You have gotten a lot of great advice here already.
I have the G4 and am very happy with it. No experience with the share though as i do not use it. i am now still on my first transmitter i got back in march, my insurance covers one every year so i hope it works until then.
about sensors getting more accurate over time, i have made this experience too, i am now in my second week and it is spot on, while it was less accurate in the first week (but still great).
i really hope you can work out something that you can benefit from this tech, it has definitely helped me a lot!
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Ok looked up the follow app you mentionedā¦ not sure if Dexcom follow works on the G4? but it also brought up Dexcom Share2 which shows it defintiely works for the G4. So thats perfect then! Thank you
Thank you! @Terry4
@Kimmi_D. One thing you havenāt told us (or maybe I missed it) is whether you are using MDI or a pump. If you are having serious problems with hypos, you might find a pump very helpful. Overnight hypos are usually down to basal (long-acting) insulin and a pump allows you to vary your basal rates continuously. I donāt know how your insurance works in South Africa - but in the UK (where we have a free-at-the-point-of-delivery Health service), you would probably be eligible for a pump on the grounds of excessive hypos (or even fear of hypos).
One pump model (the Animas Vibe) links with the Dexcom G4, so you donāt need a separate receiver. I use a Vibe (funded by the NHS) and self-fund the Dexcom sensors. Remember, with any healthcare system (insurance based or health service) you often have to push your case for provision of technology.
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I use insulin injections (pen), Iāve never been a fan of the pump, but I do know a lot of people prefer them.
Its not even that I have excessive hypos all the time. This has only happened to me once in the 15 years of having diabetes. I test numerous times during the day (even during the night) and Iām very strict about my insulin control. I usually actually pick up a low before it even shows on my glucose monitor. So this was really just a huge scare for me, the doctors ran a whole bunch of tests and all they could come up with is that it may have happened due to stress, which I do know can effect my sugars, but who knows.
The biggest scare for me is that the attending doctor in hospital told me while I had very good control of my diabetes just the mere fact of having type 1 meant I would probably have to endure episodes like this again, and I donāt want that. I donāt ever want what happened to me, to happen again. And I believe this CGM will prevent it and make things a lot easier for me, so I wonāt give up until I have it, Iāll try whatever I can.
Appreciate all the advice 
To add more precision to the issue of dexcom accuracy:
- a glucose meter with strips has no memory, so every reading has the same likelihood of noise and bad data. And it gets worse when the BG is high or low.
- But since the Dexcom gets many readings to correlate to in its lifetime, even if it only lasts 7 days (2 days is enough btw), every time you give a strip reading (at least twice a day) it averages out the noise and refines its prediction. And, since each data point follows a previous data point, the algorithm can mathematically smooth the numbers and give you a more likely read.
So, in the end, in most cases after the first day (enough strip readings to refine and mathematically average out the mathematical noise inherent in the strip readings) the number on the dexcom is actually at least as good if not better than the strips. When I feel the calibration is good, I trust the Dexcom more than the strips. So does @rgcainmd whose opinion I value.
As for the dexcom being behind due to the interstitial liquid measurement vs the bloodstream: there is no doubt this is true, and I have seen it time and time again. There are two phenomena here you might be interested in as well:
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even though it does take 15-20 minutes to be fully reflected, you will still see some influence from a change earlier than that. For instance, if you are steady and take some glucose, you will see an uptick on the dexcom within 5 minutes of taking glucose (but you would see a bigger uptick when measuring blood). So it is not that you donāt see it for 20 minutes, it is that you donāt see it all for 20 minutes.
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When you have a sharp peak, up or down, you will see more extreme numbers on your strip than on the dexcom always. The Dexcom interstitial liquid averages out what it sees a lot, so a transitional peak will not be fully seen by the dexcom. Say your ārealā blood readings in 30 minutes were, for instance, 135, 150, 175, 180, 165, 150 ā the Dexcom might see, eventually, a few minutes behind, 135, 145, 160, 160, 155, 150. So you may not see the full amplitude of sharp peaks. However, when you have a sharp peak, the read you get from the strip is highly suspect because strips are inaccurate high and low, so their reading would be suspect too.
So, on the whole, as I mentioned, in general I trust the Dexcom more, because, inherently, by the very mathematical nature of the operation that gives you the read, it should end up being more accurate - and in our case it is most of the time.
Sorry for the long post. As an engineer and scientist I tend to feel more strongly about the beauty of numbers and measures:-)
Android phones and Android Wear watches can be used with the G5 via a DOC open-source app as well.
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really? that would be great. do you have any details on that?
dripx and dripx+ are popular with android devices.
Thank you for such a detailed explanation! I love all the specifics, it makes a lot more sense now.
Sounds like you should be working for Dexcom with all the knowledge you have on this subject!
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@WestOfPecos - Just as a side note, Iām amazed by how involved you are with your sonās diabetes, how much effort you have put into caring for your sonās diabetes and just how much you know about all this! I wish I had a parent like that growing up with my diabetes. Your son is very lucky. Youāre obviously doing a great job.
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Thanks. I googled Dripx . came back xDrip. just in case other have same issue. Itās a beta program via NightScout .
http://www.nightscout.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/xDripG5-Getting_Started.pdf
@Kimmi_D, so nice of you to mention! Nothing we do erases the gloom of being unable to remove this burden from our kids, so your comment feels really good, thank you - it made my day! My wife jokes this is my second career after my day job. For me, it really is my first:-)
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oops my dyslexia kicking in. you are correct xdrip.
I have one more question Iād like to bring up to everyone - one other option that has been suggested to me is going onto an insulin pump (like the Medtronic MiniMed 640G - not sure if anyone knows it) as apparently this is both a CGM & insulin pump.
Now my doctor once offered an insulin pump to me years ago and I turned it down almost immediately because they seem to be so big and bulky and ugly and seems like there is a lot of work involved in programming it with basal/ bolus calculationsā¦ I really know only very little about the pump though.
So could anyone offer any opinions on this? Any information on how they work? maintenance of the pump compared to the CGM only?
I know a lot of people happily use the pump, and apparently it helps with keeping your glucose readings more stable compared to insulin injections, so figured I should be a little more open-minded this time around before I shut it down again.
Iād avoid any Medtronic CGM like Yersinia pestis. But I feel that way about Medtronic in general.
Just be aware of the fact that the vastly overwhelming majority of PWD choose Dexcom. Thereās a reason.
And pumping provides a great many of us with much tighter control. The OmniPod pump is quite small and does not have tubing.
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Any particular reason for being against the Medtronic pumps?
I will look into Dexcom though, I do already like their CGMās.
Iām not sure if we have Omnipod available here, tried looking on their website but couldnāt find any details or contacts here.
Thank you!
I am boycotting Medtronic because of their āexclusiveā (read monopolized) relationship with UHC. And because their CGMs are inferior. But mostly because of the UHC thing. There should be a lawā¦
What is UHC?
UHC = United Health Care. One (among many) of our bulloxed health insurance providers in the US.