Hooray for Dexcom!

Pulled out my Medtronic Soft Sensor about 8 hours ago and said "Good Rithens". Opened the box for my new Dexcom system and was up and running in about 10 minutes! Not bad for the first time. I'm only 6 hours into glucose readings with Dexcom and they are only 1-3 points off from my meter! Incredible Dexcom. I'm IN LOVE!!! I feel so much more at ease knowing that I can look at this device and trust it's numbers, unlike the Medtronic which was 30-100 points off...on average!!! I'm sure as Dexy and I get more acquainted I will learn to trust her more. Tonight, I will be sleeping the best I have since diagnosis. I can breathe knowing that if I get too low...Dexy will wake me up and if I'm too high she will let me know that too.

I'm sure as Dexy and I get more acquainted I will learn to trust her more.

Ha! That's the first time I've heard the Dex G4 referred to as female! May as well be.

I've had good luck with Dexcom CGMs since 2009. Don't expect your Dexy to continue to read as close as your meter as your first few hours.

It's a tremendous tool that, when used well, can immeasurably add to your quality of life. I'm glad you're feeling so postive about it. I would not want to live without it!

Good luck. Hooray for Dexy!

Ha!!! Thanks Terry! I'm so glad it made you smile. Dexy is pink so I couldn't possible give her a boy name! ;-) Girls are more precise anyway right? ;-P So, Terry, when do you calibrate. For example, I know every 12 hours but I've heard people say if the Dexcom is too far off to calibrate them. I tried looking at the Dexcom website for information and coudn't make heads or tails out of what they were saying.


I haven't reviewed the current user's guide recently so I'll tell you how I do it. I would recommend that you look at the user's guide to get the basic instructions.

I calibrate when starting a session, the two required fingersticks. During the first 24-48 hours I calibrate when the Dex diverges from the fingerstick reading but only when the Dex trend line is sideways, never at an angle or single/double up/down.

During the first day or so, I like to get in at least one high calibration, about 140 or higher, and one low calibration, about 80 or lower. Again, only when the Dex's trend arrow is sideways.

Due to the inherent inaccuracies of meters, I will often do two fingersticks and average them for the calibration.

Always wash your hands and dry them well for any calibration fingerstick. This is important always but even moreso for Dex calibrations.

After the first day or two, I try to only calibrate when the system asks for it. I've gone through periods when I calibrated a lot but I don't think it helped any. I will, however, add a calibration if my Dex is more than 20 points off for more than 30 minutes or so. Remember the BG of the interstitial fluid lags capillary BG by about 15 minutes. So unless your BG is trending sideways your Dexy will often read differently than a fingerstick, and that's normal. Just as long as its not off too far.

The photo below of your correlation is great. In that case I would leave well enough alone.

Remember, the trend info is more important than the actual number! It's easy to lose sight of this in the beginning.

By the way, I use an Accu-Chek Aviva meter.

Thank you Terry! This really helped me a lot! I appreciate you taking the time to answer!! I re-read the Dexcom info on Calibrating and did some research. I figured out what the 20/20 rule is for calibration so hopefully that will help too!

From what I understand:

If meter is 80 or below...then CGM should be + or - 20pts. So if my meter says 80 my Dexy should say 60 and 100.

Looks like the rules change slightly if the meter is above 80. In that case, lets say my meter says 150. I take 150 and multiply by .20 (for 20%). The answer is 30. So, my Dex should be + or - 30 points. So in this case, 120-180 is an acceptable range and no need to calibrate.

Interesting stuff! Trying to learn all I can so I can get my A1C...down down down!!!

Thanks again for your help!!!

I too LOVE my Dexcom. It is so accurate, right on 99.9% of the time. I feel lost for just the 2 hours when I have to change out my sensor. Glad you love your Dex, too. :)