sensor tape losing tackiness quickly

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Permalink Reply by Jan on July 30, 2009 at 11:59pm

Go longer than seven days because if we have a sensor that is reading really well, we are hesitant to remove it. Generally, the first day the sensor does not read well. After that, we still do not have 90 percent coverage, I would say about 75 percent of the time Dex readings are within 20 points. We can have question marks for an hour or two or Dex may be way off. This sensor was reading really well. If the sensor is reading, I don't see a reason to change it out, just because it is Day 7. We would probably pull it on Day 14 regardless, not leave it in too long because of possible infection. We got 10 days out of our first sensor, but it did not read well like this last one. I know Dex is trying to get FDA clearance for the sensor for 10 days. A lot of people get many more days out of a sensor.

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Permalink Reply by Rickst29 on July 30, 2009 at 9:02pm

I'm not sure about expecting a full two weeks in an active young teen. When they fail, they go pretty quick-- so discard at the first hint of extended "fuzziness", or failure to take a calibration and show a reading quickly. (Give it just TWO chances to show values which properly correspond to the entered bG calibration data after "???" occurs, then replace.)

For Helmut: You forgot, here in the USA we have gazillions of Insurance Companies, most of whom will outright "deny" any coverage to a diabetic person like me. (No insurance coverage, not at ANY price.) So, when we are lucky enough to link up with one which will allow us to buy their insurance, most of us try to keep our expenses as low as we can-- so that the Company which stands with us doesn't get wiped out by the all the $%^&* companies which make obscene profits by denying coverage for such treatments.

I've been a very aggressive advocate for CGMS with my own insurance company, helping several other people win coverage too. But once we have the coverage, most of us try very hard to keep our expenses as low as we can.

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Permalink Reply by Jan on July 31, 2009 at 10:24am

For us it is an insurance issue also. If DN's Mom changes jobs at some point, she may have a different insurance company. We had to fight to get the sensors, but they are not covered by most insurance. But to pull a perfectly working sensor on Day 7 does not seem sensible. Particularly since not all sensors read as well (of course, we are new to this and discrepancies may be due to insertion technique, placement, taping, etc). We have been getting 9 or 10 days out of them. This one was working beautifully and it only came off because of taping. I had not put IV 3000 dressing over it in the middle of the week. Order in for Opsite flexifix and that should solve that problem. Of course we will pull if it no longer works. We had gotten 12 days out of one of the Minimed sensors. I would never go longer than two weeks because of possible infection. But after ten days, Dex leaves less of a mark on her skin than her pump sites, which we only leave in three days.

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Permalink Reply by Olaf R Saugen on August 1, 2009 at 9:54am

Marina:
I am having good luck with 3-Ms 3-inch Medipore tape. It is porous and does not cause any skin irritation. I simply apply a short strip of it over the sensor/transmitter unit after I have inserted the new sensor and it keeps the sensor/transmitter safely in place for two weeks or more. It is also waterproof. Your pharmacy should be abl;e to order the Medipore tape for you.

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