Dexcom, like any company, rely on reorders to meet their necessary goals to operate and make a profit which they are entitle to. Sales drop and then the price will have to go up to make a profit. Don’t throw any arrows at me since I am talking about a business operates.
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I am on the 8L transmitter now, recent, and find I have to insert the strip several times to find the ‘right’ place but eventually get it to click out for the restart. I found it quicker with the earlier 8J. I also wait 45 minutes instead of the 30 that most on here seem to use. I saw the longer time on one youtube video months ago and I am just being overly cautious but will continue with it. My first day accuracy with a new sensor is “good enough” for me. It is unusual for it to be way off. Up to 20 or 25 mg is ok by me but not for most on this forum I realize. Often that first day it is more like 10 to 20.
Also there was a decade + that dexcom only lost money as they developed the technology that we all benefit from. It has only been in the past couple years that they made any money.
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Based on what I learned here, I was able restart a sensor with my 8G transmitter (I used to restart G5, but this was my first G6). Only one data point so far, but on day 20 it was accurate (was within 4% of my meter where I took 2 readings).
We all have our own motivations for wanting to extend sensors – in my case, I live in earthquake country. It is prudent to have supplies of food, water and medicine for a least a month, though some people plan for two months. My insurance will not allow me to be shipped 3-6 extra sensors more than normal. Dexcom is allowed to ship such that my re-order arrives just before my last sensor expires. So, like some others on this forum, I am just trying to build up a supply of extra sensors as a precaution.
I am not doing this to cheat Dexcom shareholders out of their profits – we need profitable, healthy companies to develop and support our meds and devices, and I am grateful to Dexcom for building their CGM system.
I also like Dexcom’s documentation – it emphasizes you should always calibrate if your CGM does not match what you feel. My experience is the first day of a new sensor can be radically inaccurate, but I just use the meter a lot what that happens. (Then every so often I get a sensor that is really accurate during its first day.)
When I extend a sensor, I am especially careful to calibrate if I feel the need, and I am willing to replace the sensor immediately if I think it is no longer accurate. So I see no safety issues with extending when using these procedures. But I would not recommend extending sensors to a user who is not as careful.
Thanks to everyone on this forum for sharing their experiences.
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While Medicare pays for my sensors. I be only had one period of time that I needed to restart on old sensor .
Buy ended up going two weeks without as sensor as every Methodist tried would not work.
Update on a post from last November. Express Scripts is honor by endo’s 4 sensor/month script so now I have a significant buffer of extra sensors accumulated. My restarts would typically only last 1-4 days, so building a buffer that way would take quite some time.
I only wish I could get the life others here report with a restarted sensor.
I just started on the G6 in late June. After reading many comments about restarting sensors I bought some guitar picks on Amazon and found that this thin one does the job quickly and well. It helps with the dexterity and visual challenges often experienced in my older age cohort.
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Abbott Freestyle Libre 3 CGM approved for Europe – note article at Why DexCom Stock Is Slipping Today | The Motley Fool
“Abbott’s device is priced at less than half that of DexCom’s G6. Biegelsen views this as problematic for DexCom since Libre 3 closes much of the functionality gap with the G6 system.
The Wells Fargo analyst’s reasoning makes sense. However, the CGM market is growing so rapidly that DexCom should continue to enjoy momentum for the G6 system. More importantly, the company has its own new CGM product – G7 – on the way.”
"CEO Kevin Sayer stated in the company’s Q2 conference call that there won’t be a limited launch of the new product this year as some expected. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed back DexCom’s timelines for the G7. "
I am happy with my G6, but I like to keep an eye on the CGM market. Insurance won’t let me order extra sensors for emergencies, and they are really expensive to buy outright, so I don’t want to loose the ability to restart, and we assume G7 will include more features designed to prevent restarts.
Another option for “popping” transmitter:
Use the cheesy plastic tabs you keep on your keychain for the gym, grocery store, library, etc.
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I was travelling and forgot to bring along an extra sensor. I also didn’t have the code. But I popped it out (using two test strips) and back in again but with no code.
Then it asked for a calibration, and didn’t like what I input I guess because it kept repeating every 15 minutes for several hours. I dutifully stopped what I was doing and checked on a fingerstick each time it asked. I was starting to worry that it would never work but patience paid off. After about eight calibrations, it was happy, and only asked once every 24 hours for the rest of the week.
Then the whole thing auto-peeled itself off my arm!
But still, i was home by then. And much better than going back to full manual mode, which also would have disabled Control-IQ, upon which I have become reliant.
@MBW Putting in the same calibration twice in a row will usually stop the unending requests for calibration. It also takes for gold the number the second time instead of an in between number. But it still will have an algorithm it wants to follow so that won’t end up being the number it stays with. So another calibration later on or the next day will be needed.
It never likes a number that is too different from the number it thinks you are at, so to avoid the repeated request loop, breaking the initial calibration into two smaller numbers about 30-60 minutes apart usually prevents that.
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