I was chatting recently with a sales rep from Dexcom and he gave me a few tips which are now becoming public.
They are now shipping the Dexcom 7+ which has has improved accuracy, longer life, more flexible alarms, and improved software features
Dexcom and Animas pumps will soon be able to link so that cgms data is fed into your Animas pump similar to the way Minimed does.
Check out the Dexcom site for more info.
I do not work for Dexcom or have any financial interest in them. I’m currently evaluating CGMS solutions so I’ve been staying on top of technical progress.
Dave,
I have also been in contact with my rep from Dexcom. I was told that they would not be available until May 1st. I did read the Dex sight and the plus system sounds like the answer. I have begun to rely on my seven but we know there are times when the readings are off and in the few months I’ve used the system I have had 3-4 times when the sensor timed out way early. I found out that the skin-Tac I was using interfered with the sensor. Something else that was not in the owners manual.
I just purchased the Seven+ system and it arrived yesterday. I’ve had my first sensor on for about 8 hours and I am VERY impressed. Accuracy is definitely improved and the new software makes it much easier to use compared to the Seven (not plus) that I demoed a couple of months ago.
I have used the Seven System for over a year. I have had two receivers and both failed, the second just after the warranty expired. DexCom will do nothing to assist other than push me to spend another $800 on the Seven Plus, which is the Seven I have now with a software upgrade on May 1st. The transmitter will change too. I am VERY disappointed in DexCom and will no longer purchase a CGM or supplies from them, in spite of the fact that their sensors work two to three weeks for me. They have just raised their sensor prices and so I will look at other options. If you want to avoid quality control issues I suggest you look elsewhere. Mine may have been a fluke but they were unwilling to cover it in spite of the fact that I had reported problems before the warranty expired and they had me continually reinitializing the unit. It finally failed and they said “sorry, warranty is up, please spend $800 for our new Seven Plus!” Stay away from DexCom.
They won’t let you upgrade for $100? That surprises me. I too have had two receivers fail, but they have always been quick to replace them, and any sensors I have called and complained about (which I’m not shy to do). I was curious as to if everytime I get a new receiver, do I get a new warranty from that date instead my original one? How long is the warranty?
The latest Dexcom Seven Plus, which was just released in March, 2009, amazes me with its accuracy.
I got the latest one on March 16th, 2009. But the first Dexcom receiver failed on me. It automatically initialized itself
twice during my two weeks’ use, and its readings were NOT within its range as it claimed, and I was just about to
give up as other CGM I had used with miserable results. I guess they just released this new Seven Plus; not wonder
the system might run into some funny technical problems.
So Dexcom decided to replace with a new Dexcom receiver. Since April 2, 2009, the new receiver has worked
wonder to me. It has accurately warned my hypos reliably. Its readings are often just 1 or 2 points from my meter
readings, far exceeding their claim to be within 20% range of the meter readings. If it continues like this,
this is a God-send device!
I’d encourage you to try Dexcom Seven Plus. Dexcom gives you 30 days to try with full refund.
Define “soon” re linkage of Animas pumps with the Dexcom. We have both the Animas and MM Paridigm pumps for my niece. We love the MM pump. We have been waiting for MM to reduce the size of that honking introducer needle, as well as improve the alarms (louder, please) and perhaps the accuracy of their cgms. We asked our endo for a prescription for the Dexcom 7 Plus and hope insurance will switch us. I believe we would be very happy with the Dexcom as far as accuracy, ease of use, and size of needle. I’m sure she will lose the Dexcom receiver; it is large and she won’t want to carry two devices. If Dex is going to communicate within a month or two, we could probably upgrade Animas as it is still under warranty.
