Look what I found cleaning up my box of old diabetes stuff. This sensor was a free trial when the seven first came out and they wanted me to switch from the 3 day sensor.
I ended up switching to MM at that time but I kept this for some reason. I wonder if it still works. Expired in 2008.
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Thatās kinda cool to me. I lived under a rock until recent years, with no access to diabetes tech. Iāve never seen a sensor/inserter older than the G5.
I paid 100 percent out of pocket when the dex first came out. Insurance companies still didnāt even know what they were. The sensors were 35 dollars but you could restart them with no issues or limits. I hated carrying around that receiver though. And you had to plug a wire into your Finger stick meter to calibrate it. Still I was happy to have it.
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I may still have the āfootballā receiver, all we need is a transmitter !
Recently I found box of medtronic Sof-sensors, that I used before dexcom seven, in late 80ās.
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Old tech never dies, it just goes to the back of the diacrap cabinet.
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Sof sensors were a paradox. They werenāt soft at all. I would bleed a liter each time I put one with that gigantic needle I would cringe. I. Was happy. When the enlite came out. I actually had reasonable success with those. But dexcom is definitely better for me. I found. Some. Old glucose tablets with what appears to be mold on them. I think they are 30 years old. I finally dumped them. I also threw away several Animas cartridgesā¦ it feels like a walk down memory lane.
I am 100 percent sure I will need one of these old expired diabetes crap a. Week after I throw it. But itās weighing me down.
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And then there was the ISIG number no one told you about!!
Pre-pump I used an auto-jector to help reach more injection sites, when switched to 3-4 injections (NPH, Reg) per day instead of 1 (single Lente, no mealtime, until after college).
One of the odd side-effects of COVID-19 was that I actually did a massive clean out of my Ancient D-Gear stash!!! Being both laid off and locked down for weeks caused an increasing awareness of various long-deferred household de-cluttering projects, and as more and more stuff started going into the contractor trash bags and shredding piles, my over-stuffed D-drawer and the overflow spot next to the bed finally demanded attention. It took some doing, emotionally, but I managed to get it started by focusing on the most totally idiotic and useless stuff. Starting with:
- A box of Enlite sensors MT sent me as samples 7yrs ago and never used.
- Almost as pointless: a whole stack of reservoirs and other gear for the Asante Snap pump I was using for a few months before the company went bankrupt. Bulky stuff, overflowing my D drawer to the floor by the bed, and absolutely no chance it was ever going to be useful even in the case of a massive failure with my current pump, but still hard to get past that āWell, ya never knowā¦ā censor in my head.
- Other random bits and piecesāa couple of dead BG meters and the like
Butā¦
- G5 sensors, 2 boxes, unused. Could not get 'em past the YNK censor. Iād held on to 'em after switching to G6 because YNK, which made sense for a year or so but that was several years ago now, and I donāt have a G5 transmitter/receiver of any kind, butā¦ stillā¦ YNK. Well, that and the fact that Iām not sure about medical waste disposal with those, being they donāt fit in the container I usually use.
I think we all have that censor which makes throwing out anything that is medical and that we paid for even more difficult to do. While you are at it, though, take a look at your medicine cabinet. I went through our bathroom closet a while back and threw out over-the-counter ointments that expired years ago. I also properly disposed of old medications that also were totally outdatedā¦ the oldest one expired in 2013!
And once that chore is done, do the same thing with the spice cabinet in your kitchen. Yes, spices DO have expiration dates! I found many that had expired, and the āfreshā ones actually do taste better.
Healthy living, everyone!
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Even if expired they should still work. May be in high demand when dexcom stops shipping !!
Ugh. I do this occasionally. My husband is very much a prepper, and usually I appreciate it, but he fights over the old medications. He says you never know what youāll face in an emergency. Heās got muscle relaxants still from when he had back surgery before he even met me 11 years ago. I canāt imagine theyāre good for anything other than collecting dust anymore.!
Iām guilty if hoarding d-stuff, but I do use it all, just not at the same rate it comes into the house. He says if I can have a whole pantry shelf for hoarding, then he can at least have a medicine cabinetās worth of expired prescriptions. Ugh!
I moved 2 years ago which āforcedā a purge of my old D stuff. I purged two large storage boxes full of cartridges and infusion sets from my original Disetronic pump, along with one of the pumps I kept for backup.
Just recently I got rid of all my G5 sensors and two transmitters. I still have two old Animas pumps and several boxes of supplies.
Iām reasonably good about medicines except for an exceptionally expensive anti-seizure medicine. I have a few bottles that expired 5 years ago. But YNK and if I got cut-off, Iād give āem a try.
I recently purged Humalog that was 2 years past the expiration date, although I bet theyāre still good. I have many more vials that are current or over expiration date by 1 year or less, so I felt safe letting them go.
Now, if I could just get my wife to do this with her shoes!
It sounds like your diacrap, like my diacrap runneth over.
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Did any of you have/use the original Cygnus Glucowatch Biographer (circa 2001)?
As I recall, it had a 2 hour sensor startup period (nothing odd there) followed by a 13 hour sensor life.
I think that it measured electrical conductivity of interstitial fluid ā¦ but that may not be correct.
With 13 hr sensor life, you sort of had to decide what to use it for. I decided I would use it on days when I planned to exercise or physically work a lot: in my case XC skiing or volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, respectively.
The downfall: if you sweated, you got no readings ā¦. Probably a great device for those of you who donāt sweat when you exercise.
However, I had the long-expired spare sensors for the device I had no use for in my fridge until 2015 ā¦
Stay safe!
John
I guess if Dexcom stops shipping, I will just do without. I lived with Type 1 for 43 years without a CGM, and the world kept turning. If I had to, after my stash of censors ran out, I could do so again. I just try to look on the bright side and hope for the best.
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I always try to clean out closets, cabinets, and cupboards when my husband is preoccupied with other tasks. If an expired medication has not been touched in years, then it is not needed and probably wonāt be missed. Out of sight, out of mind. He seems to appreciate being able to find what medications, bandages, etc. that we DO need and use when the closet is clean and organized.
Dexcom will stop shipping sensor for G4/G5 at end of this year, and will only do G6. And at some point release G7.
Ok, thatās taking it back a ways. Pretty good condition too! I never actually had one of those.
When I was in āJuvenile Diabetes Trainingā during my first week in the hospital, they trained me on boiling glass syringes and sharpening the needles and sent me home with this. I never ever used anything except plastic syringes at home so it is 100% unused. I think for the first time I ever I took the glass syringe out of the cardboard box today.
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