I just put in my first sensor. The good news: it was virtually painless. The bad news: I was a bit nervous, and not sure I did it right.
I had my fingers in the wrong spot, so instead of pushing down on the plunger, waiting a few seconds, then pulling up, it all happened really fast - push in, pull up.
My husband was watching, and said he’s 95% certain that the plunger was all the way down before I pulled up. But he’s not totally certain…
So how do I know if this thing is in me? I felt a little something as it went in, but not a whole lot. I think I sorta feel something now.
Once the 2 hour wait period is over, will it tell me if it’s not getting anything? Or is there a way to tell earlier? So far, everything seems ok - I get the transmitter icon on the handheld thingy, and it’s counting down the time.
If it’s not getting a reading it will give you either a sensor error or a failed sensor. If it’s only partially in though your only sign may be consistently off readings. The insertion does take a bit of practice but it gets easier with time. Good luck!
Hi Barbra,
I don’t necessarily feel the sensor going in either. As long as you weren’t using the collar that you pull up to push down the plunger at the same time, you should be ok. The design is not really that great. The collar is just begging to be used while you use the plunger. I have trained myself to think of insertion as a one handed process, only pressing on the plunger. THEN, I pull up on the collar. I just have to stay out of my own way, lol.
You can’t really tell anything before the two hour wait period is up. As long as you got the transmitter seated correctly, you will only know after you do the two calibration BG’s. Welcome to the wonderful world of CGM’s and good luck.
StaceyD
Barbra, I’ve only put in two. My husband has done all the others in my arm. But each time I have done it for myself I wonder if I’ve done it right. I’m always nervous until I start getting readings. Chances are you probably did it right, but I do understand your being nervous. Just give it a little time and chances are you will start getting readings.
I’ve wasted two sensors by not remembering to pull back on the while collar. Instead I just unhooked and pulled the sensor wire out. Now i get my manual out every time so i won’t forget. They’re expensive mistakes for me.
Thanks for all the replies. It’s been about 5 hours now, and I’m getting pretty good results - within 10-15 points of my meter, so I guess I did the insertion OK!
Those are great results for the first few hours, a lot of times the first day or so gets kind crazy results while the sensor gets used to your body. It sounds like you did just fine. 
i missed a step once while inserting, and i definitely felt it! very painful, and lots of blood!
inserting the sensors are a little complicated, but it becomes second nature with a little time… good luck!
has anyone ever bled with insertion? i just put my second one in yesterday and it bled a little bit, and kept giving me ??? on and off. i finally got frustrated and took it out, and there was blood all in there, i must have got an artery when i put it in (just on my stomach though). can i send that one back in to the company??
I have bled but it never affected the readings. Call them and let them know, they’ll probably send you another. I’ve never had any trouble getting them to replace bad sensors.
Hi, to be honest the only way to really tell you did it correctly is to wait and see what results are like in Day 1 and Day 2. Day 1 is a crapshoot, as the sensor might work for a while and then go on vacation with some ??? readings as it gets used to the information it is sorting through. I sometimes joke that the Seven should be called a Six or Six Point Five because often there are a couple of false starts at the beginning.
Even in the couple of times that I’ve done a brain fart and done something wrong on the insertion, I’ve never messed it up enough to make the sensor inoperable, so they’ve succeeded in making it substantially idiot proof.
How long did you give it with the ??? on the first day? If it correctly gave you the “Two Blood Drops” command and then led off with a ??? reading, then chance are the sensor was never going to work correctly. But if it gave you some readings, then like any other sensor it needed time to season. Some weeks I get absolutely perfect performance, but often I get some ??? stuff on Day 1.