Hi all. I just started on Dexcom in the middle of February and have not had nearly as many issues as I've had the past three days.
I started a new sensor on Thursday morning and everything was fine & normal. After the start up/calibration time I went about my day at work. At lunchtime, I realized I had the "no signal" symbol even though my receiver was in the same place on my desk that I've always kept it with no issues. Maybe only 3 feet away, max.
It will pick up the signal for maybe an hour or hour and a half and then drop it again for almost as long EVEN THOUGH the receiver is only a few inches away. I've not been able to find any pattern even though I've been doing the same exact things that I always have.
Last night I finally decided to try and change the sensor out. There was a little dried blood at the site, but nothing major. Inserted a new sensor and hit "Start" knowing that it should ask for blood around midnight, then a second about 15 minutes later.
It did not ask for blood to calibrate until after 3 a.m. this morning EVEN THOUGH it was a foot from me on my nightstand. Then I tried to stay awake to wait for the second blood sample and I fell asleep. It woke me after 7 a.m. to finally ask for the second sample and I've been in and out of range ever since.
I KNOW I'm not doing anything wrong. Could it be a bad transmitter? I haven't dropped it or given it any kind of trauma, even accidental. The two sensors that I used were from different boxes, so I guess they could both be from bad batches but what is the likelihood of that?
Has anyone else ever experienced this? What did Dexcom tell you? Did they send you a replacement transmitter?
I have had the system since November and I have only had this happen once before. When I got the lost signal I waited for about 3 hours for it to resolve and it didn't so I switched out the sensor and called dexcom they replaced the sensor. Even though the sensor you switched out was from a different box, it may be the same lot number in which case they were all made at the same time. If you have not had trouble with the transmitter before, it is more likely a sensor issue than a transmitter issue, but in either case, contact dexcom customer service and report the problem, they will send you a new sensor and will put in your file that you reported this issue if in fact it is something regarding the transmitter. If it continues, they will replace the transmitter.
Definitely call Dexcom and see what they say. We went through a bunch of bad sensors with the 7+ system. They were from different boxes but the same lot number.
This happened recently with my daughter. We called Dexcom and our medical supply company and their solution was to replace the transmitter. I was hoping more for trouble shooting support but they didn't want to bother. We got the new trasnmitter within a few days. We still have the occasional problem but it's not for nearly as long as it was with the other transmitter.
KCCO - I'm confused by your comment that you get prompted for another calibration 15 minutes after your first one. Are you entering 1 or 2 at the first prompt ?
When you start a new sensor, you are prompted to enter 2 readings, which should be done within 5 minutes. If you only enter 1, then you will be reminded 15 minutes later that it is still waiting for the 2nd calibration. The 15 minute prompt does not occur if you do 2 at the first prompt.
I have always entered 2 readings at start up, and wonder if that really helps it start out more accurate. In fact, by taking 2 meter readings back to back, it helps identify if the meter is off. So if I get more than 5-10pts difference from the 2 meter BGs, I do another meter BG, and usually I get 2 out of 3 that are 'close' !. Then I enter 2 readings on Dexcom.
The lost signal can also be due to interference with cell phones and wireless internet connections near by, so try to see if there is a pattern to where you are getting it.
Well, I sent Dexcom tech support an email and they finally called me back. They're shipping me a new transmitter today along with two replacement sensors. The tech on the phone wasn't able to determine how I kept getting that symbol either.
Basically, it couldn't hold the signal unless the transmitter was within a couple inches of my receiver. Sometimes not even then. When it did have a signal, the readings were still pretty accurate, so that's how I came to believe it wasn't a sensor issue.
At the beginning of any sensor session after the 2 hours the receiver shows 2 blood drops prompting for the 2 blood glucose readings needed to calibrate. You do them consecutively and you could in fact use exactly the same drop of blood. It's asking for 2 readings, if you are only giving it 1 reading this could be why the _ _ _ or ???? happens.
