Like many of you, I had been using the Band-Aid brand hydrocolloid “tough pad” underneath my Dexcom sensors for years. With the G4, I never had an issue injecting the sensor directly through the tough pad (Dexcom actually said I could do that). When I started on the G6 in August, I had several issues, including frequent and long-lasting “signal loss” and “sensor error” alerts with huge gaps in readings, a few “sensor failures,” and worst of all, some really scary insertions where it was either painful, bleeding, or didn’t deploy properly and the needle actually got stuck under my skin, forcing me to rip it out.
Dexcom did replace all of these sensors, and they finally connected me with their nurse educator team about a month ago. She instructed me NOT to inject the sensor directly through the tough pad, as that can totally screw up the sensor with the new automatic insertion. She told me to cut a hole through the tough pad first where the needle would go in. She reminded me to just let the inserter gently float on my skin (and not to press down at any point). She also suggested that I unpair my receiver so that my transmitter isn’t constantly searching for it (I just use my iPhone now, and it’s very reliable).
I’m happy to report that I’ve now had a full month of properly working Dexcom G6 (3 sensors lasting the full 10 days with no problems). And painless insertions every time, too. I just wanted to share this information in case others are having similar issues.