I just got a transmitter battery low alert on my Dex receiver. I just placed this transmitter in service on October 22, 2014. That’s just over two months service. I did, however, purchase this transmitter many months ago and stored it in its original box until I was ready to use.
Anyone else experience early transmitter failure?
I’ll call customer service after breakfast and see if I can learn anything more about this.
i was told the 6 month warranty starts when they SHIP the transmitter, not when you actually use. it. hopefully they'll still honor the warranty. keep us posted!
I was worried about that. I'm scouring their website to find info and coming up empty. I can't even find a pdf user's guide.
I like to keep one transmitter in backup since their one week warning is sometimes not enough. I'm waiting for a call back from customer service.
If the transmitter warranty starts on the shipment date, then I can't think of any rational backup plan. Maybe I'll just make sure I have a backup receiver with me during travel, especially international travel. I suppose I could live without, but it's not something I'd choose.
Terry, I used to do the same thing, keep a transmitter as a back-up, but in it's original box. Then I found out, like Gayle said, that the warranty starts from the shipment date, so I wasted warranty time while it was in the box. Plus, I bought mine through a medical supply provider and Dexcom knew when it shipped somehow.
OK, Gayle. You were right. The customer service rep said that warranty starts on the shipment date, not the date placed into service.
I asked a supervisor if she could point me to the written communication between Dexcom and me regarding the details of the transmitter warranty. She directed me to the online user's guide (pdf) but that document only said that the warranty was 6 months. I asked if perhaps that the warranty paperwork was included with the packing list, but she didn't know.
I asked for a return call in the next week and said I don't consider this an urgent request. I'd like an answer, however.
Now my device ID screen says the battery is "OK." Sheesh!
hmmm. hopefully it's ok, or if it's bad they'll be willing to replace it! i just replaced my first transmitter this month. it lasted me 11 months! that's why i know about the warranty because i just asked about it. i was going to have them ship my transmitter a few months ago, but after finding that out i waited until i got the warning that it was about to go bad. and it went bad within 2-3 days of the warning. so i'm glad i didn't have them ship it because it would have sat in the box for a few months!
Yeah, this battery situation makes keeping an economically rational plan in place difficult. If I just order a new transmitter every 6 months, then I lose out on the value of the transmitter service that goes beyond 6 six months. If I wait until I get the warning on the receiver, I am at risk for not getting the replacement in time, such as during vacation travel.
I don't think there's a sweet spot solution for this but I probably won't keep any backup transmitters on hand.
Keeping things in perspective, this is a small problem!
I guess I'm a little slow on the information curve about this. Oh well, live and learn! I won't be keeping a backup transmitter in the future. It seems like a waste of money.
I'm surprised the CGM seems sufficiently crucial that you felt the need to keep a backup in store. Is being CGM-less for a week, and just relying on your meter during that time, not a reasonable option? I don't mean the question rhetorically, I'm genuinely curious whether you've integrated the CGM into your routines in a way that makes it crucial.
Definitely crucial for me. Even the 2 hour startup is a hardship.
Hi Niccolo - I'm sure I could get by for a week without a CGM but I'd prefer not to. I regularly change my bolus settings based on CGM lines. Several times each week, the CGM wakes me up with a low-70 alarm. I'm able to eat one glucose tab, roll over, and wake up with normal BGs. Without that alert, I'd be fighting a counter-regualtory rebound for many hours.
An alternative is to to set my alarm overnight when I'm experiencing variable BGs. That's one notch down in the quality of life measure, but doable. Sometimes that would require two alarms per night.
I can occasionally get calm periods when my basal rates are well dialed-in and my CGM alarms are few and far between. Just when I'm tempted to think I've solved the diabetes puzzle, the D teaches me otherwise.
I'd like to say that I can get into a routine pattern and go on auto-pilot. That just doesn't work for me. I've concluded that T1D is a dynamic disease and the sooner I respond, the better I do. It's the old adage that the only thing one can depend on in life is change. It's true for diabetes, too.
Yes, I would say that my CGM use is crucial for me.
Sometimes I'll do 2-4 finger pokes during the 2-hour data blackout!
Interesting. I don't always appreciate how stable/non-brittle my D is, I think as a function of my still making a non-trivial amount of endogenous insulin twelve years after diagnosis due to LADA or MODY. Then again, some folks who make endogenous insulin seem to be more brittle as a result, because their body responds unpredictably with its own insulin.
Depending on your insurance the process to replace a transmitter can take much longer than a week. Both times I had to replace mine it took over 6 weeks to process because of preauthorization and all of the documentation my insurance requires. My first transmitter failed at 11 months and my second at 13 months. So this year I started the process of getting a new transmitter when my transmitter was 10 months old and I only had the replacement about a month before I got the low transmitter warning by the time everything was processed.
That seemed to work out well for me in that I didn’t have to go several weeks without cgms but I also essentially saved a copay by waiting also.
That seems like a reasonable compromise and a good solution. I think I'll do the same. Thanks, Diana.
I choose to live close to the edge BG-wise. I'm pretty good at this game but it's also taught me humility, if anything.
I have had one transmitter battery low alert start after 6 months and 2 days of receipt. It takes over 3 weeks for my insurance and doctor approvals to get me a new one. Long time to be awoken at 4:00am by the low battery alert. I now order 2 weeks before it goes out of warranty. Someone else committed that why not go without the CGM for awhile-it's called 'Dead in Bed syndrome'. Many of us just do not wake up to low blood sugars on our own. That's why many of us have had alert dogs in the past, and some people still use the dogs to supplement the CGM alerts
Once you get used to living with that data stream, it's hard to make decisions without. It's like flying blind. It's impossible to make "nudge moves," micro adjustments without it.
My low transmitter battery alarm extinguished and has said OK for several days now. I'm hoping it's a fluke but I don't think this txmttr will last too long. I think I'll order future txmttr's at the 10 month mark of the current one.
I am with Terry. I got the Dexcom for the low alerts. Wasn’t always recognizing lows. Nerve wracking for me and my wife at night. Now I am so used to having that visual reassurance of where the BG’s are, that I am lost without it, even during the day.
I can’t add anything to the transmitter issue. I think you all have that covered.
Yeah, when the CGM gives false alarms, like during the first 24 hours, it can be a real pain in the tail. I try to start sensor sessions in the morning so I'll have many hours while awake to get the sensor calibrated well.
For me, sleeping through an extended low is much more of a concern than sleep interruption. I don't have a hard time returning to sleep once I take care of business.