Alarm volumes:
I am a relatively new DexCom user. One of the very few gripes I have is that I don’t wake up to the alarm sounds when I am low. i have the monitor placed on my bedside table, right next to the bed. I am not a heavy sleeper, either. It just seems too quiet to me. So I have resulted to wearing the thing to bed. Still, even the vibrate doesn’t wake me up sometimes.
Way-off readings:
There are times when the readings I have are very, very off compared to my finger sticks. I was told by DexCom there’s a 20% margin of error, and I just deal with that. Not the greatest when you’re trying to catch lows, but whatever. But- I have had readings at least once a week where the meter says 300+ and my actual was in the 100’s or 200’s. I try alternating sites, and this still happens.This all falls well within the week-long period of the insertion. I also am vigilant about keeping it well away from my pump site.
Does anyone have these problems, or any solution ideas?
I am hearing impaired so I keep my Dex on vibrate and wear it while I am sleeping. I just put it under the elastic waistband of my pajama bottoms or lay it on my stomach. I have to sleep on my back, so that makes it a little easier I guess. In another thread, there were some discussions about putting the Dex in an open jar with coins which would amplify the sound.
As for your “way off” readings, none of the CGMs out there are perfect. I can tell you from my experience, DEX is 300% better than Medtronic’s CGM. I have been on the Dex for about five weeks and I have to say it is 90% accurate. The remaining 10% is no where near as off as the Medtronic one that I used for years.
Hope this is helpful.
I find way-off readings also but I think the secret to the whole thing is the first couple days that you have it on - train it to death. Put lots of fingersticks in and then it will pretty much follow you - of course, not always. And if it doesn’t adjust during those first days right away, keep putting fingersticks (or use the same number as the first one) results in until it gets very close to matching your stick.
Regarding the alarm, i wear mens pjs and stick the sensor in my pants pocket. Its the vibration that wakes me vs. the alarm. The alarm didn’t do much for me…
Regarding the off by a bunch. I have had that happen. Sometimes I need to just enter two finger sticks to help the sensor get back on track. If that doesn’t work, then I change the sensor.
Laura - I do the opposite! For me, it seems that if I put in too much info, it just gets confused and sticks to the path it’s been on. I find that if I only enter bgs when I am stable and between 70 and 120 (even if it is 5 or 7 or 10 hours after it’s asking for a bg) then I get better readings. YDMV
When I do sleep, it’s pretty soundly. I put the dex in my pillow case under my pillow, on vibrate & beep, and it never fails to wake me. I guess having my head shaken when I’m asleep is annoying enough that I wake up
I’ll address your first question, but not your second:
The ‘search’ text box, at the upper right corner of any TUD page, is your friend. If you search for words such as “microphone”, or “baby monitor”, you can solve your problem. I use professional-grade gear, because the hummmm which occurs with Radio Shack and similar “consumer” stuff drives me crazy. Since you’re a light sleeper, you might need a similar setup. The total cost (brand new) is about $80, plus the boombox. It’s extremely portable, except for the boombox. The boombox MUST have a stereo mini-plug input, of course.
I never had a problem hearing my first receiver. My second receiver came with a silicone (?) skin. I find that it muffles the sound. I haven’t done it yet, but I am considering removing the receiver from the skin at night. Let me know if it helps.
I do have times that I am WAY out of calibration. It hasn’t happened recently, so now I am cursed and I’ll be out by 100 - 200 soon! I try to follow Dex’s recommendations: calibrate when prompted or when out by 20% or more. One exception I learned in the last few months is when 80 mgdl or less, the tolerance is 20 mgdl, not 20 percent. I don’t like that recommendation; a reading of 50 could really be 30 and still be in tolerance.
try putting a small shallow dish on the night table next to your bed. Put a bunch of loose change in it and leave the Dexcom in the dish with the alarm and vibrate on. When it goes off you’ll hear the change rattle. It works pretty well for me. If you do a search on here you’ll find some more elaborate methods of amplifying the Dexcom, but they require some expense. Try this one first to see if it works for you.
I have a big problem with the alert tone not waking me when I'm low. This is pretty dangerous bc that's when I need it most. I'm lucky that my boyfriend wakes up and shakes me. It has a hard time keeping up with the readings sometimes but I still love it most of the time. Jen
