I am a dancer on a cheer team and our stomachs are revealed in our uniforms. So, its more of a cosmetic reason that I can’t wear it on my stomach. So I’m really only limited for my butt/hip area.
I DID IT! YAY! It really wasn’t bad… just like inserting my pump set. Ok this question may be dumb… but how does the sensor come out when you change them? Because when inserting the sensor you stick it to your skin first and then insert the needle, so what pulls the sensor out? Sorry this was my first time doing it and I am pretty clueless about how the whole thing works. I’m surprised I even got it in without anyone talking me through it.
I will get my first dexcom unit on Friday but in an email today, according to a Dexcom Clinical Specialist, “Your Dexcom starter kit will include an Interactive Training Tutorial CD, Quick Start Guide and Training Checklist to help get you ‘up and sensing’!” I would imagine this has the information about how to remove a sensor. I wore a demo unit for 7 days and it seemed like I just pulled it out and you keep the little data chip. Easy and painless.
I find vertical mounts are not tugged on etc when I roll from side to side as I sleep. Horizontal is the Dexcom way but I found I can get two weeks out of a sensor if it is not pulled loose by my tossing and turning at night.
Try some pieces of tape about the same size as the sensor tape. Look at the places that move the least over the area. One place is on your side between your waist and where your thigh ends coming up. Some athletic trainers would call it the gluteous medius. Just some wild ideas for you.
Also, you may want to think about the abdomen below the waist. Think about a horizontal insertion.
When you take the sensor base off, look for a wire about twice the size of a coarse human hair about 1/2 inch long.
but what happens if the sensor doesn’t come out?? I saw that you put a circle around it but then what?
You pull it out the same way you do an infusion set. I’ve never had a sensor fracture. Or a infusion set cannula left behind for that matter and I’ve been pumping for over 8 years now. I can’t remember how many sensor fractures were reported to the FDA generating “the letter” but it seemed like a very small amount compared to what their total sales must be. So I don’t worry about it breaking off. Works for me.
I think the reason they tell you to mark it with a circle if it does break is because you don’t want to go fishing around for it. Basically the advice for something like this is to leave it alone. But you’d want to keep an eye on it in case it got infected hence the marking.
Diana
Hi,
I’d encourage you to lose the stigma of letting someone see your sensor. In hot yoga class (where I also wear a sports bra), I wear it on my side, just over the hip, or on the back of my upper arm.
It makes for interesting (and educational) conversation. Don’t be shy! (Hope you don’t mind, just my .02!)
After the circle with a Sharpie pen, I watch the site. I have never had this happen but a CDE shared this procedure with me. If the wire does not come out in about 48 hours, the circle is like an “X” marks the spot on a pirates treasure map and your endo know were to look for the wire.
Hope this helps.
The insertion device is much more intimidating than a syringe or pen. Overall, I feel like injections probably generate less of an overall sensation than inserting a sensor. When you insert a Dexcom sensor, there’s just a lot more going on, with a lot more to see, hear, and feel. I wouldn’t exactly call how it feels painful. It does feel a lot more substantial though, if that makes sense.
I can definitely say that, up til now at least, I’ve had injections that were just out and out more painful than a Dexcom sensor insertion. I’m talking spots that were knee bucklingly painful, bringing me to tears. I keep expecting to hit one of those spots with a Dexcom sensor and it’s really the imagined pain of something like that happening that’s the worst part of the insertion process.
Im with you on this. The MM insertion devices are build so much anticipation for me I hate it and tis worse than the pain that comes from the injection itsself. The Dex was large and funny looking, but I didnt even notice it was inserted till I started pushing and thought “Oh, its in.” Pretty nice.
Glad to hear it went well and is hidden nicely Blondie55!
I’ve never felt the needle upon insertion of my Freestyle Libre 3 sensor. It’s very quick and painless, and the needle is only used to insert the filament which floats-around in the interstitial fluid where it senses the glucose beneath the skin for 15 days.