I am a new Dexcom Seven user and I called Dexcom Tech Support to get info on alternative placement of my sensors. I have a large amount of scar tissue on my abdomen due to poor prior Ins. coverage, and using my infusion sets far longer than the three-day recommended period, to save money. I was told by Dexcom that the sensors are only approved for use on the abdomen, therefore they could not give me any info on alternative placement. They did say they do know people do place the sensors in other areas, but again reiterated that they could not advise me any further.
My main question is, if I place a sensor on my thigh or my upper arm, is it still necessary to place it in the right-left or left-right position, or is it ok to place it in an up-down position?
I am pretty thin, and placing sensors in the horizontal position would cover almost my whole arm. And I feel it would probably be more comfortable in a vertical position on my legs as well.
Please let me know what has or has not worked for you.
My local DexCom rep said that she has lots of people wear the sensors on their thighs and arms with success. She told me tech support will never tell you this.
The thing is to put it where you have the most meat and you can do them vertically. I have worn them on the outside of my thigh with them being vertical and they work fine. Just make sure if you are a side sleeper that you put it on the leg you don’t usually lay on! If you lay on it then it will not communicate with the receiver. Also make sure you have tape on hand because I find that when you wear it on the leg the adhesive can come a bit loose. Sometimes I have to tape the sensor and the adhesive down more on the leg so it doesn’t look pretty but the system works the way it was designed and does well. You can consider your buttock area for use too. High on the cheek where there is meat works well.
Kerri of Six Until Me, a great blogger, wears sensors on her arm and it works well for her. She also has worn them vertically.
Thanks so much for your info and suggestions! I typically put my infusion sets on my buttocks, but (no pun intended) that is also good to know that I can place my sensors there as well. I appreciate your willingness to take the time to help me with the question I had. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I wear mine on the side of my lower back (love handle area) and on the top of my bottom (under the belt loop area). Both places work well for me and are still very accurate!
I wear mine on my inside thigh, 2 to 5 inches up from the knee. Also the inside of my arm, just above the bicep. These are all worn vertically. I like to keep them on the inside of my arms and legs so I don't lay on them at night. I am also thin, just make sure to pinch up when inserting. Good luck, you will love the Dexcom!
Although I use a MM sensor, and they only received FDA approval for placing it in the stomach, it never worked for more that a day when inserted into my stomach, My stomach skin moves too much for the sensor to remain in the same location to measure glucose. It would move in and out and irritate the skin and never remain accurate during wear. The best place for me has been the back of my arm. In fact, when I worked at one of the three CGM manufactures and participated in clinical testing I asked the researcher and engineers where the most accurate and consistent location was, the always said it was the back of the arm. For me, I can get about 6 accurate days in the back of my arm with the MM CGM. Several of the clinical presentation I have attended where the CGM was discussed, stated that when you find a place that work us it, that same area, all the time. The impact on the skin and under the skin is not physiologically the same as an infusion location, The CGM will heal quickly and causes little damage to the location, whereas the infusion site causes a great deal of change to the tissue after the three days of use.
The other nice thing about the arms it that the area rarely has pressure on it so the interstitial (area under the skin) tissue where the CGM detects glucose and therefore, readings remain more accurate during use. When you put pressure on the skin where the CGM is at it will read low due to the lack on fluid exchange in the area. The pressure or lack of moving fluid keeps the glucose from entering the area as it moves through the adjacent interstitial area.
I removed the sensor from my left upper thigh yesterday and as you can count the days, I had a full fourteen day session with that one sensor.
The readings have more variance though. Two thirds of blood glucoses levels during calibration have a variance of 0 to 20 percent compared to CGM, whereas the rest differs between 21 to 64 percent (basis CGM).
At the beginning the sensor was a little itchy, sometimes even achy, because I'm a rather skinny guy, therefore the sensor stinged into my muscle. I solved this by lifting the sensor a couple of times whilst still attached to my thigh. Obiously, this worked fine since removing the sensor showed that the material bent, there was a kink.
As far as I'm concerned I will use the sensor site again. After the first two days I did not notice the sensor anymore and I could handle pulling up and down my pants without pulling or removing the sender and sensor. Additionally I should mention that I used extra patches over the battery and receiver too.
For all of you interested in the location on my thigh, I sketched the place of the sensor.
that is also good to know that I can place my sensors there as well. I appreciate your willingness to take the time to help me with the question I had. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!