Has anyone noticed that their sensors aren’t lasting as long as they use to? Lately, all I’m getting out of them is 4 days. I use MM.
Not here. Been getting at least 6-7 days from.my MM sensors. Are yours near expiration maybe?
I have been having this trouble too (minilink). I posted about this some time ago and someone felt there might be a “bad” batch out there…
I usually get 5 days out of them. I used a batch that was 2 years old, and they worked just as well as the new ones. I have an MM as well.
I’m impressed that someone with a Dex got 22 (that’s right – TWENTY TWO!) days out of a sensor. WOW!
I am getting 5-7 days out of mine. They work pretty well, and I have noticed little difference. I do keep mine refrigerated before I use them.
rick phillips
In response to Sportster, yes, when I was using MM I too noticed failure at day 3 to 4 instead of day 6 to 7 almost all the time in the last 6 to 8 months I used MM.
And Natalie, I am currently on day 16 on this Dex sensor, misses some of the highs now (lags behind) but catches lows (a bigger worry for me!).
MM user , on day 5 ; plan another 3-4 days at least 
…I do not refridgerate as Rick mentioned .
Wow …about the Dex !!
…not av. in Canada .
Jennifer, these are a new batch of sensors. I’m getting 4 days with off readings on day 4. So, I guess I’m really getting only 3 good days. There were a few times I only got 2 days out of them.
Hope,I thought about calling Medtronics but I’m sure they’ll tell me that I am supposed to change it out on day 3.
Natalie, I’m surprised to hear that you used a batch that was 2 yrs old! I used an old batch one time and noticed that the needle was hard to remove.
Dex got 22!!! I’m impressed, too!!! But, I’m not too sure "I "could go that long without changing the site. After 6 days my skin gets irritated and that’s with a dressing on it.
Rick, what’s the reason for refridgerating them???
Korrie, I’m wondering if we got a bad batch??? But, guess we can’t call MM to complain because we’re only supposed to use them for 3 days at a time.
Yes, I think I did. It was only one set of sensors that seemed to do thi…my newer ones seem much better.
I do not refridgerate them…I know this used to be a recommendation but I was more recently told not to b/c of possible issues with condensation.
I have only been on the MM sensors about 4 weeks now, obviously a new batch, and I will not get more than 3 days out of them. It is almost to the exact time I start it 3 days later. I thought maybe it was because I am using it so much that the batery life was going out much more, like in my insulin pump…
I’ve never used the MM CGM but I hope they are sold at a fraction of the cost compared to Navigator and Dex. 3-4 days is terrible. I am on Dex now getting about 14 days, but for 2 years on Navigator I consistently got 30 days with a record of 75 days on the same sensor.
Didn’t your body react to the foreign object under your skin for 75 days with pus and infection? Hard to believe you could go that long, but I believe you!
I’d really like a sensor to last longer than 5 days – the one I have in now was fantastic the first 4 days, and is now pooping out – gonna wait till the morning to change it, but I’d really rather not have to change so often.
Natalie, there was no infection, the ones I’ve taken out at 30 days did have a little redness but no worse than my pump infusion set after 4 days. The 75 day sensor had basically healed in place and did take a little tug to get it out and there’s probably a microscopic scar there but I can’t see it. It was in my quad muscle area (not a lot of skin movement there) and remember the Nav needle is only 5mm and I would poke it through a layer of Opsite flexifit, so it just barely broke the skin. As I’ve posted before in the other groups (Dex and Nav users) the accuracy even got better the longer the sensor was in place. Many other Nav users have posted on some of the other sites about consistently getting 30 days, I learned originally about extending from the yahoo CGMS group, then after succeeding at 30 I decided to just see how long it could last. I didn’t tell my doc beforehand about the 75 day sensor but he knew I was going 30 days regular. After I told him I’d got 75 days with no infection he wasn’t surprised, he said we implant many med devices through the skin, just keep it securely sterile, and yes there is risk of infection but you have to allow the infection in. After the skin had healed around the needle it was pretty sealed in, little room for infection to get in. I don’t think one would ever hear any doc recomending you try that, thats why I never mentioned it till after. I did settle on a 30 day rotation, I could afford that.
The sensor will automatically count down to the end of three days. Once the pump says the sensor is done you restart the sensor and go through the warm up period again. As others have stated you can usually go for at least another three days after that until you start getting bad readings all the time. I have never had a battery issue from using the MM CGMS for 6-7 days.
Another person talked about their site getting irritated after 6-7 days. When I am using the MM sensor I also get irritation after 6-7 days. When I have used the Dexcom system after 14 days it was starting to get a little bothersome but nothing like the MM at 6-7 days. Not sure exactly why the Dex is more comfortable but I have seemed to have far less problems using their system.