I wear an Apple Watch and am hopefully soon to again be using a
Dexcom, this time a G5. Question to those that use this tech - can I pretty much put the receiver in a drawer and ignore it? Only use the phone & watch? Will alarms work even when the two Apple devices are in Do Not Disturb mode or in Airplane mode? Thanks for any advice you could offer.
I use the iPhone exclusively and only take the receiver with me when I travel in case something happens to my phone. The alarms still work in airplane mode but I do not know about Do Not Disturb mode since I don’t use that.
One of the improvements that Dexcom accomplished between the G4 and G5 systems is that it eliminated the requirement to carry the Dex receiver. The G5 radio signal may be received by the Dex receiver and/or the iPhone.
The Apple Watch, however, needs the iPhone nearby to get its data signal. Unfortunately, you may not dash out with only your CGM transmitter and Apple Watch and still follow your blood glucose status. The Watch will stop displaying CGM data soon after it loses its connection with the paired iPhone.
Not sure about your alarms question since I only used the G5 for a few months last year. I use the G4. You will likely find that answer in the G5 Users’ Guide.
I find monitoring my blood glucose on my wrist much more convenient than either the Dex receiver or the iPhone app. Up until the Apple Watch came out a few years ago, I preferred not to wear a watch. Now I find my BG information more useful than the time of day. I set up my watch to show the Dexcom app with BG info when I raise my wrist.
I don’t have a watch but the phone alarms do work in do not disturb mode. They work in airplane mode as long as you go back in and turn bluetooth on.
Is it still the case that the current Dexcom app on iPhone overrides the user’s Do Not Disturb setting?
Honestly this is probably the #1 single thing making me lean towards G4 over G5 when I get a Dexcom soon. As a professional, it’s simply not acceptable to be unable to stop it from sounding loudly during an important meeting or presentation.
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Yes,the G5 iPhone app overrides DND. You can put it on vibrate so it does not alarm during your meeting. I like the fact it overrides DND because I can put my phone on DND overnight and still get alarms.
Just be aware that if you’re someone from a country using the mmol scale (rather than mg/dL), you’ll be disappointed. I bought an Apple Watch, intending to use this with the G5 and then found out Apple Watch software is not available for mmol users. Given how long it’s been since this became available for the mg/dL user base, it appears that mmol users are a much lower priority for Dexcom.
Thanks for reminder to turn bluetooth back on–haven’t flown in a while!
I’m not going to defend Dexcom’s slow response to issuing an app for the Apple Watch that displays in mmol/L. I would feel the same if it were me waiting for the the system of blood glucose units that I think in. That being said, for the last six months or so I started to include the mmol/L units when I write posts or comments here.
I’ve known for a long time about the 1:18 ratio between mmol/L and mg/dL but my writing experience has brought me one step closer to being able to think in mmol/L instead of mg/dL. What I’m trying to say in way too many words is that thinking in another system of units is an acquired skill under your control, not some D-tech company.
When you consider blood glucose measurements, what’s important are key thresholds that span from hypoglycemia, to the low normal border, to the middle range BG, to the upper normal threshold, to too high. In mmol/L that would be < 3.0 for serious hypoglycemia, 4.0 for low normal, 6.0 for middle range BG, 8.0 for upper normal, and >10.0 as too high.
In mg/dL that would be < 54 mg/dL for hypo (that’s the number recently designated by the American Diabetes Association as a “serious clinical” low, 72 mg/dL for the low threshold, 108 mg/dL for middle range BG, 144 mg/dL for upper normal, and > 180 mg/dL as too high.
I believe I could learn to think in the mmol/L system with a little practice and without too much effort. I’m thinking the reverse might also be true. Now I get the irony of an American telling the rest of the world to adapt when we’ve failed to adapt to the much more sensible metric system. But the change I’m recommending rewards you with the ability to use the Apple Watch and seeing your BG on your wrist. In addition, I think a little bit of arithmetic keeps the brain sharp. What do you think?
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Thanks Terry. All true, but there’s a few other issues to consider.
Firstly, it means you’d not have the option to use the Dexcom receiver as these are fixed in either mmol or mg/dL, rather than being an option changed in settings. I’ve found the iPhone very flaky compared to the receiver so no longer having the option isn’t ideal.
Secondly, I do worry that if I’d had my eye off things and got a low BS, the added cognitive load of converting would be an issue (I’ve been working in mmols for over 30 years). And of course cognitive function and confusion are very much affected by hypos.
My family around me is also accustomed to mmols and getting them accustomed to a new scale isn’t something I’d want to chance, in the unlikely event that if need their help.
And while it’s possible to figure out some way to get a US Apple ID to be able to download the US/mg/dL iOS version, its by no means simple…
Thanks, all, for the feedback. While I was using the Dexcom Share I found it extremely frustrating dealing with false alarms during sleeping hours. So much so that I put it away in another room one night and didn’t go back to get it for a couple of weeks. Yep. So being able to silence all but the most critical notifications (I believe that’s <55) is important for my continued use. I’m going to read the manual in detail before going forward. Thanks for that link!
I have the watch and am liking it quite a bit for the activity functions. Nofications and alarms are easily silenced. And it feeds my inner geek. It’s the CGM component I’m not sure about at this point.
Not to hijack this AW thread, but I think your reply raised an important distinction I wasn’t aware of. Could someone please confirm if both of the following statements are true when using G5 with iPhone?
1: When the phone is in DND mode, high or low BG results in an audible alarm
2: When the phone is in Vibrate mode, high or low BG results in a vibrate-only alert
Thanks
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You make good points about staying with a system of blood glucose units that’s familiar to you. Your concern with cognitive impairment while low and your first responders fluency in mmol/L are both important.
I hope Dexcom takes up this issue soon, for your sake.
Not quite, Spectra. You go into the Dexcom app on your phone to set whether or not it alarms or vibrates. Then that is what will happen when your phone is either in DND or vibrate. Note that the app only works when bluetooth is on. Bluetooth does run down your phone battery.
Thanks, Terry. I’m a drop in the ocean. It’s easy to forget that outside of the US many countries use the mmol standard, including Canada, the UK, France, Australia, China to name but just a handful.
In trying to sort the alarm thing out I was looking at the Dexcom G5 app in the Apple app store, The reviews are, well, interesting. There is a lot of moaning and gnashing of teeth over the fact the alarms can’t be silenced. Then one person comes in pointing out the 3 bar menu in the upper left hand corner and how there are settings to fine silence/vibrate all but the most critical, meaning the <55, alarms. His tone was a bit caustic but amusing nevertheless. So, I’ll know more when I actually install and setup the iPhone & Apple Watch. Waiting on Medicare at this point. I lost my G4 when I turned 65. Thanks for all the generous advice given to my queery.
I have a G5. You can turn off all of the alarms except the critical low (<55) and you can put them all on vibrate except the critical low.
Thank you.