Chrissie , reading about your sensor return …never had to do this ( I have had about 3 replacements in my years of sensor wearing…2006 ) …I recall MM did trouble shooting with me with the second last sensor complaint .I live in Canada and call the 1-800 number in the US with my concern , sensor replacement sent from Canada and arrives within 3 days .
we change our sons sensor every 6 days but its not working for us, the numbers are all over the place for our 7 yr old, each time we put it on he is in painm i guess we hit a muscle, we are so confused , we have removed the sensor and are doing normal finger bgs and let the pump deliver the insulin, - medtronics are not supportive an their gimmicks come with any nuber of caveats, i agree with john smith, waste of money. is dexcom compatible with paradigm 754 pump.
Well there’s the problem!!! you HAVE TO change the sensor every 3 day. you also have to change the site every 2-3 days. try that if it still does not work then well come back to us.
here to help
gabby!!!
I’m using Dexcom’s CGM system now. I did start out with the Medtronic CGM system. I love and hate some features of both systems.
The Medtronic (MM) was VERY painful to insert and took forever and/or several tries to calibrate. I could also feel the device under my skin! It hurt! It only works for three days, which seems very short when the insertion was so painful to me! It was also almost always off by at least 30 to 60 points from my meter readings. What I liked about it was that it worked with my MM Pump! It has a wonderful graphic display that let you scroll back and see what your readings were. I LOVE this feature. The software was not very reliable to send information to my doctor like I was told it would be either. I never could get it to work correctly even thought they sent me three flashdrives to try to get it to work. But, the information it gave me with just a glance back on my pump was more time specific. Another drawback is that you have to wear something over the device so that it does not get wet and that it does not come disconnected from the part you put into your body. I had lots of problem getting something that would stay dry and stay stuck for 3 days.
The Dexcom works very well. The insertion is really painless. You can’t even feel it once it is inserted. However, I CANNOT do it myself! My husband has to do it for me. I simply can’t make myself push and pull on the insertion device. Thankfully my husband has it down to an art form now. And, they work for 7, 10, or even 12 days for me! This is a BIG, no it is a HUGE advantage! Yes, the sticky stuff does come off, but a little waterproof tape and it secure again. I swim in the pool with it, go to the beach with it, bike and exercise with it, and it stays on and it works. The problems are that you have to carry yet another device on you! And it is not small. I also have had trouble with the receivers. Dexcom has sent me two new ones because of hardware failures. The information provided on the receiver is just OK. I do not like their graphics and their small screen size. It should be redesigned and specific time information of the readings should be done. Instead it just shows like 3hr, 6hr, and 24 hour graphs of what bs readings have been. The MM meter is very specific and goes back by real clock time, which is so Much Better! It does have more accurate readings than the MM and it alerts me to the rise and drop in my sugar levels in a timely manner. It has literally saved my life from those lows at 3am! The device allows me to have it beep and/or vibrate to alert me of lows or highs. I can also select these ranges. I wish it would communicate with my pump and my MacBook, but so far they are not doing any updates that I know of, which is sad. Because MM is doing a lot to bring their CGMS to work with many other technologies such as the SNYC program is cars and with apps for IPhones. I have both systems, and I am considering trying the MM again to see if their sensors have improved any. They are both VERY expensive even with insurance, which takes a lot of work by the way to get them approved. Both companies are also good about replacing sensors that fail too early. The biggest difference for me is the extended wear of the Dexcome sensor. I know I’ve left some stuff out, but if you are considering either one of these I’d say try them. It is a blessing not to have to “wonder” what range your blood sugar is in now. The use of a CGM should be MANDATORY for Type 1 diabetics in my opinion even if they are not using a pump. The Dexcom system could be used with someone that is not a pump user, too.
Actually this is kind of funny. I listened to the Dexcom conference call the other day and they were saying how 90% of the Artificial Pancreas studies are using Dexcom because of the better accuracy.......