Hello!
I am thinking of going on the dexcom… How does it feel when you insert it? Where are the acceptable sites? Any suggestions? I once tried the minimed sensor and I hated it… Any advice will help. Thank you!,
I pulled the minimed sensor out within 24 hours...it was uncomfortable, insertion a drag, etc.
The Dex is much better. Dont even know its on. Insertion takes a little getting used to, then easy and no pain. It is great when it is on targetb and frustrating when it goes through its un reliable times.
I suggest a week trial with it and see for yourself. Gives much knowledge which i feel over rides the down sides.
Thank you!
I am new to this too, have had it 4 weeks. I agree with Lisa c. I have found my abdomen about one to two inches to the right on my bellybutton have given me the best readings (I have adequate belly fat and I found a website showing acupressure points that showed a line in this area down the mid-right of the body and I thought it was worth trying). My left abdomen and back of right arm did not give good readings. I may try my right upper thigh on my next sensor. I have learned a lot from reading older posts, good luck!
There are many pages here that offer good advice, so you can look them over and sort by topic. That is how I got most of my information.
I have used both the Minimed and Dexcom CGM's. I found the Dexcom to be much more accurate, but some Minimed users say their accuracy is very good too. I seem to recall the Dexcom manual indicating that the abdomen is the best place for a sensor, but some users have used the fatty parts of their legs. Some people have been trained to use a CGM. I had to learn from scratch by myself and found this group very useful.
I think the insertion is a lot like all of the other needles we jab ourselves with. Most don't hurt much, but every once in a while you get one that really hurts.
I've tried the Minimed before and found it super uncomfortable and painful. I think the Dexcom is so much better! Like someone else said, every once in a while it will hurt, but usually it's not very painful. Just a small prick as it goes in but once it's on, I don't feel it at all. I found the inserter a little intimidating at first, but it's not nearly as painful as it might look. You might want to see if you can work out a trial with your endo or with Dexcom to try it out for a few days. Good luck!
Thank you all for your responses!
It’s not that I’m worried about the insertion being painful, but more that I’ll be uncomfortable once it’s in… For some strange reason, I have become very sensitive to where I can put my pump (omnipod). I used to be able to move it all around- now it has become uncomfortable.
Dexcom says they offer a 30 day trial! I’m happy about that!
Thanks again!
I have both Dex and OmniPod. My control is much better with both. I too occasionally have an insert that is painful, and yes, the insertion device is intimidating!
I love my Dexcom I tried the MM cgm and only wore it for a few days because not only was it painful during insertion but it was sore and it hurt a lot for the rest of the days I had it on. The sites that work best for me are abdomen lower back and the back of my arms. It caught my attention that you say the Omnipod has become uncomfortable because I also use Omnipod (have used it for 3yrs) and it has become really uncomfortable to me too and my glucose seems to always be high now. For that reason I want to go back to a tubed pump. Good luck with the CGM! :)
My experience, though limited, is that they both felt about the same. Like and injection, or a finger stick, sometimes I do it in such a way that it hurts, but not often, that's life.
The only real discomfort I had with the Medtronic, was when working on a boat and leaned against it heavily, for some time, as I was working in a confined space. That made it bleed a little. Otherwise, i couldn't tell the difference really.
The "approved sites" are basically what the FDA says they can advertise. I see others with their transmitters stuck in all kinds of places, but I stick to the general abdomen area.
Hope this helps you,
Hi all -- This is my first post here at TUD, and it's on Cara's thread (I just joined yesterday). I came here precisely because I was looking for a group of users familiar with the 7+, and I obvisouly came to the right place.
Apropos to Cara's question though, I am fairly new to the 7+, having just gotten on board late last year. I am on only my 12th sensor now.
My specific reason for getting involved here is because of insertion point pain issues. That is exactly what I wanted to find out about, just as Cara does. I see others saying the injector can be intimidating (sure) and that every once in a while an insertion is painful, but then everything is fine. This has NOT been the case for me: three of the 12 sensors I have injected have been painful at insertion time and well beyond. Two were so bad I was unable to sleep the first night and had to pull them off. What a waste! I am wearing my 12th sensor right now, as mentioned, and it hurt on insertion a few days ago, but I am trying to be a big boy and not yank it off, but I really—REALLY—want to do so! I can't touch it, or it ZINGs me. All the other sensors have been 100% pain free. I could tap on them and felt nothing bad at all.
