is easy to get to if I wake up in the night and feel "funny".
I have noticed that I will lose the signal at night if I lay on the sensor for an extended period, i.e., for a few minutes or so all is well. However, when I place it on a hip or something that I lay directly on it doesn't receive as well.
Also, I am an extended wearer, so sometimes when I am up to 3-5 weeks of continuous wear of the sensor it will often lose the signal and I know it is time to change the sensor out.
I have the same results as others have reported. When I lay on the sensor/transmitter, I loose the signal. Usually the bg level nose-dives before I loose the signal. When I flip over, the signal and bg levels (within reason) come back.
Thanks everyone. I think I had the same problem with the receiver under the pillow as well. I'll chalk it up to bad placement and see how the next one does.
If you can, keep in on your belly or just to the side. Dexcom will replace it if it fails in those locations. I tried the arm once, but it failed within a couple of hours... Good luck!
Just to offer the other side here, I wear mine on the outside of my lower bicep (both arms -- I go back and forth), and have had ZERO issues with its placement there. It works very well (even though Dex does NOT support it anywhere but on the belly, its only 'approved' location).
I don't get any of the dropouts the OP is having troubles with.
I too put mine under the pillow at my head and have never had the problem of which you speak. As to sensor placement I rotate my site clockwise around my belly button (four sites. Even if you change every week as recommended, you only use the same site once a month. I too am an extended wearer who has had them be fairly accurate up through 3 weeks but find my G4 is very reliable for 2 weeks which makes me use the same sensor site only every 8 weeks. I started on a DexCom7 in November of 2009 and got the G4 in April of 2013. The G4 is MUCH better and more reliable. I find that the sensor backing quits sticking very well in the 2d week of wear and the reliability weakens.
Yeah, I must be sleeping on it. The placement is working well the rest of the time, and given the sensor price, I'm not taking it off until it is spent.
My daughter has always used the arms & we’ve never had an issue. The Dex reps remind me that it’s only FDA approved for the abdomen, but I tell them her endo knows & approves of our sensor placement & that’s the end if it.
I've had the same experience, multiple times, of the BG trace nose dive followed by a data dropout. The nosedive wakes me up when my lower BG alarm thresholds are exceeded. Since it wakes me up, I know it's the compression of the sensor when I sleep directly on it. I usually use the area on my sides between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hip.
What's unusual is that it doesn't happen with every sensor. Once a sensor displays this behavior, it usually repeats.
BTW, I am ecstatic about my G4, This issue was the result of me experimenting with off label sites. It took me a couple of days to really warm up to the CGM, but the receiver (comfortable in my pocket) is just the right size and the programming is very functional. I ended up going on vacation shortly after putting the first one on. I was getting a ton of exercise daily, and it was great to know where my BG was all the time as well as being able to see exactly what happened with the physical activity.
