Just received the phone call that I will be getting the Dexcom in the mail tomorrow afternoon! I am so excited about my new ‘toy’ lol. Any tips I should know from those of you who already have one? Do you put tape around it?? Where do you wear yours?
Congratulations! Join the Dexcom group and read thru some of the tips. Then join the Flatliners to post pics of your Dex screen!
I use Flexifix Opsite tape. If you get that, you should know that the green plaid layer comes off.
You want to make sure your BS is stable for 15 minutes before putting a calibration in. The first calibration calls for 2 fingersticks. I always test my BS a couple times with all calibrations just to make sure my number is really what the first one says. If you test twice & have 100 and 80, you don’t want to use either of those.
I’ve had mine for a couple of months now. I don’t use any extra tape for it, and it stays on just fine. For me, it comes up a little bit around the edges, but so far hasn’t fallen off. Everyone’s skin reacts a little differently though, so you’ll just have to see how it works for you. I’ve even already experimented with wearing it longer than 7 days, and found it to be very accurate. I suggest joining the Dexcom group, that’s where I’ve gotten all my good advice. 
I found it super easy to use. The inserter intimidated me a little bit at first, but now it’s not bad at all. I think it hurts a lot less than my pump insertion, actually. I think a lot of it is trial and error about what’s going to work well for you. Good luck, and congrats! I love this little machine!
Congrats Lil mama! I’ve had my dexcom for a week and have already learned tons about how my body reacts to things. Enjoy!
Wow, you are really moving fast. I feel like I am still in the stone ages. At least I moved (mostly) off syringes to pens.
Congrats on the cgm Lil Mama! I hope you find it to be a helpful tool as I have!
+1 for the Flexifix! I tried SkinTac and a bunch of other tapes without success. For me, Flexifix holds the best and is most comfortable. American Diabetes Wholesale (http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/) has the best price and they ship very quickly. There is a coupon code (TUDIAB7) for TuDiabetes members - I think it took a couple bucks off the final price.
When do you get your training to actually start? That was the biggest drag for me - waiting for the scheduler to get me in with the trainer. It was hard to see the box sitting there and trying to find the patience to wait! It was well worth it though! lol!
Hi Lil MaMa: I just received my Dexcom last week! I haven’t started using it yet because my house was invaded by family members for Mothers Day. Mom left today, the others left yesterday, so now I can focus on the Dex. I will be very interested to hear about your experience! I have a MM Guardian two years ago, but it was wildly inaccurate and I ended up putting it in a draw. I am counting on Dexcom to be a better experience.
It is in my tummy and just calibrated it for the first time. Question…do you need to check your bg two times EVERYTIME before entering it into the Dexcom?
LOL!
I didn’t they sent it in the mail and told me I could do it myself! Is this okay…? lol I watched the tutorial about 10 times…
No, just the first time.
Technically you only have to check twice but if you read in the Dexcom group, there are a lot of us that will test several times before putting the reading in so that we know that we have a good number. If you test twice and have 2 numbers far apart, you are setting yourself up for trouble if you don’t pick the right one!
Okay well mine were 128 and 136 so I entered those two. I also entered what my bg was before dinner and checked it twice with a 5 pt difference. Can you calibrate and enter your bg anytime you want or are you only supposed to do it every 12 hours?
You can enter bgs whenever you want, but use caution if fingerstick readings are way off the cgm reading or you may cause a sensor error that may be a pain to deal with (you’ll lose some data for awhile as the cgm adjusts and may need to wait an hour or so to enter another bg.) I’d also advise trying no added tape if you can get away with it. I sometimes manage to use a sensor for as much as 2 weeks without the tape peeling. Have fun!