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29 Comments

Comment by Rickst29 on June 30, 2009 at 10:23pm

Hey, Jimmy: (in reply to June 13) at Day 7, if the Sensor has already reached "remaining time 0:00" then you merely go to the menu, do "Sensor start", and wait for the two hour warmup. You don't even need to remove the transmitter (although I usually DO remove the transmitter, to wipe off any collected sweat near the electrical contacts).

If the end of the "warm-up" will be inconvenient, you can use the menu to "Stop Sensor" whenever you want to (even way back, during day 6, if that's gonna be better for your schedule). Then immeidately go right back to the menu and "Start Sensor", wait two hours, enter two calibrations....

and you've got seven more days (if it works that long). I usually get two full periods, plus part of of a 3rd-- but I don't think that I've ever made it past 21 days with good numbers. For me, they become seriously unreliable somewhere around days 15-19.

How to tell? The 3-hour, 6-hour, 12-hour lines get fuzzy. If adjacent readings start jumping up 20 points, down 10 points, then up again, then down again.... it's done. Good Sensors display a tight, smooth line, without lots of "jumpiness" or "fuzziness". One or two weird readings might be OK, but extended "hunting" means that you've reached then end. Toss it.

Comment by Luca Bertagnolio on June 25, 2009 at 11:30pm

Deborah, I've found that using a 3M Tegaderm patch is a great way to keep the sensor tape protected. I use the 1624W that I found at a Walmart, and now have bought a large box on eBay.

The patch is made of a very thin transparent tape and I apply that immediately after wearing a new sensor. I have to cut a rectangular "window" in the middle to fit the sensor, and the size of the patch is just about covering the whole oval white tape.

Two weeks with plenty of showers, no problem!

Ciao, Luca

Comment by Deborah on June 25, 2009 at 8:55pm

Can anyone give me advice on how to adhere the sensor tape onto my abdomen when I'm past the 7 days and into the next week. The adhesive is starting to come off. I'd like tips on how to stretch this into the second week.

Comment by JiMMy on June 14, 2009 at 7:51pm

Thanks. Wasn't sure how to do it. My first Sensor failed under 24 hours. Dexcom is sending me a replacement. The current one has been on for 3 days now. It's been off a bit but overall I'm happy with it.

Comment by Emily Pettersen on June 13, 2009 at 2:58pm

Hey Jimmy,
You just tell it that you put in a new sensor, even though you didn't. You'll have to wait through the 2 hour calibrating period, but it should work fine again after that! I've been finding that I can often get another full week out of a sensor before it starts giving me lots of question marks, etc.

Comment by JiMMy on June 13, 2009 at 2:42pm

How do you get the sensor to work past the 7 days when the Receiver says it's time to change?

Comment by Renegadez on June 8, 2009 at 9:34pm

Automated “Artificial Pancreas” Controls Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Patients for First Time

Using the Dexcom and OmniPod

http://tudiabetes.com/forum/topics/automated-artificial-pancreas

Comment by JiMMy on June 6, 2009 at 9:42pm

I got my email from FedEx. It's on it's way. I should have it delivered to my house on Wednesday. I'll be getting home very late Tuesday (1 or 2 am) or Wednesday night. So I can't wait to finally have a better control over my BS and see how much I can change my diet and work outs without going to low or high. Also thanks for the info Deborah....

Comment by Deborah on June 6, 2009 at 5:54am

Don't worry about the training. If you've done the research and have a basic understanding of the purpose of the CGM, the online training works just fine. That's what I did cause I couldn't find a time to match my trainer's open appointments and I wanted to start using it as soon as I got it. I did it all myself at the computer. The trainer asked me to call her after the online training. I got around to that a day later. It was pretty easy. The trick is to remember that it takes 3 hours to charge and it doesn't tell you when it's fully charged so you have to unplug it to the charger and then check to see if all the battery bars are filled in. I had to call the 24 hour help line to find this out. I'm loving my dexcom!

Comment by JiMMy on June 5, 2009 at 3:14pm

Amazingly I was Ok'd today. I just faxed the paperwork in on Tuesday. I have Aetna insurance and they didn't fight it at all. They cover 90% with a $100 deductible. I have a $1000 cap every year then they cover 100%. Can't wait till it gets here. The only issue is the training because I travel 90% of the time.

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