I was told by my Dex rep, RoseMary Evans (So Cal) to put sensors ONLY on my belly, to either side of my belly button, so that is what I have been doing. And for the first few they were just fine, and then I was taking them off right at seven days (is that the "Seven" in Seven Plus?...). However, now that I have had a few fail on me, and they had to be torn off, I have been trying to wear them for a few more days so that I don't burn through these expensive little buggers and end up with none left before I get my next set. That would be bad. I have read here that some folks use the sensors for as long as 33 days. I was led to believe that Dex says seven days, max; and the FDA says two weeks, max. Is it really okay to be wearing them for such extended periods of time? To be sure, this painful one I have on right now is going to come off right at a week, if I can even stand it for that long!!
This insertion point pain is really the ONLY drawback I have seen to this device at all. I'm a T1.5 LADA, Dx'ed 1/15/81, using MDI (Lantus & Novolog/Humalog), with my last, pre-7+ A1c of 6.7 (I'm hoping my first A1c post-7+ will be better... getting it next week). The 7+ has prompted the single biggest change in my 30+ years of living as a diabetic: what an amazing thing to be able to track trending so well! I am finding I no longer have the peaks and lows I used to experience, and I have only been on it a short time.
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There is one major reason why Dexcom tells you abdomen only and 7 days only: the FDA. That is where the sensors were for their approval study, therefore they are the only approved sites. Studies for the FDA are insanely expensive and there is no financial reason for Dexcom to run more studies to have more sites approved).
I personally wear my Dexcom over my quadriceps vertically for 12-16 days (the readings tend to fail after the 15th day for me). And I have beautiful readings, even better than the abdomen. The adhesive lasts much longer (not so much bending and stretching of the skin as on the belly). You may find more luck using sites where you haven't been injecting insulin forever.
And welcome to tudiabetes! It's a great community and resource.
Thanks, Megan. I won't be able to use quads—too much chance of getting sensors torn off from down there while mountain biking. I have WAY more bending and stretching in my quads than on my tummy, that's for sure!
I've heard other folks mentioning arms (????). I tried insulin injections in the back of my arms just once or twice many, many years ago. Too hard to reach and very painful (not much fat on my arms—so not much subQ, I guess). Not sure I could inject sensors there, or on my gluteus maximus (just too hard to reach), unless someone give me a better clue on their process of doing that. Hmmm...
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Just a note about the quads. I understand your concern about the quads, but think about it before completely dismissing it. :) I road bike quite a bit and I place the sensor mid-thigh. My biking shorts cover the sensor and provide a decent amount of protection for it.
A lot of people in this group use the back of their arms. I have yet to try that. Here's a great video on it: http://www.tudiabetes.org/video/dex-on-arm
Like many here have pointed out its hardest at first inserting but then you just get use to it you will hardly feel it. I started in the tummy area as Dexcom suggested but after trying to make it last more then 7 days I realized that the tummy area was not the best place (I leave the tummy area for the pump only now). I mainly use the top buttock area just under the waist line on the side not to far back and its perfect! I get great readings and I don't even feel it. Even insertion is less painful then the tummy area and the big plus is I get 3 almost 4 weeks out of my sensors now.
Yadie, I weigh 191 (only 6 pounds above my ideal weight), but When i have the sensor on my side and sleep on that side, I get poor numbers and false alarms. It is also hard for my transmitter to communicate with my receiver then, and I can get the "out of range" indicator too.
Hmmm I usually start seeing problems around the 3rd week, mostly the ???, but when I usually start seeing this I know its time to change the sensor.
I've had Dex for a few months now and have been putting it on my belly. I've found it to be pretty painful to put it there. Just this past week Monday I put it on the back of my arm and it wasn't painful at all. This will be the first time I try and leave it on longer than the seven days.
I have no pain upon insertion or otherwise except on very rare occasion, when I feel a pinch for a split second. I am currently only using my abdomen, sometimes readings not accurate. It took a bit of time before I summoned up the courage to do my first insertion, as the unit looked intimidating. But it really doesn't hurt. As I have been reading from other posters, apparently they do have some pain. Maybe they are very lean people? I'm high-normal weight, but have belly fat. Maybe that's why. My pump insertion doesn't hurt either, except on rare occasion I get the pinch just like on my Dexcom. I am supposing that this is just an individual sensitivity issue, so we can't go by a couple of people's pain experiences. We just gotta try it! I must say, though, that my abdomen readings aren't extremely accurate most of the time. Dexcom says that there is a 20% margin of error, which to me is a LOT especially if you're going low. If Dex says 80 but you're really 64, you then might think you have a little time before you have to eat something b/c you are right in the middle of a phone call or whatnot. However, by the time you get to treating the low you are waay in the hole. Maybe trying another insertion point as others have done will work? I find I am using the same number of test strips as I did before the Dex because I get nervous about lows.