I know they don’t have Medicare in Canada, but do you have something
similar that pays for meds?
Fortunately, I get my insulin, strips, and CGM sensors via Medicare with
only a co-pay. But of course, I pay medicare over $300 per month.
And yes, they have shortened the life of a sensor starting with the G6.
It’ll be interesting to see how you get around that. 
Keep me posted.
@Goldfish - No, there is no Medicare / Medicade in Canada, despite what many think about our “free healthcare”.
While it is true I can go to the hospital and not pay or co-pay anything for pretty much any procedure, the same free stuff doesn’t apply to prescriptions or extras (the only exception is recent changes that will provide 1 pump every 5 years). The pump program in my province also now covers most test strips, but not CGM’s.
I could pay for provincial “Blue Cross”, however my medical conditions make me virtually uninsurable (I’d end up paying insurance as much or more than my monthly med bills).
That said, insulin is cheaper here in Canada. I think they charge just over CA$45/vial now.
I can see why some Americans order their meds from Canada. I think most
meds would be cheaper there than here. If I didn’t have Medicare I
would pay over $1,000 for a 3 month’s supply of insulin.
I miss Calgary but I don’t miss the cold weather, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.!
I just ordered 9 vials of Fiasp, shipped from Canada to WA state for $514.
So yeah, hard to beat that, and that is a higher priced insulin!
@Goldfish @Hammer I was comparing the price of a vial of Humalog with some people in US and UK today
Price per 10ml vial of Humalog (insulin lispro) is: $46 CA
Using today’s FX conversions, that’s:
$35 US
£27 UK
Yeah, I don’t know what’s happening down here. There doesn’t seem to be
anybody minding the store. I have heard of diabetics that can’t afford
their insulin and they have to choose between food or insulin.
Yeah, for those that can walk into a pharmacy, the prices will be cheaper than those of us in the US that have to order and ship.
I looked up Humalog on the site I use, best price, ordering 16 vials for $610. So a little over $38 per vial.
Obviously that will be higher because of my situation, but that is not too much higher than what you posted, and we can get it shipped to us.
Seeing we’re on the topic of the cost of insulin, I thought I’d quote part of an article out of Diabetes Daily by Maria Muccioli, Ph.D It shows what a struggle it is for some diabetics in the States.
" However, affording insulin is an ongoing struggle. “My biggest struggle right now is how to afford my Tresiba. It costs almost $500 for five pens. Some months it comes down to the choice of paying for my diabetes supplies or paying for my bills/rent. My monthly expenses for diabetes care cost more than one-quarter of my income. I make more than twice the minimum wage, and I still live paycheck to paycheck because of this expense,” Alex describes.
The cost of insulin is out of control. The manufacturers have no good reason for the rises in cost over the past few years. Let us buy our insulin in countries that sell it much cheaper.
@Goldfish @DonR I read the same article yesterday.
What’s worse is those who are rationing or just unable to afford insulin, and pride keeps them from asking loved ones or friends for help. They’re dying from DKA
Millions left behind as diabetes drives surge in insulin demand
#Insulin4All
Sensor #3 worked just fine, it did start to peel up a bit more than the first two sensors so I just added a little tape to the long edges for the last two days.
Sensor #4 has been with me for 7 days now and it’s performing just like the last 3 however it has been on vacation with me to Florida and Cuba! It’s been swimming in the pool and hot tub for five days in a row without any additional tape or over patch.
It was thrilling to be able to monitor my blood sugar without having to stop and stick myself while on vacationing. I spent 94% of time in range, 6% high, and 0% low. I averaged 131 mg/dl with a 29 mg/dl standard variation. While a bit higher than usual, given the amount of eating I did and being off routine it’s quite good.
G6 exceeds my expectations by far. First sensor was spot-on from beginning to end. Much better than the best G4/G5 sensor that I have used in the last 10 years.
I’ve decided to jump in and order the G6. My G4 transmitter is on its 11th month, so it is only a matter of time before I’d have to replace it. I’m also down to two more sensors. So the timing is right. I am hopeful that it works better for me than the G5 did…I went back to the G4 after only a week with the G5 (years ago, when it was introduced).
Update - Dexcom told me that there is a G6 shortage, so they said I could get a G4 package (transmitter and sensors), and then in 3 months upgrade to the G6 without being charged for a transmitter. So I am doing that…I like the G4, and hopeful that over the next few months some of the issues many have with the G6 will get ironed out. I am at 11 months with my G4 transmitter and no battery warning (yet…I probably just jinxed myself), so maybe it will be April or May before I need to upgrade to the G6.
I never get sick (one cold a year on average, nothing more serious than that in years), have two autoimmune conditions and a million severe allergy issues, so my immune system is pretty hypersensitive. I can’t wear infusion sets for more than 48 hours (frequently have to change them every 12-24 hours) due to reactions causing the site to fail. For some reason, the Dexcom lasts me on average a month per sensor. But I’ve also put in a lot of work to find tapes and adhesives that I don’t react to, and this has helped me gradually extend the sensor life from a maximum of two weeks when I first started to a month on average. If I use something I react to, such as Skin Tac or Tegaderm, I can almost guarantee that the sensor will die within the next 24 hours.
Interesting. None of the chemicals or tapes bother me. It’s just that my immune system kills nearly every sensor by day 9. I’ve gone a few times to day 11 or 12 but that’s rare.
Well…the other part of the story for me is that I will restart a sensor up to four times before giving up on it. So this sometimes means going a few days with no accurate data before either a sensor comes back or I give up and reluctantly pull it. I don’t know anyone else willing to go through this amount of effort to revive a sensor. Most would pull the sensor after half a day of no good data and one restart, at most.
I wouldn’t (do lots of restarts). I have always had limited patience. 
I have always admired your patience and perseverance!
Dave - did the G4/G5 sensors last any longer, or is the G6 the first Dexcom CGM you’ve tried?