It happened again! Last night, I was awakened with a sudden–dangerously low drop in BG only to find that it was nowhere near Dexcom’s reading (via finger-stick). I have been using the new Dexcom G5 for about a month now, and have found that there are large breaks in data and huge inaccuracies. This is unfortunately starting to become a pattern and seems to occur only at night. Please someone help! Has this happened to anyone else?
Try sleeping in a diffrent position, sometimes pressure will slow down or stop the fluid circulation around the sensor causing it to flat-line or give a false low SG number…
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JohnG, you beat me to it! These sound like pressure lows to me.
I would like to think I had control in that…but I should have specified that I am actually the parent of my 3 year old with T1. Unless I use restraints while he sleeps-- I’m not sure what options I have in that regard. Ugh. I appreciate your reply though. 
What’s wierd is that I never had this issue with the G4 system. Although I love the new ability to get the numbers on my phone/watch–I am really missing the reliability of the G4.
Would that cause a break in data too? It seems as though there are large time periods where there is no data at all! Thanks for the advice! Maybe because the G5 transmitter is larger than the G4?
I just started my first G5 session on Saturday and it was absolutely whacked. Like 80 points too high at one point even though I was in the midst of a hard, 1.5-hour bike ride, then woke me up with an emergency low alarm in the 40s with double down arrows (scary!) even though fingerstick said 120. I know the first 24-36 hours can be unreliable but this was ridiculous. Thought maybe b/c it’s a new transmitter… but I didn’t see this kind of thing when I first started CGM with G4. Seemed to be settling down by yesterday somewhat but I was getting ready to call Dexcom last night when I noticed that the insertion spot was kinda sensitive. Actually a lot sensitive. Not in an easy place to see but when I made the effort… yup, blood under the tape. Must have hit a capillary, and not a real small one either by the look of things. I’m on a new sensor now and it seems to be tracking fine.
Lesson: All the regular stuff that can go wrong can still go wrong. I’d never encountered hitting a blood vessel before; just bad luck it happened at the same time as switching to the new transmitter. Post hoc ergo proper hoc may be bad reasoning, but it doesn’t feel that way when you’re doing it. :-\
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@DrBB, I’m still on the G4 and I’ve had a few sensors lately that acted strangely with erratic lines and needing more calibration than is normal. I only calibrate when off by 20% or 20 and when level. For each of those sensors I pulled early only to discover some blood at the insertion point. Not a lot of blood but apparently enough to foul the sensor.
By the way, Dexcom has replaced sensors for me when I hit a blood vessel. I don’t always take advantage of this as my insurance coverage is good and I usually benefit from pushing the typical sensor well beyond seven days.
It’s easy to suckered into that logical fallacy. I find many people are not even aware that sequential events are not always cause-related, so much so that there’s a Latin phrase to describe it. This fallacy goes back to the beginning of man.
just a question not related to your problem - sorry I think it could be posture too. I have a 3 yr old DD and she is on Dexcom G4. I was thinking about upgrading to G5 but my understanding is someone has to have an iphone nearby? How does it work for your son? Is he home with someone having iphone? Mine is at daycare…
I thought that was the case but I’m glad to have it confirmed. I usually extend 'em to 14 days too but the co-pays are not insignificant so I’ve been thinking I should go through the rigmarole of seeing if they’ll send me a replacement.
Just get a extra phone…it does not need contract just turn on Wi Fi long enough to download the app…you can probably find someone that has a extra…
I just upgraded to the G5. i don’t have an iPhone; i still use a receiver. i got an upgraded receiver AND transmitter. the receiver works just like the older G4.
also, i have to agree with the others about your sleeping and positioning yourself considering where your sensor is placed on your body. i sleep on my right side, so i do all my sensor rotations on my left side. the G5 has been great for me; i have actually found it to be MORE accurate than the G4 and it is also much more sensitive. I have had it for 2 weeks and i only had one problem with a funky BG reading and that was this morning…it bounced back w/out me having to recalibrate it or anything. just a minor glitch. and i had many more glitches w/ my G4.
good luck. keep us posted.
We decided to add a line (10/month) with an iPad mini. Cheaper than another phone, but cellular and wifi connectivity. It has great battery life to boot. With the iPad running the G5 app and the receiver together, we are able to have two sets of alarms. My wife has an iPhone with Apple watch running FOLLOW, and I have android with Pebble running FOLLOW.
This setup allows us to drop him off at the grandparents, while we can remotely monitor. Plus it is an extra set of alarms at night (G4 alarm wasn’t loud enough to wake me up). Bluetooth connection distance is about the same as G4.
Thanks for the post. You’re probably right that I am just using a logical fallacy. I’ll try a different site and see if that helps. I wonder if the break in data is a different issue …
I am still waiting for my G5 transmitters to arrive-probably early December. My question is for those of you who have been using it.
Do you have problems with Bluetooth interference when your iPhone is connected to other Bluetooth devices? I have a Bluetooth headset that I use a lot around home and when on walks. Today I used it in my car and had constant break-up’s in my music. I assume that it was because my phone links to my car’s Bluetooth and there was conflict between the devices. I know that phones are supposed to be able to link to more than one Bluetooth device at once, but reality can be different.
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I had another dropout yesterday. This time it was was in the middle of the day. I have changed my son’s dexcom insertion site. Here is the weird thing. The dropout didn’t show the same across all devices. Referring to follow app, my wife didn’t catch that it was going high.
Has anyone else experienced these issues?
I can’t speak to any phone issues but I think that my G5 has more straight lines at night that are wrong. One example: it will show 118 all the way across for past 3 or 4 hours of the night but the meter will be something like 156. The numbers vary but this happens a few times a month. And, I do not sleep on my sensor so there is not a pressure issue.
I had this occasionally on g4 but not this much.
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I to am having the overnight false lows. I do not have the G5, but I have the new G4 with share and the latest software version. My old G4 also had the new software version, but I don’t recall having a lot of night time lows unless I had just change the sensor. I believe something is not right. As an example last night I was awaken several times at 80mg and I just used a half of a glucose tablet. This morning I was still showing around 80mg, but when I did my morning cal stick my blood mg was 113. Something is definitely not right in my opinion. I have no ideal what is going on that would be causing this. I do know that if you cover up the transmitter with something solid you can create data skips. I have be using the G4 since January 2013, but I am becoming a little dissatisfied with the current G4 that I am using. I am about ready to ask for a replacement.
Bob
These sudden drops and peaks are very common within the first 12 to 18 hours after a sensor change. It drives me silly and sometime I just ignore the meter readings and just finger stick the first day…
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I have this kind of discrepancy in the morning frequently as well. In my opinion, it seems to be associated with mild dehydration overnight. I have experimented a bit with drinking a glass of water 10-15 minutes before testing in the morning and find the numbers on the G4 much more in sync with my meter.
I have seen more skips lately on the receiver, though not on the Animas Vibe that I also have. I changed transmitters after a conversation with Dexcom support (my old one was old, anyway), but I still see some skips. I will call support again - it is possible that the there is something wrong with the receiver that can be replaced under warranty. I have the Vibe, so will likely NOT be upgrading to the G5 any time soon.
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Thanks for the reply. I haven’t heard of dehydration being a cause–but totally makes sense. I do get many more skips with G5 than with G4–even with the device close by.
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