G5 vs G6 Decision help!

Diabetes Technology Glucose Monitoring
#1

Hi guys,

I have been temporarily laid off work and as such our insurance will be ending at the end of April. I have received the email saying that Dexcom will be stopping selling for G5 (which I currently use) as of June 2020. I would like to make an order now while I still have my insurance, in case something goes wrong in the future. I am almost due for another transmitter, as I have roughly 50 days left on it, and have 9 sensors left to use.

As such, if I go with the G6 upgrade right now, I will have left over G5 sensors after my transmitter dies.

  1. Has Dexcom been buying back/crediting your old G5 sensors after you switched to G6?
  2. I have a Tandem X2. Do I absolutely need the software upgrade to be able to pair with G6 sensors, or is that only necessary for Basal-IQ (I don’t need that right now…)?

Thanks!

#2

They will stop selling G5 transmitters in June.
But continue to send sensors through December.
If you use each G5 sensor more than 7 days (restart), you’re probably lower cost with G5 through year end.

#3

Good to know, thanks. Yes I do restart them, last me about 12-13 days on average.

#4

Can you purchase your policy thru COBRA? No real telling how long these layoffs last.

#5

Yes, you need to do at least the Basal-IQ update to use the G6. I ran into that problem myself when I started G6 and hadn’t updated the software yet. It only took me a few hours to fix that, but that was before the Control-IQ backlog.

#6

Actually I’m from Canada…so not for me.

1 Like
#7

Thanks Robyn. What’s the Control-IQ backlog you’re speaking of? Basal-IQ and Control-IQ come in the same update?

#8

Wonder if this would work for you, for Canada.

https://store.ca.dexcom.com/en-CA/G6-subscriptionoverview

#9

Tandem staff have been overwhelmed by the masses flocking to get on the new system.
They’ve been pretty slow to process the paperwork. I applied early, so didn’t have to wait long for the upgrade to be processed, but I’ve heard of people waiting a month or more. I don’t know if they’ve caught up yet, or if it’s still a slow wait.

And no, Basal-IQ and Control-IQ do not come in the same update. The software is very different. I definitely prefer Control-IQ, but it’s not available anywhere outside the US yet.

#10

Oh I see. Tell me there’s an option to update so the G6 works but disable all that Basal-IQ and Control-IQ stuff? At times Dexcom can be wildly inaccurate for me so I don’t see it working at all.

Also, did they mandate training with someone coming to your house with the new updates?

#11

Yes, both Control-IQ and Basal-IQ can be turned off and left turned off if that’s what you want.
The training is watching online videos and taking a little quiz. There’s no human involved.

#12

Okay great, thanks. I just ordered more G5 supplies…over $1000. Hope my insurance still works :roll_eyes: