I get my Contour Next test strips on Amazon. You could check them out. Our insurance is good, but it is still cheaper to pay out of pocket for the meter I want to use.
Iâve been using the G6 for a few months now, the first 12 hours your sensor is settling in, so there will be inaccuracies, as long as youâre doing the calibrating which you are then it should settle in, however any longer than a day and itâs still playing up then Dexcom will replace it, hopefully youâve spoken to their support now and have more reassurance.
Personally I couldnât do without mine now, I havenât had a dodgy sensor yet and itâs alerts are literally life saving so hope this settles down.
New to Dexcom G6 and never had a CGM. Started pumping 8 or 9 yrs ago. Now doing MDI and A1c is horrible. Given my own background in a medical and research field, this is embarrassing insofar as I know better. That might make me a so-called bad-diabetic. One solution is get a CGM.
Three concerns before it comes:
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My internal med PCP, not an endo familiar with Dexcom procedures, is trying to order a G6 since I am qualified for insurance reimbursement now. I would have to go out-of-town to find an endo familiar with G6. I think the order process is screwed-up since he manually wrote out scripts rather than using their form to fill in, and sent the customary required patient progress notes. I expect this will all take time to actually order it correctly according to Dexcom instructions using their form. No idea why the doc claims to not have the form Dexcom claims they sent. Itâs all so fatiguing. This could have been 100% avoided at an office familiar with it and a dedicated staff person to do what was needed. Going to a new doc means starting over and more time wasted. . .Thoughts on that?
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For many months I suspected my OneTouch Verio IQ was giving inaccurate readings. I havenât taken the necessary steps to evaluate this claim. I can get a new meter in any case. That is the only strips my insurance covers, as far as I know. Since I have new test strips left over, I want to use, not waste them. Should I just get a âcontour nextâ in any case?
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CGM is a $$$ maker, no doubt. Is using a CGM for fixing a poor A1c a realistic expectation in a individual demonstrating poor A1câs? Am I expecting too much out of technology opposed to merely the hard work without it to accomplish a vital goal?
Opinions welcomed.
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Iâm not as sure now since Dexcom has gone through some changes. But they used to have people you could contact that would handle the paperwork and making sure everything got done so you could get one. Once you get a Dexcom, you only need the doctor for the scripts you need off and on. Familiarity after that isnât needed at all.
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You used to be able to call contour and they would send you a free meter, but on ebay right now you can get the strips at a good price and a free meter with it.
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The Dexcom is expensive and a big money maker for Dexcom. But it is sooooo worth it! I had DP and I didnât even know it until I had a Dexcom. How else are you going to know what your Bg did at 2 or 4 in the morning. What about an hour after you eat, 2 hours and 2 and a half, or 4??? 2 hours before you go to bed or 15 minutes??? The information you will have will tell you all day long what your Bgâs do.
You will be able to know when your BGâs are finally dropping, or you didnât take enough insulin, look at them shooting straight up 4 hours laterâŚYou will know things you didnât expect to know.
Plus the alerts, they can be annoying, but you can use them to help you control what your Bg stays at by giving you warning before you get to numbers you donât want to be at. That alone will help you have more control and improve your A1C.
I use my arm for Dexcom as well-with the G6 (and previously G5, G4, SevenPlus). Iâve noticed some similar issues with G6. The last one I tried on my abdomen was the Seven, so I canât compare 
G6 issues:
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first 24 hours generally show significantly lower than meter including âlowâ but generally in the 80s (Freestyle) BUT if I calibrate it, it will start a vicious circle of asking for more calibrations, then doesnât seem to read right for session.
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If I lay on it, it will read LOW or significantly lower than meter BG
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In morning, meter BG is almost always higher than Dexcom. Generally Dexcom catches up within the hour.
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The only time I get the error - - -, when in range, is when Iâm dehydrated- even slightly. Generally starts reading in an hour if a drink a bottle of water.
Again I want to thank everyone for the many helpful replies!
So far a summary of how the Dexcom is working out.
Even with subsequent calibrations (never more often than once a day, more like once every two days), is still consistently lower than meter, by 15-30%, it varies. I am using the Contour One now for calibrating. My One Touch meters are reading within same range as the Contour One, I donât see any problem with continuing to use them, but will probably keep using the Contour One as well.
Clarity does not see any patterns with the readings so I am hoping the endo followup next month can make some suggestions.
First sensor fell off after three days and I successfully put on a new sensor which is on day nine now. However the second sensor adhesive started failing after a couple days and every day now I am patching it with tapes from the drugstore which are not working well. I wiped the area with alcohol prior, followed all instructions. The endo office only gave me 2 overpatches which have both been used now and Dexcom sent 10 patches by USPS ten days ago which never arrived. I did not want them sent USPS because anything medical is stolen here in Miami. So now I emailed them asking them to overnight some (which I had wanted them to do in the first place but they refused). Which I donât know if they will do. So I donât know when I will be able to put on another sensor. They did replace the first sensor and did FedEx that and it arrived fine, but they refused to put the overpatches in with that shipment. My husband and I are both miffed that this essential piece does not come with the original kit, obviously it is needed to keep the sensor on the skin. My endo office said if I come by they can supply more overpatches but that is some distance away and they are not open after my husband gets off work. So my feeling is that Dexcom definitely fails regards putting together a package that you can actually use out of the box. I hope I can find some solutions for keeping the adhesive on my skin better than has been working so far!
As far as the extra effort to have the Dexcom I donât mind it at all and it has been interesting. I hope it can be a help with improving my diabetes but I really hope I can get some better luck wearing the sensor.
Amazon here is your friend!!!
You may want to try OpSite Flexifit as it is not expensive (about $29 per box) and has worked very well for my sensitive skin and is not messy like Skin Tac. Some people have noted irritation from this product but I have very sensitive skin and works for me. 1 Roll will last you over 1 year.
When you get it, you have 2 options. Option 1 is to make what I call an OpSite sandwich. Cut an oval patch of OpSite just a little larger than the Dexcom patch that holds the sensor, about 3/8 inch larger all the way around. Apply patch directly to cleanly shaved and alcohol wiped skin surface. Apply Dexcom sensor centered on the OpSite patch (leave opening for wire to enter skin directly). Make a DoNut Opsite same size as first Opsite patch to place over transmitter.
Option 2 is to prepare cleanly shaved skin area and apply Dexcom sensor. Make OpSite donut patch 3/8 inch larger than Dexcom patch and place over Dexcom sensor.
https://www.amazon.com/Smith-Nephew-5466000041EA-Flexifix-Transparent/dp/B07NPBRHJ7
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My best results are;
Alcohol prep the site. No oils, etc.
Then I put on skintac and let it set up. This is just on my skin, I leave a small clear spot in the middle for the sensor itself.
I then apply the sensor after the skintac starts to tack up some.
I put my sensor on the night before I start it, so it presoaks overnight. I swap the transmitter over in the morning.
This keeps the sensor on for 7 to 18 days. If I have problems in the middle of the week (I change sensors on Sunday mornings,) I will then use Dexcomâs free over patches. These will last me for at least half a week.
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@mohe0001 I have 14 days on the G6 CGM. It is still reading low pretty much all of the time but starting out with the factory calibration and then calibrating when it appears to be too far off is helping a bit.
It canât be correct though because so far it thinks I am not only in range but my expected A1C is much less than the lab results show it to be. I have a follow-up in January which should be interesting and I expect a significant difference between my lab A1C and the CGM estimate, and I want to hear what the endo thinks about that. A lot of technology and updated approaches have happened wrt diabetes in the number of years when I basically blew off taking care of it.
I started carb counting when I started with the endo in November and so I know my blood glucose is much better simply because of that. I am still overeating and I am not watching fat grams or dieting and I donât want to address that right away, not until after the holidays. One step at a time. It is a lot of work for me pre-meal to plan the meal, prepare the meal, look up carb values, and figure out the insulin dosage. The scale they gave me is way too low and does not work for me and so sometime before too long I am going to have to find time to do some insulin sensitivity testing during morning and again in afternoon and also in the evening after dinner, in order to find a scale to work for me. It is going to be a lot of work so I am just taking it slow and trying not to get overwhelmed. When first diagnosed over 20 years ago I did a lot of reading and so I already have the basics for how to adjust eating, it is just when do I want to sign up to do it, how do I break it down into doable steps.
@CJ114 thanks so much! I am going to order it off Amazon tomorrow.
We went by endoâs office where I was able to get some more of the overpatches. Why Dexcom does not include them with the sensors is beyond me.
yep, this is going to become an issue at your appointment if it makes it look like your running much lower than you actually are.
I recently had that come up and the provider said the sensor is 100% accurate.
The best you can do is keep records of your manual check (mine is always higher, but the provider said the sensor is more accurate than the machine). I had lab results that showed 35 when the sensor read 80-somethings. That was odd because it almost always reads lower than actual BG. I thought that might help my case, but Doc still got mad.
Beware.
Overpatches are a must.
I use Skin Tac too, my first sensor started coming off on day 2. I like @Hammer put the Skin Tac on the Dexcom adhesive making sure I get it to all the outside edges, let it get tacky and apply.
At first my technique was very messy because I wear my sensors as long as possible which is usually at least 26 days and have to keep applying Skin Tac. But now I use a Q tip and apply it only under the edges that start to come up. Making sure it is only applied under the existing Dexcom adhesive. it stays much nicer that way.
@Marie20 I will try that first I think. So when you apply it to the overpatch edges that start to come off, do you have to let it cure before you then press it down to your skin? Should you also use an alcohol wipe on that little bit of skin first too?
I donât use alcohol unless itâs too clean up around the outside. I just apply the Skin Tac with a Q tip under the edges that are coming up and then smooth it and hold it down with my finger for a few minutes. You can tell when it is dry enough because you canât 100% get it under the edge all around so your finger will try to stick too. But I smooth it and press it down with the side of my finger. Once it stays down without my finger pressing on it I let it finish drying on itâs own.
The overpatches never worked well for me, they came off as fast as the original Dexcom adhesive did. I never tried to put Skin Tac on an overpatch as once I started using Skin Tac nothing else was necessary. The only other thing I do is when I snorkel, I am scared of losing the sensor and transmitter because I am in salt water constantly so I wrap my arm in an ace bandage when I snorkel.
I have to do this every time I wash my hair as I think the shampoo and conditioner hitting it really does in the adhesive. Plus when I snorkel I usually have to touch it up too.
@mohe0001 when at the endo visits they take a fingerstick reading - so at the followup in January when they do that I will compare it against the G6 so they can see it reads lower and have them make a note of it in the chart. I am also taking images with my iPad occasionally where I show the results from the same fingerstick for my One Touch and Contour One meters and the G6 receiver. I am collecting those images in a photo album so I can show those as well. The G6 already records when you calibrate it and after every calibration it is always having to raise the reading to get in sync with the fingerstick. So there is clear documentation that it reads low. Oh and also I often write in my food log my fingerstick bg and my CGM bg and I also note which meter I used as well, just abbreviations like OT, CO, and CGM.
Probably this is not going to be a big deal. What it means is if my endo wants to go more by the CGM 70% time in range when my A1C is higher all that means is that I would have to target a somewhat lower CGM average bg rather than the one it says. That would probably make any endo happy.
All hypothetical since I am only doing just ok with the carb counting and am obese and of course have gained more weight in the last month as bg levels dropped and consequently insulin resistance dropped, since I am still eating more calories than necessary. As I said before I am just going to take it one step at a time and have no idea if I will be able to improve eating habits and lose weight (losing weight is more challenging when on insulin).
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Have you considered Keto dishes or Keto diet to get your weight down in a fairly short period of time? Eating higher fats curbs your appetite for carbs. This is not necessarily a lifetime diet/commitment but perhaps an easy first step. I make a couple of weeks of low carb/high fat meals on the weekend and put in freezer so that then I just rotate the meals by eating one from the fridge and then replacing it with another from the freezer. Since they are all low carb, I donât have to waste time counting carbs, or even worrying about carbs. Just an easy way for me to deal with it. Doing this, you should be able to easily shed 3-4 lbs per week and stick with it as the fat content will make you feel full and not want to eat or snack on carbs.
There are several websites with awesome easy, quick to make meals and deserts. One of my favorites is https://www.ditchthecarbs.com
Keto diet or way of eating is maybe not what you want to do forever, but is most likely the easiest first step to getting and keeping your weight in line.
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I called for patches the other day. The Dex tech said essentially the same thing. 
@CJ114 I have eaten low-carb at times in the past but I am not interested in low-carb to force ketoacidosis. [Correction - SO SORRY! meant to type ketosis] Right now I am carb-counting and under 200g per day except for the holiday meals. Many days I am around 150g. This is not low-carb to me. I am fine with this. I am more interested in increasing vege and fruit than in going low-carb. I want to eat healthier. In the past when I have gone extreme low-carb my bg dropped like a rock, which was great, but it got to the point I just could not stomach another slice of cheese or meat. I am more naturally vegetarian - total opposite of my husband. I have been eating meat because we are eating meals together but recently we stopped preparing the same meals because I explained I had to eat differently if I was going to be under an endoâs care and work on the diabetes. I am definitely not eating as healthy as I could and especially regards more vegetables in my diet so I am going to improve that. In the past when I was single I was trying many different diets including for awhile a raw-based diet and I have lots of cookbooks and after all that I am now leaning toward a more middle-of-the-road approach. But when I start eating less to lose weight I will probably cut the carbs as well and will probably want to target more like 100-120g a day. To me this is still not low-carb, it is just I should be eating a lot less than I do.