I am casting it out into a field of snow if it cannot stop sending off alarms for a half hour period. I haven’t slept in years and I’m done with it.
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You can turn your phone off till you are back in range if you are unable to sleep.
You could also consider changing out the sensor.
Or a third option. STOP EATING THE CHRISTMAS COOKIES
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@mohe0001 put your alarms on vibrate until you can get it sorted out… That will give you some breathing room without driving you batsh** crazy
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Ha!! I hear you! Pump f’n beeping ALL last night I finally disconnected it at 0500 and gave myself 3 units with the pen and I’m back in normal land. I did get 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep then.
I’m calling it pizzagate because that was a SPECTACULAR failure of dosing for pizza.
I can now hear the pump beeping in the laundry room.
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Just to let you know that you’re not alone. I was woken up a few hours after falling asleep last night by the urgent low 55 alarm. I ate two glucose tabs and the alarm finally shut up and I fell back to sleep.
Unfortunately, reviewing things this morning, I should have done a fingerstick since my sugar bounced up to 170-180 after my two glucose tabs. I’ve been suckered into this false alarm scenario too many times. I resist fingersticking since I don’t want to make falling back asleep harder. I did wake up with a normal glucose level this morning but my system spent the whole night bringing me down and taking more insulin than I’d like.
Living with diabetes is hard and no one (except the unaware gluco-normals) is living a blissful metabolic life. Let your righteous indignation fade and go out and retrieve whatever Dexcom detritus you lobbed into the field of snow. It’s time to start over, one more time!
Maybe consider a Dexcom vacation respite.
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I for one liked it years ago when you could set your urgent low alarm on vibrate. I adjusted it to an alarm setting while sleeping, but it was nice to have the urgent low set to vibrate especially when you didn’t want to have that alarm blasting during a quiet public event.
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I use xDrip instead of the Dexcom app, and the alarms in that are massively customizable. On/off/snooze time/alarm choice etc, etc. Worth consideration if your tolerance for dumb alarms drops too low.
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@mohe0001 You should be able to turn them off except for the urgent low one which will insist on alarming every 30 minutes. Make sure it’s calibrated so it’s accurate. Otherwise do you really want to be under 55 while you are sleeping? So it’s a good thing.
I do take breaks in between sensor changes. Which is about every 26 days. I started that when I realized I wouldn’t have a transmitter early on and how much I went crazy not having it. I did fine before my CGM’s so I figured a day or two of breaks would be a good thing to remember I can do fine without one again. And really it helped cut that cord and it’s nice being untethered for a few days here or there.
I do wake up with lows so I don’t have to worry about having alarms for that. But I will sleep through 300’s and a pod failure. High numbers unfortunately have never bothered me.
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Completely agree that it is a good idea to have the urgent low alarm on a discernible sound so that it catches lows when sleeping. However during the day at a quiet public event or meeting, I miss the vibrate setting for an urgent low on Dexcom app. That worked just fine for me. If it didn’t work for others, there was the option of putting it on a sound to alert for that low.
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@drrps3 That’s very true, you shouldn’t have to literally turn off your phone so it doesn’t chirp at you in certain situations. Most of the time we want to know if we are under 55. But we should have the choice of still being able to turn the alert off under certain circumstances and still being able to glance at our BG level and still use our phone.
[quote=“Marie20, post:8, topic:88851”]
do you really want to be under 55 while you are sleeping?
[/quote]an alarm.
I would much rather be under 55 while sleeping than being awakened by an alarm. I just wish Dexcom would allow us to set our low alarm in the 42-45 range and high alarm starting in the 100-110 range. We all react differently and survived years without alarms. My diet and exercise greatly affect the range I am comfortable sleeping in especially when getting a wonky sensor. Hopefully, someone will knock off Dexcom in Asia and give us far greater control over alarm settings.
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hammer
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NEVER, @Timothy. Never!
It was alarming at 69 -->. I woke up at 180. This is exactly what happened.
Vibrate it is! Thanks, everybody, for helping me not become hysterical.
Is there any reason for me to switch to Libre or is that overkill?
I’m getting pretty bad reactions to the adhesive. Its resulting in some open wounds and difficulty healing. I’m using IV prep. But, even in the best of times, the sensor isn’t remaining secure.
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I miss everything about ‘old’ dexcom. I’m constantly comparing G6 to how ‘wonderful’ I remember ‘old’ G4 to have been - which might be greatly exaggerated at this point. I miss G4. It was the darling of medical devices to me.
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I highly doubt this is a Dexcom decision or one the FDA would even consider. Also with the +/- range that is considered accurate for Dex you would likely be in the 30’s many times…no thanks.
As risk adverse to lows most doctors are, we should be grateful the Dex doesn’t lose it mind at 70…lol
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My body, my risk, my decision!!! I really don’t care what either the FDA, Dex or my endo is comfortable with. That is why I am looking for a more versatile knock-off made outside the US. I am tired of wasting my time managing the Dex sensor and algorithm vagaries instead of managing my diabetes. I am MDI and use a non FDA approved Korean digital pen that doses in 0.1 units and have been getting amazing results since upgrading over a decade ago from US pens that at best case deliver in 0.5 and more often deliver in 1.0 unit doses.
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As we get older we are less tolerant of low sugars.
There is a cliff. Everyone has one and most of us know it.
But that cliff can change as we age.
I only barely notice when I’m at 60, but at 55 I feel it strong.
Back when I wasn’t in good control, I never felt a low sugar till I passed out.
It’s a moving target and the FDA Isn’t going to budge on that. I’m pretty certain.
We have to deal with the preponderance of the data, not our own limits.
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I agree that is where the default values should be set, however, we should have the ability to override those default values with a strong message that we as individuals accept full responsibility for operating outside of the default values. As diabetics, we are all similar, yet different enough that we should have the ability to tweak to our individual needs.
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I love my Dexcom 6. I use the receiver more than my smartphone, but both allow settings to control alerts. For example, I show my dog and really don’t want alerts while we are in the ring, so I go to vibrate. It will still squawk if I go below 55, so I just make sure that never happens.
I don’t go low much while sleeping, but I appreciate the alert if I do. The goal is to have a good Time In Range each day. Obviously if lows at night happened often, I would either change things (food, insulin dosages, timing) or work with my Endo to find a solution.
Attitude-wise, I feel in control of my life and my CGM system, so I don’t get angry at it. I just adjust as needed. I am so pleased to have BG measurements every 5 minutes instead of the old 4-5 per day. It makes a huge difference and I feel fortunate this technology exists and my insurance will pay for it.
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I believe it was Dexcom’s decision to move the urgent low alarm setting from the vibrate / sound choice to the default sound alarm setting that you cannot change. When the app was updated a while back now, I called Dexcom, and I was lectured to that it was for my safety etc, etc, etc. The mobile app is not regulated by the FDA.