New Medtronic sensor not really "Enliting" my life

After hitting a peak of frustration with Medtronic's earlier generation "Sof-Sensor," I managed to order some of the new Enlite sensors from a company in Germany (they don't deliver to Canada, but I had a friend visiting family in Germany).

I was psyched. All the Medtronic reps I'd spoken to assured me it would be a night-and-day difference in terms of accuracy, and the reviews I'd read suggested the new model would last longer than the official 6-day period.

Well ... I've just removed my first Enlite sensor, which crapped out completely after about 6 days (following a very mediocre performance), and I'm feeling pretty underwhelmed. I should say here that I made sure to do everything by the book in terms of insertion location, calibration etc., though I did forego the inserter device (90 euros) in favour of manual insertion (quite easy and straightforward).

Anyway, the thing took more than a day to register anything close to my meter readings, and once it got itself into the right ballpark (the ballparks in question being nothing more specific than "high" or "low"), it consistently over- or under-shot (even taking into consideration the ~15-minute lag time). Nights were the worst. The sensor seemed to get stuck around 3.5 mmol (63 mg/dL) — much the way Sof-Sensors do on their last legs — and I'd end up turning it off altogether, which of course meant no coverage over the riskiest hours of the day.

Anyway, this post is obviously just a whinge-fest, but if any successful Enlite users out there have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Waiting for the day when Dexcom and/or the Animas/Dex integration will reach Canadian soil .... :)

Does the transmitter have to be compatible with the ENlite? Or are the current transmitters compatible? Maybe that is the issue?

As far as I can tell from what I've read, and been told by Medtronic reps, the two sensors use the same transmitter. Everything to do with the sensor-transmitter connection seems normal (ie. the little green light flashes etc.).

Hi, flynn ... I have the newer Medtronic pump ... but I've actually been off it now for several months. I went back to MDI (and got a diabetic alert dog!). I don't think there's any problem using the Enlite sensors with the 523. As you point out, the transmitter is the same.

http://walkingwithfreddie.blogspot.ca/

Sorry about the disappointment with the enlite. From what I have read and all the hype you would think at least there would be some minimal improvement over the previous system. I'll stick with the dexcom G4 and I sure hope it makes it to Canada soon.

I hear that the Dexcom has just landed on Canadian shores. Maybe if my insurance company decided to cover the sensors, I'd give it a shot, but, until then, I'm stickin' with my puppy! :)

I'd stick with your puppy too :) He's adorable. My insurance company covers sensors, transmitter, receiver 100% without any co pay so while I adore my dog Cosmo - he is not what wakes me up at night if I'm low it's my buddy Dex.