The Good News: My son (age 11) has been using the Dexcom D4 for 3 months. His A1C in February was 7.1%. Today was 6.4%. We rely on the Dexcom just about 100% of the time. We use the meter only to double check the Dexcom when prompted to by the Dexcom, or if he feels different that what the Dexcom is telling him. Needless to say, the Dexcom has been remarkably accurate.
THE BAD: We still can not get the transmitter to stick to his skin. We have tried: Skin Tac, Matisol, Tegaderm tape, Flexi-fix tape, you name it, we've tried it. I have a feeling we're going to have to ditch the Dexcom for the summer, as water/sweat only seem to aggravate the problem.
Wish Dexcom could solve the stickiness issue (or lack there of!)
I'm having the same problem. I got my G4 less than a week ago. I went to my Endo's office and met with the Dexcom trainer. He helped me clean my skin with alcohol, helped me stick the adhesive on my belly... an hour later I got home and discovered that the adhesive was almost completely loose. I wasn't sweating and I didn't use any lotion on my skin. I've been using the Omnipod pump for 4 years and have only had a couple of problems with the adhesive. Needless to say... I was shocked and disappointed. I don't know what's going on with the G4 but I have seen other complaints about this issue.
I don't mean to be 100% negative. I have to say that so far I love having a CGM! I'm learning a lot of interesting things about my diabetes and my body. :-)
Have you tried IV Prep? I use that before insertion and then “paint” over the tape after insertion. I get 7 days from that alone and the get an additional 7 (at least) with tegaderm after that. I run, swim, etc and live in hot and humid Texas…
We sure have. No luck. Might try another body part (maybe back of the arm?) and see if this makes any difference?
Skin tac is like IV Prep on steriods. If Skin Tac isn't working for them, I venture to say that IV Prep won't help either. Sorry to hear about the woes, Tracy!
Skin tac does nothing for us. However, our Skin Tac comes in a bottle and it's swabbed on? I see most everyone is referring to Skin Tac "wipes" and so maybe we should try that? Worth a try! Not sure why the stuff in the bottle would be any different, but maybe it is!
Thanks Susannah! Never heard of a shower cover. Shocked the Dexcom reps haven't mentioned to me since I have called no less than 10 times with sensors that have falled off in a day! I'll have to give those a try!
I'm right there with you folks on the GOOD. I use my G4 to dose by exclusively.
But, very sad to hear about the BAD -- I do yoga and get REALLY sweaty (it's hard work, okay?...), and I ride road and mountain bikes until I am ready to drop. I have had no issues whatsoever with the adhesive. I even go swimming in the pool after my rides -- the bug stays on me for weeks if need be with nothing else but the stuff it came with (I use no extra adhesives) keeping it in place.
The only things I can think of that might matter are that I'm in SoCal where it is fairly dry and rarely humid, and I have fairly dry skin.
Good luck finding a solution.
If you can't make the above work, then you are really only left with something that surrounds the site like vetrap or bands4life. My 3 year old son is the sweatiest kid in the world, but skin tac under and tegaderm over works for us. When we do the pool or the beach, I put vetrap on top of it too.
I have had success using antiperspirant before applying the sensor. I take an empty test strips canister and make a circle on the spot where I am going to insert the sensor. I apply antiperspirant around that circle (I don't want it interacting with the sensor cannula) If need be (very hot weather) I'll apply mastisol or skin tac in the same circle around the "bulls-eye" and then apply. It also helps to really rub on the adhesive tape once it is on your skin. That activates the sticky. That trick also works for pump sets.
we have had the same issues, currently our best results are with regimen as follows...
1. glom on three swipes of skin tack to adhesive before putting on skin,
2. two alcohol wipes thoroughally on site
3. let the skin tac on the sensor get ALMOST dry but not quite
4. insert the sensor
5. sit there and don't do ANYTHING for 10 minutes...
6. THEN, cut a 3.5 inch tegaderm in half, put half on the top of the sensor cloth, and half on the bottom...
this regimen is getting us in the ballpark of 10 days...
if we skip step five we are screwed...
the extra tegaderm on top seems to really help keep the skintac sticking somehow...
I wear a Dexcom Seven CGM and had a horrible time keeping my sensors in, no matter how many different strategies I tried - until I found hypafix tape. It's a cloth tape (similar to what comes on the sensor), is easy on the skin, and I replace it ever three days or so. I usually buy mine off Amazon though I'm sure you can find it other places as well. Best of luck! :)
I cut a little hole in middle of one of these for the transmitter. It's a little bigger than the cloth on the sensor and has worked well for me. 
I use SkinTac wipes and a hairdryer (no joke). Swab the area (except for where the cannula thingy is going to be inserted, insert the site, use the hairdryer to warm up the site's sticky adhesive pad, rub gently during. Let the site cool a bit, then insert the sensor part. The heat and friction seem to activate the stickiness.
