How long did your transmitter last?

I was surprised when my MInimed CGMS transmitter lasted only seven months. When I contacted Minimed, they said they thought it would last from 6 months up to two years. Of course it only has a 6 month waranty.

Has anyone else experienced such a short lifespan on their transmitter?

what happens when it ‘dies’? Mine is on month 8 and i’m getting nervous. Everything is working well thus far but I wonder what I should be looking out for. Sorry I don’t have anything to add, just questions

MIne at first had a lot of sensor error messages when it would connect it at a new site. It eventually would not even show anything when it put it on the tester. When I contacted their help line, they had me work through a bunch of tests, and confirmed that it was likely a battery failure.

The best part is that my insurance is taking their sweet time approving the replacement. I have been waiting for three weeks so far.

ah, I see. My insurance still won’t pay a penny of any of my CGM supplies, ugh

I had no idea! I’ve only had mine for 4 months so I haven’t had a problem yet. Well, other than the problems that it normally has. I can’t wait for the 2nd generation one.

Which company is coming out with a new version?

James, my first transmitter lived for 14-months. I’m now roughly 6-months into my second transmitter from MiniMed. I do have medical insurance coverage so that helps with the cost of supplies and replacement.

Just joined this group and TuDiabetes and am excited to have others to chat with about the CGMS! My first Minimed transmitter lasted 13 months. Of course it died on me as I was 7 months pregnant and getting ready to go out of town for a business trip. So I had to pay cash and pray that the reimbursement would come through (it did!).

I’m now 9 monts into the 2nd one, and it is still working (although I swear I get more sensor errors, calibration errors, and lost sensors with this transmitter than the last). The local Minimed rep I called about this told me that most transmitters don’t last more than 12 months.

My transmitter is 18 months old now and I hate to say anything but so far seems to be going strong. The company I work for changed insurance as of 1/1/09. Right away I put in an order for more sensors in case I had a fight on my hands and it was a good thing I did becuase on March 30th I finally recieved the letter stating that my insurance company had deemed it medically necessary for me to use the CGMS system. Now I am tempted to claim my transmitter is bad so that hopefully I will get a new one before anything happens to this one. I really don’t want to lie about it but it sounds like I am living on barrowed time with this transmitter.

Yes, my first one only lasted about 7 months also and I had a real difficult time convincing Minimed that there was something wrong with it…It worked in the tester, but not in ME !!! Eventually I got someone who knew what they were talking about…remember to change the battery in the charger. Also, I find after a few months - when you take the transmitter off the charger, and you get those green lights, when you go to attach it to the sensor - there is “no click” and the little green lights do not appear on the transmitter. I spent about two whole days trying to get it working…no luck…I had to get a new transmitter.
Sheila
Type 1 - 55 years

Nope. recharging more often (i.e., every 3rd day) helps that kind of battery a LOT, and don’t leave it in the charger overnight.

Dexcom now warranties the Transmitter for the SEVEN+ for 12 months, although I don’t know whether it’s full replacement or merely pro-rated. I’ve never had one wear out, always upgraded to the next model first. IIRC, my max usage of a single Transmitter was about 15 months, that was the one which came with my original STS.

I have mine minmed since 7/2007, so it is now 23 months and still going strong. does anyone know what they are surpose to last?

After my first one quit I was told by Minimed that they expect roughly a one year life span on the transmitter.

By the way, it took a total of three months for my insurance to authorize the replacement of the transmitter When I inquired about it, they claimed it took so long due to a ‘paperwork’ error and would not happen again.

huh. both my minimed rep and pump trainer (2 people) told me to always keep it on the charger when i’m not wearing it, that you can’t overcharge the transmitter, and that keeping it on the bright blue charger helps prevent it from getting lost or accidentally discarded

I wore the previous generation, ie the one with the pigtail that could not be recharged until the MiniLink was in general release. I am still on my first MiniLink, which is 23 or 24 months now with continuous use. The only time I am not wearing it is when I am recharging the battery or involved in an activity where it would be problematic. It does seem to be a flaky on occasion now. Since it is 18 months out of warranty, I will be getting a new one when my insurance rolls over to a new plan year in July. For the record I have asked three different MM phone reps about how long I should expect the transmitter to last and none of them could/would give me an answer. I have also asked both of my local MM reps in person with the same results. I have befriended my MM district manager and the next time I see him, this will certainly be on my list of questions!

I use minimed and the battery lasted only 6 months. After more than 6 months, insurance now says will not cover for type 2 diabetes. They will not pay for the transmeter but keep on covering for sensors which are of no use to me if I do not have the other part??

That is great that Dexcom warranties the Transmitter for 12 months. Do they warranty the Receiver for twelve months as well? I would imagine insurance would just replace as needed, but not absolutely sure about that.

I’m on my first transmitter still. Going on 16 months and still chugging along. I expect it to die any day now. My insurance won’t cover the transmitter, but do cover the sensors. It’s something at least. Still working on them to cover the transmitter since they have to go hand in hand.

WOW! My daughter still has her 1st transmitter and its over 2 years old. She got in Dec of 2007. She does have a back up transmitter too, just in case it goes out. But its still going strong!!!