After stating what we pay for our test strips, I went on a search for “bulk” test strips and I found the following. Has anyone had experience with these? Are they accurate? If so, this is 1/2 what we currently pay. Hmmm…
Once you get the hang of calibrating wisely, Dexcom readings should become much more accurate. Once we learned this, my daughter went from using 10 to 13 test strips per day down to as few as two (to calibrate her Dexcom [only one if she only calibrates once 
️]). Caveats: When in doubt, fingerstick. Always fingerstick to determine whether a low has been adequately treated to avoid over treating. Always confirm an “odd” (out of the blue high) with a fingerstick after washing and drying hands thoroughly.
ETA: we may have better Dexcom luck because we use a more accurate meter, the Freestyle. Remember, Dexcom can only be a little more accurate than the numbers you feed it. What I mean is that I trust her Dexcom more than I trust her meter/test strips most of the time.
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That’s one that that we DON’T currently do is wash our sons hands before finger pricks and it makes sense to do so. Will start doing that to have THE MOST accurate readings possible. Do you use the standard OneTouch test strips then? Or do you use a generic version? I’m just thinking over the long term what is going to be most economical…if there isn’t any reason NOT to use a generic version, since we go through so many of them, and will for many years to come, I just wonder if they would serve their purpose…
Test strips are specific to the meter you use, if I am not mistaken. We use Freestyle test strips in her Freestyle meter. We are quite fortunate that my daughter’s health insurance sort of covers part of the cost, and that they are now more affordable for us in light of the fact that she usually uses no more than 100 test strips per month these days.
Shortly after joining the CWD forum, I stopped using alcohol wipes on my daughter’s fingers before fingersticks because I learned from other parents this is not necessary and dries out their little fingertips. I try to encourage my daughter to wash her hands before fingersticks, but I’m lucky if she picks a spot that isn’t covered with grime. Infection is not something we worry about, because she’s never gotten an infection from a “dirty” fingerstick. I worry more about residual sugar (or any carb-containing muck) that may be on her fingers that could make the results of a fingerstick inaccurate. I believe that you don’t have to get anal about clean fingers; a quick swipe with a moist wipe or baby wipe would likely do the trick most of the time. All we can do is our best; we can’t be perfect! 
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Yes, the ones I linked above are for the “OneTouch” CGM, which is what we use.
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I realized that once I bothered to check out the link you posted! I’m so lazy…
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I know quite a few adult T1s who use Unistrips with no issues. My husband & I both use the True Results meters/strips. In a pinch, my daughter borrows from us. When she was first dx’d & we paid out of pocket for all supplies, she used the Relion from Walmart. I saw no difference in accuracy.
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If you haven’t already, you might check to see if other brands are covered under your plan. One Touch doesn’t have a copay discount program, but most other brands do.
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How do you get by with so few finger sticks? AT MINIMUM we are supposed to do one before each meal so that we’re sure we’re giving the correct correction dose, and one before bed. So that’s minimum of 4 we’re “supposed” to give.
I have my daughter calibrate her Dexcom only twice daily and only when she is between 70 and about 140 (because I go above and beyond to insure she doesn’t go over 110 if I can help it) and only when her BG is steady, as evidenced by the horizontal directional arrow on her Dexcom reading. Additionally (and this is where we are lucky) my daughter’s particular metabolism and Dexcom’s algorithm play exceptionally well together. I often say my daughter and her Dexcom are as one. What I mean by that is, based on past experience, BG meter readings and Dexcom readings are consistently within 5 points in either direction when her BG isn’t rapidly shifting. After many, many months, we discovered that (I’m guessing) over 98% of the time, double-checking the Dexcom reading with a fingerstick was an exercise in duplication. And, also through much experience, we know the approximate 2% of the time when we should question her Dexcom readings. In which case we should probably do more than one fingerstick to make sure, because I hold less trust in the accuracy of her meter than I do her Dexcom.
And just because I’m feeling particularly verbose today, I’d like to comment on some of your statements:
You will likely continue learning that what you are “supposed” to do and what you should do to manage your child’s BG in a way that gives him the best chance of living a long and complication-free life are two very different things. I truly believe that a “flat” BG reading from a fingerstick gives you only half the information you need to make any dosing (bolus or correction) decision. If you calibrate wisely and improve the accuracy of your Dexcom readings, then your Dexcom readings give you additional very important pieces of information to use in making smart dosing decisions: the direction in which BG is trending and the rate at which it is changing. Omit that additional information and use an inaccurate ISF along with an inaccurate I:C that are already teetering on the shaky foundation of an inaccurate basal rate, and you can expect to either run way too high or way too low most of the time. You can have the most accurate and current BG reading imaginable, but if your ISF and I:C are off, you will not be administering a “correct” correction or bolus dose.
Not to mention the fact that, even if you do everything “right”, there is the added variable of D not always following the “rule book”. That’s when I put a little more weight on what my gut tells me.
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Yes, we’ve found our Dexcom to be pretty accurate most of the time, too, but it is off sometimes by a LOT (like 50 or more one way or the other! One time it was 80 off (higher)) That’s what scares us about not checking every single time, even when the range is good.
We use alcohol wipes on each finger tip so we don’t think it’s a sugar thing (although, we’re going to start just washing hands to avoid the “dry” fingers you get with the alcohol wipes.
Hopefully we can get to that “Dexcom and son being one” zin state someday!
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Not meaning to make things more difficult, but if the sensor is more than 24 hours old and you have consistently calibrated “wisely”, how do you know that it is the Dexcom and not the meter (or the test strip) that is 50 points off? (unless you do several fingersticks…) If you’ve been entering every (or most) fingerstick readings into your Dexcom regardless of directional arrow, then that could go a long way towards explaining the discrepancies you are seeing.
There isn’t any way to know that unless I waste even MORE supplies to test each theory. lol
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I hear you! 
Yes, this could be the case. I’ve only recently (thanks!) discovered that calibrating when a --> is best (although 45 degrees is also acceptable according to the book) – so we’ve just in the past few days began calibrating only when it’s in that “wise / acceptable” range.
Yes, 45 degrees is “acceptable”, but why settle for “acceptable” when you can settle for “even better”? 
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And just in case you are following my previous sorely mistaken example and calibrating using a rapidly shifting BG because the Dex is asking for it, RIGHT NOW, and if you don’t enter a fingerstick number RIGHT NOW, the world as we know it will end 
.
At that point in time, what I didn’t know was that: No, the Dexcom sensor, transmitter, and receiver will not spontaneously combust or explode, maiming my beloved daughter for life or even (absolute worst case scenario) STOP WORKING 
. Just tell your son’s Dexcom to hold its horses and wait until you are good and ready to feed it a steady BG reading.
And if I haven’t said it lately, you and your wife are intelligent, quick learners and clearly care about your son and are doing everything you can to do the best job possible! Yay!
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I just joined this site because I wanted to find out where I can purchase Dexcom G5 sensors and transmitters without going through my insurance company. I have been getting my Dexcom supplies through my insurance company for the last 6 months but now they are denying coverage of any CGM. I need to purchase supplies on my own while I am appealing this decision.
Are you still getting your supplies directly from Dexcom and if so what are you paying.
Hi, Ed -
I haven’t needed to buy sensors in awhile as a wonderful friend gifted me
three boxes! But, as far as I know, the price is $299 for a box of 4 plus
$5 for shipping. You will definitely get the best price by dealing directly
with Dexcom.
If you are on their automatic shippment program, you also get discounts on
both transmitters and receivers.
I am sorry you have to deal with this - totally unfair.
Let me know what happens.
Best regards,
Arlene