I put a new one in on Sunday and am already having problems. Yesterday morning it said my bg was 6.5 (117) when it was actually 11.9 (214)!! The trend arrows keep disappearing and I get a big space between two readings as if my bg has dropped significantly when it hasn’t. This is on day 4!! The readings do not appear to be tallying with my meter very well either. I will call Dex support tomorrow but just wanted to vent as I am having a complete emotional rollercoaster journey since I’ve had the Dex (since 22nd Dec) The sensor is well stuck down with SkinTac and a Tegaderm patch over the top (with a hole cut out so it is not over the transmitter.
When it works I am happy as Larry, but when it doesn’t my mood just crashes. I just don’t feel I can trust it.
My email friend gave me the tips listed below. Some of them are also in the thread posted above.
1.) Enter BG’s only when less than 10 points from meter reading.
2.) Wait at least 6 hours after putting new sensor and transmitter in place before starting up.
3.) Start up when the meter BG’s are good and near the center of your range. Also start when you are not stressed or going to experience a lot of physical activity.
4,) Place sensors in the center region of your abdomen, but not too close to your navel. Do not place a sensor where you might sleep on it .
5.) Keep the receiver out of the bath room when there is a lot of dampness present.
6.) The transmitter may have popped out of place when the numbers are crazy. If so, pop it back into place.
We have been advised not to place sensors on body parts where there is scar tissue present. I have permanent scar tissue on my upper ab from 61 years of injections. I use my lower ab for sensors.
My email friend also says not to use tape over the sensor tape to hold it in place. She thinks moisture will collect if you do that. (I am not sure about this one. The manual shows four strips of tape being used. I use two.)
She says to not push the sensor beyond seven days. (I am not sure about that one either. Several members here are getting good results after 7 days.)
I had my second sensor fail after only two days. I noticed that I had placed the sensor at a level where my belt was pressing tight against one edge of it. That may have bothered the sensor or transmitter, or both of them and the failure occurred. My infusion set is not bothered by pressure like that but the transmitter/sensor combo certainly seems to be.
I have been advised to not enter BG’s except when the Dexcom calls for them. I do occasionally enter an extra one when I am 15-20 points above/below my meter reading. I think this helps more than it hurts, at least in my case. I try not to enter an extra number more than once each 24 hours.
I am using my fourth sensor since I started in the first few days of January. I have been within 10 poiints of my meter at least 80% of the time. That is very satisfactory, in my opinion.
I get the same way. for years my blood sugar was in the four hundred all the time, and now that I try andtake care of myself, this machine is my life line When its off by that much it i sSO frustrating alot of times its just the sensor, or sometimes the spot you have it in that gives it misguided signals I was also told advil or tylenol (one of them i dont remember! ugh) can create a lapse in accuracy, therefore I just avoid all pain killers.
I’m sorry your having trouble Dee, goodluck! I hoe you have better luck with your next sensor!
I understand. I also have kept things on the high side as I’m intensely nervous about lows. It is tough trying to improve my averages when I am not sure I can trust the Dexcom. I do have to say, though, things are a lot better since I got the Plus. A lot less of the “???”, which are extremely frustrating and discouraging…
If you haven’t ripped it already, do so right away: These are all “classical” symptoms of blood poisoning or bent wire. It’s totally not your fault, and you can never see these problems from above. You MIGHT see something wrong with the wire when you remove it… but not always.
If a Sensor won’t start tracking well, without gaps, within about 24 hours of shooting it in-- it will almost certainly never improve. Don’t risk your safety, replace it right away. They might whine about giving you credit for a Sensor which you actually wore into day 4, but if you upload the data, they’ll probably issue a replacement credit. That’s another reason to never, ever put up with a bad Sensor past day 2.
Thanks Rick, but I didn’t pull it and it is now on day 8. Seems to be working ok t the moment, but I’ll only let it go to a maximum of 10 days. I am finding that if I can keep blood sugars steady and in a normal range the Dex can keep up much better than if I am swinging up and down.
