As a 61 year old woman, I have completed several triathlons, several Olympic lengths, and am also a swimmer and a surfer. The Dexcom people say it lasts for 30 minutes in 3 feet of water…what has been your
experience with that? Do you use extra tape or a swim cover over the
transmitter of some kind? I know the receiver is not waterproof, but
I just want to protect the transmitter and not lose it. I do wear a wetsuit
in the ocean, but in a pool, I suppose if it came off, I could go to the bottom of the pool to at least get the transmitter back, but if it has gone more than 3 feet, it is caput? Help…any suggestions would be really helpful.
as a new user, I am looking forward to answers on this topic, what about just plain baths?
I have had no problems in just a bath of 10 to 15 minutes, but sometimes the stickyness of the tape become compromised, so now I put a bit of tape over it before I go in the bath
The depth has to due with pressure, I would doubt if it would be compromised in less than 8 ft, it would affect the transmission ability but dex doesn’t transmit more than 3 feet anyway, at least mine never did. I have no problem showering for long times, but I don’t soak in a hot tub for long, due to the temperature. I no longer enjoy ocean temp waters.
Thanks…I am mainly just looking for a way to keep the transmitter and sensor on while I swim and surf, and can I shut off the sensor and then return to it later…can I go more than an hour? They say 30 minutes and I have soaked in a bath for that long but not longer…thanks for you time
The transmitter is sealed and will not be damaged.
What might be damaged is the sensor, since water seeping in from underneath the transmitter might damage the pads and thus the readings from that sensor might be compromised. Worse case you will need to change sensor and put a new one up.
Surely if you go swimming and surfing every day this might become an expensive hobby!
But don’t worry about the transmitter. That would be a much more expensive hobby, if also the transmitter would be damaged!
Ciao, Luca
I am a lap swimmer. I wear one peice suit and it holds the sensor on securely, as will the wet suit. I swim an hour, it then takes 10 minutes for the transmitter to readjust and all is good. If tape starts peeling off from lots of wet, I use tegaderm over top with hole cut in middle.
What is tegaderm? Some people use Otips something? Do you turn your sensor off while you swim and then restart it or is the 10 minutes just an adjustment it takes from the water?
tegaderm is a tape shaped like a stop sign…sort of…i cut a hole in it to allow the transmitter to be open to air. the tape then secures the other tape in place and it does not peel off so readily.
i do not do shutdow. it is fine to let it go. it readjusts itself.
are you type 1 or 2?
I am type 1.5 - gestational diabetes that never went away. 31 years
on insulin.
Good to know about now shutting down. You have been very helpful
Where you buy your tegaderm? Do they have things like that with cutouts
already in them like for people who wear cathaders or ports?
good idea to check? I get it mail order from my mail order supply pharmacy. they are fantastic! give good advice, take insurance and no co pays and they are all about diabetes! If you want info let me know. imagine the regular pharmacy will have it too. keep me posted.
I get several mail orders from pharmacies. Which one do you use for this tape? Thanks for your help!
thanks for the info on tegaderm. I bought Blenderm, and it is working for my long showers, if I use enough of it, but my skin wrinkles under it and causes little painful areas, almost bruises. Of course I bought it online and now have 12 rolls, but I guess that goes with the territory.
Focus Express Mail Pharmacy. Please let me know if you go with them as they give gifts for referrals.
thanks.
My daughter has the dex, and she swims 1 to 1.5 hour workouts 3 to 4 times a week… I worried about the longevity as well, but so far the only issue we have had is with the adhesive. the dex doesn’t transmit through the water (not even the bath in our case), so we know that for that hour she will be out of range. it usually picks her up within 5 minutes of getting out. We experienced a few problems because it turns out that my DD is alergic to many adhesives. We have found that nexcare makes a padded waterproof tape that works very well. once we tape her in it stays on for about 4 to 5 days before we need to redo the tape. we tape around the tranmitter, not over, so we sorta box it in. without the added tape the sensor seems to fall off around the 5th day, and starts feeling uncomfortable and slipping around 3 days after insertion.
Have you tried SkinTac? A surfer here told me about it, but instead of putting in on your skin, you wipe it on the adhesive part because if you were to wipe it on your skin and put is where the plunger would knock the sensor through, it might compromise the sensor.
I just used it yesterday, and it is sticking much better just without water. You can remove it with alcohol, so it is sticky, but how much I will have to compromise?
i will have to look into that. my daughter loves her dex, but there are still things that could be improved. some of the adhesives were causing welts and weeping sores, so i am always nervous to try new things. i am taking my other DD to the endo today, so i was also going to ask him for suggestions. where can you get skintac? should i try an athletic or surf shop?
Lisa,
I have just received my first order from Focus as a result of reading your recommendation here. So far I have been very pleased, no co-pay 
and very fast delivery. I want to see that you get the gift card for the referral as they have asked how I found them so I have sent you an invitation. If I know how to do this, I will email my contact there with whatever info they need. Just let me know. They said your referral of me was worth $150 to you. And Thanks
Gary
thanks Gary! I am so pleased you are using them. They have saved me many times. I look forward to emailing to share my info and a couple more thoughts for you.