How long does the receiver last?

Diabetes Technology Glucose Monitoring
#1

My daughter started using the Dex in October 2013, so we are out of warranty and eligible for a new receiver. I know the transmitters only last a year on average, but I'm curious to know how long the receivers last.

My quandary is this: our health plan and deductibles start over again March 1. Since we are out of the warranty period, I could get a whole kit - receiver + transmitter - for only $172, before the end of the month. Then next month we would be eligible for the free upgrade to the Share receiver. But it would be a pediatric receiver without 505 software version.

I spoke at length with Dexcom reps the other day, and when our inside sales rep called me back to give me the price for the kit, she said our ped endo could request the adult receiver with 505 software and she emailed the letter of medical necessity to me.

I forwarded this to our endo's office and they faxed it back to Dexcom, apparently with the special request. Today I got a call from our regional sales rep chastising me for requesting the adult receiver. He made me feel like a child who had purposefully and knowingly done something wrong! He said they can't ship the adult ones to kids anymore because they are not approved for peds.

So I don't know whether to keep our current receiver, download the 505 software and go with Nightscout, or get a new pediatric receiver and go with Share.

#2

Receivers last basically until they die. Most insurance will replace them on a schedule though whether you need it or not. When will it die? Well, in my opinion it uses a Lithium Ion battery. Li-ion batteries can recharge about 500 times on average, before they stop accepting a charge. So if you recharge your battery once a week, then it should last 500 weeks, or 9 years give or take. Now we all know these devices go through a lot, so expecting 9 years is a bit of a stretch. So, YMMV of course.

I had my receiver replaced after 1 year, but keep the old receiver just in case. The old one is just fine and I probably didn't need to replace it, but insurance paid for most of the cost so I figured why not get a spare. Plus the new receiver had less of the "wake up" issue that I had in my old receiver, and others here had too. So it was a good move overall for me. Still, as long as the old receiver works, and you're satisfied with it why worry?

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#3

Thanks for the estimation of the Li-ion batteries. I usually let her receiver get down to about 25% battery life or less before I charge. What is the "wake up" issue you mentioned? Not familiar with that.

One quirk that I've noticed, and I don't know whether it's a sensor issue or a receiver issue, but when she's running around very active (not sports, just regular 6-year-old hyperactivity), I'll look to see her number and there's an out of range display instead - and she's wearing the receiver!

Maybe I'll go ahead and get the new ped receiver to keep our options open. I noticed on a discussion about the new software that some people are experimenting with the new software and old on two receivers.