I got my Medtronic CGMS last week. With no training available until the 14th, I, of course, hooked it up and am using it. I have read various posts about peeps using the sensor longer than 3 days. I didn’t think to look for the answer before my system said the sensor needed to be changed.
Being cheap (as well as old and cranky) I really hate to change it out if I can use it longer. So as I was sitting there picking my son from practice, I wondered how the hell to make it keep going.
I simply took the Sensor Start option and everything seemed to go. Although it gave me the Test NOW alarm in just a few minutes as opposed to two hours. The sensor seems to be working properly. I am initially planning to change sensors with every other infusion set change
Was that the right way to do it or did I miss something?
That’s precisely how it is done. Some people claim you can make it go for another 3 days after you get through this one but I have never been able to do that while getting accurate readings. The furthest I can go is about eight days before it CAL ERRORs over and over or gives me readings that just aren’t good for anything.
I didn’t wait for training either. Who could have such willpower?! Congrats- this will be life-changing in a very positive way. Just be careful of the temptation to act on “too much” information.
Yes you can go for 15 to 20 days with accurate readings. I do it all the time. On day 8 you must recharge you transmitter and then hook it back up. Typically you will get a weak signal for no reason other than it is day 8 unless you charged it on day 3 after your first sensor ended. Tell the pump to find lost sensor and it will prompt you in 2 hours for a bg reading. Around day 15 plus you may start getting wacky results where the readings seem to be sluggish an example would be you just ate half a pizza and it says that your bg is 83 and you know for a fact that it is 180, then you look at your pump and it has only changed slightly in an hour, time to change the sensor.
Make sure to get in the habit of looking to see when your next calibration will take place because it is annoying as hell to get woken up at 3am from a pump going nutso because it wants a calibration.
I’ve tried recharging the sensor- I still don’t get past the eighth day. Someone told me to massage the sensor site. I tried that too and still no dice.
I have decided not to keep it beyond 9-10 days …I did 12 one time and wanted to test how much longer " it " could perform , all seems well I thought , however " it " started to get itchy …and I have had to use lots of polysporin etc. etc…NOT a good choice on my part .It is healing without REAL medical help …thank goodness !!
The FDA has approved them for 7 days use. As seen here it varies by user. I am one of the lucky ones, I can get six days. I have tried for just 7 but can’t even get that. I get the cal error. for me 6 is the magic number.
yrp–I amone of those!