Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by karri on August 12, 2011 at 3:42am

"If the sensor is off by 100% up or 50% down (particularly more than once), call Dexcom and get a (free) replacement."

Really? Dexcom has this sort of policy? I thought they only do the once that give "Sensor failed" messages?

Another question regarding this Dexcom replacement policy. (I live in Europe currently). Do they want to have the old sensors back and the data before they give you refund in US?

Permalink Reply by jrtpup on August 12, 2011 at 6:12am

I've had a few sensors replaced with no problem because they were way off. They send a new sensor (or 2), not a refund. They don't want the old sensor back, but sometimes ask that you send them data from your downloads.

Permalink Reply by karri on August 12, 2011 at 7:17am

Really? Wow. I need to send "broken" sensors back for "inspection" and the data before any discussion about possible sensor replacement... I do wonder why such a difference in the policy.

Permalink Reply by Mike on June 10, 2011 at 8:12am

How close are your initial two startup BG values? That alone was an eye opener to me: the meter itself is not as perfect as you might think. Even so, you really should be thinking in terms of percentages and not values. 20 points is not a big deal when it's 240 versus 260 but 60 versus 80 might be. To me even 60 versus 80 isn't a big deal. It just means that I'm on the low side of normal and might want to eat something before long. The trend is far more important to me. Always think to yourself : Does this value make sense? If the Dexcom is clearly showing a drop then it makes sense that the meter might show a lower value than what the Dexcom currently shows because of the slight delay between blood glucose and interstitial fluid glucose. Likewise, if you're moving up then the meter might likely show a higher value.

I think I'm more fortunate than most here. The only time I see accuracy problems is at the very end of a sensor's life. By comparing calibration values to what the Dexcom reads at calibration time I find that on average the Dexcom is within 8% of the meter. Keep in mind that both the Dexcom and the meter have a margin of error so there's no such thing as perfect accuracy.

By the way, I'm now on day 28 of my current sensor and will restart it again soon. This is the longest I've ever gone.

Permalink Reply by Renea on June 10, 2011 at 9:02am

Thanks for the info. The first 2 calibration readings were about 4 points off. It seems to be doing ok now, withing a few points of my meter. Guess it takes a day or so to level out.

WOW! 28 days. Thant is amazing. I plan on restarting my sensor once the 7 days are up, but how do you tell when it has come to the end of it's life?

Permalink Reply by Steve_B on June 10, 2011 at 9:10am

Usually if I get an Error #1 or a ??? after 7 days it's time to change.

Permalink Reply by Mike on June 10, 2011 at 10:18am

For me the curve becomes somewhat erratic towards the end of the sensor life. By that I mean that there are outlying values. I just took a picture of mine - once again this on day 28 - and I'm just now starting to see what will likely get worse in the next day or two. I don't know how well this will show up in the picture but I've added some arrows showing a couple of the values that are not consistent with where they should be.

Attachments:

• Dexcom.png, 595 KB

Permalink Reply by MegaMinxX on June 10, 2011 at 12:07pm

How to tell when end of sensor life -

when there are 6 hours left, you will get an alert saying 6 hrs. Again at 2 hrs and 30 min. At 0, it will alert End of sensor. Then you just need to enter Start new sensor.

You can either wait for that, or restart at your own convenience. Before it expires, just select Stop Sensor. Then immediately select Start new sensor. It will repeat the 2 hours 'blank screen', and then ask for 2 BGs again.

If you can't remember when you started it, you can download to DM3 and check.

Permalink Reply by jrtpup on June 10, 2011 at 1:48pm

Wow Mike, 28 days is fantastic! Mine just failed last night at 10 days. Where do you have it?

Permalink Reply by Mike on June 10, 2011 at 4:04pm

I just stick with the recommended abdomen and alternate between sides. Based on recommendations on this site I also add a small strip of Flexifix to the top edge once it starts peeling off which is usually around the two-week mark.

Permalink Reply by Don on June 10, 2011 at 8:52pm

Mike,
may I ask if you sleep on your sides and if you get false lows at night?

Permalink Reply by Mike on June 11, 2011 at 4:10am

I do sleep on my sides but I've not noticed false lows. Is the assumption here that sleeping on the sensor causes it to read lower than it should? What is your experience?

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