Hi All. I am a MM pump and CGM user, no longer satisfied with the MM CGM and have been approved by insurance to purchase the Dexcom system. I am very active - I exercise daily, love to break a serious sweat with some heavy duty yard work, and I live in Texas so in the summer you either live indoors in air conditioning or in the closest river or lake. My question is how in the world does the Dexcom stay attached for 7 (plus) days? I have used opsite tape to secure the MM sensor with good success, but I do not read of people taping down the Dex. Educate me please! Thanks!
I have to add iv 3000 about day 4and that is good for me till day 7–but I do live in NV–Hot by low humidity
I use Skin tac. I paint the bottom of the adhesive around the perimeter so I do not put any on the sensor wire area. Let it dry and stick it on. My daughter also uses one and she lives in Charleston, SC and runs 1/2marathons and worksout in a high paced fashion. Mine usualy lasts 14 days. I think she gets 10 days+ out of hers.
Im seriously new to the Dex, but same as you Korrie, with a MM pump and sick of the MM CGMS. I received my Dex Tuesday. I used skin tac as well. Im hoping to get 10+ days. With the MM pump I was having issues keeping the infusion sets down with just IV wipes or nothing at all. I was recommended the skin tac stuff and it does wonders. Careful not to get it on your hands though, its seriously sticky.
You can keep using the Opsite Flexifix - that Is what I use on the Dex. Unlike MM, you don’t tape over the transmitter, just tape down the adhesive itself.
use tegaderm patches… cut out the hole then place it wont go no where!
You’ll need to tape it down with some 3000 or cover it with a shower patch. The adhesive is generally good, but it doesn’t like perspiration.
Terry
Thanks everyone. I guess you don’t tape over the entire transmitter with the dex? Is there a reason why? That is what I had to do with the MM CGMS to hold it in place. I use the skin tac in the summer on my infusion sites, love the stuff and agree the fingers stick to everything! I am sure I will be coming back with more questions once I get the dex in hand.
It sticks to me like glue! 14 days - no problem in fact it hurts peeling it off. Only when I went snorkeling did it start to come after over a week. Even running and working out. I think some people’s skin is more accepting of the sticky-ness.
I live in Houston and the only times I have had issues with the Dex staying on me were when I was spending lots of time in the pool. Ocean water doesn’t seem to give me problems, but pool water does. Usually by day 5 or 6, the edges are coming up, but I am a 7-day only kind of girl so that really isn’t a problem for me.
As for not taping over the whole thing, I guess you could but the transmitter is so freaking secure that you don’t need to. It’s nothing like the MM that had that floppy transmitter - the Dex transmitter clicks into the sensor and goes nowhere. You could tape over the whole thing, but there is no need to.
Thanks again everyone. I cannot wait to actually have the Dex in my hand and be able to get going with using it. I am so hoping that it will be more accurate than the MM unit has become. And as with everything dealing with the big “D” it is not until you actually are working with the product that you figure out what works best for you. Evereyone has given me wonderful ideas and I no longer feel like I am going to be in the dark with keeping it secured.
Korrie, there is a Dexcom Users group here on Tu. Click on Groups at the top of the page and select that group. There is very good advice there and the group has more than 300 members.
I too changed from Minimed to Dex. The physical design of the sensors is different. The Dex sensor includes an attached cradle for the transmitter. The transmitter is very secure you don’t have to tape over it to hold it down like you do the Minimed.
The adhesive for the dex works really well for me compared to my experiences with Minimed. Hence less tape needed. For me a little skin tac on the edges is enough. Sensors last 10 days on average compared to 5 or 6 for Minimed.
Diana
Another good thing to do is if your putting the sensor on your love handles or back of arm or a spot that you bend a lot, bend that spot then put the sensor on. I find it works pretty well because if you dont as soon as you bend over or stretch your arm it puts a strain on the tape. I work in a shop and sweat a lot, after about 4-5 days i will put a knuckle band aid over it or really wide nursing tape and if the transmitter gets adhesive on it i just clean it when i replace that sensor. As for wearing more than 7 days, most of my best reading come after i restart the sensor. If i find its reading off i just replace it at that point. I think i have restarted pretty much every sensor:)
Where do u get skin tac? i have tried liquid bandage before but the sensor failed, not sure if it had anything to do with it but im scared to try it again. Ive looked for it in the store but could not find it.
RE: Accuracy
I recently tried both systems at the same time, and for me, both had similar accuracy but the Dex had less lag (15 minutes compared to 25).
What’s interesting is that because the MM inserter allows you to vary your angle a bit, users talk about playing with the angle to get better (or worse) results and more or less lag. You can’t alter the Dex angle - only where you put it - so there’s less experimentation (which I think is a good thing).
The one BIG difference I noticed was that the MM always gave a number when the sensor was in the prime of its life, even though it could be wrong. When the Dex gets confused, it gives you “???” as a reading. I’ve had Dex sensors run 10 days with no ??? and I’ve had sensors that do that 30% of the time or more. Not saying that’s better or worse… just different.
I’m actually going on the Medtronic system because my pump is out of warranty and - as a runner - I don’t like carrying 2 receivers. But if it doesn’t work out for me, I’ve got several months of Dex sensors stockpiled.
I got my box from here:
http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/-strse-2592/Torbot-Skin-Tac-Adhesive-/Detail.bok?zmam=69792428&zmas=1&zmac=2&zmap=5000MS407W
I uesd it with the sensor and it worked great for about 6 days, then I had to reapply (I was changing a set for my pump so I had an open skin tac). It kept things on till about the 8th day, then I had to tape the top of the Dex paper to keep it down.
do you use the TORBOT liquid bonding cement? or the wipes?
I use the wipes. But dont touch them! that stuff is sticky, like crazy glue your fingers together sticky (ok maybe not that sticky). So, I tear the pack open and use the torn off part to handle the wipe.