Anyone using the Dexcom SEVEN

[imn2jc_50]

Question, I've found one can reactivate the Dexcom 3 sensor 2 to 2-1/2 times. Do you think one could do this with the 7 or have they place a safety limit in there? The display looks good for us visually challenged people.
Whit
sore from Missouri 5m MB ride

how do i reactivate the dexcom 7 or is there a safty limit

[imn2jc_50]

Question, I've found one can reactivate the Dexcom 3 sensor 2 to 2-1/2 times. Do you think one could do this with the 7 or have they place a safety limit in there? The display looks good for us visually challenged people.
Whit
sore from Missouri 5m MB ride

was to frustated with the omnipod and the short canula which continually came out also the never sent the replacements the said they would

[imn2jc_50]

Had one since Jan. and love it a1c 6.1 yesterday after years of 7+

[Riffster]

Hello all!

I have been using the system for one and a half weeks. My last A1C was 11.5, I travel a lot for my job and I am also into power lifting. My problem was that I could just not tell when my sugars were high? I could only really tell when they were REALLY high? I mean over 400 and I could tell, whenever my blood sugar was 100 to 120 I would feel like a black out or seizure was coming! My control has been bad to decent but never great. My best A1C was 7.5 a few years ago, so the system seemed like a great idea for me. It has seemed to help already but I would have to agree with some of the statements already made. My readings have been as many as 100 points difference from my meter and my dexcom unit. This has only happened twice since a got the unit. If I make sure to put in a manual reading every 12 hours that seems to help. The trend arrows are a great help for my especially at the gym. I would usually make sure my sugar was at around 300 before going to the gym in fear of having a low during a max effort workout? had a few workouts since and the device has helped A LOT! two of the best workouts I have had in years and I felt great! Perhaps that is due to my body not trying to pump syrup through my vains? IDK but they were great! The only regular problem I have is keeping them stuck to my body? I have used the skin tac on the applicator this time and two days later it already looks like it is coming off? I took a shower then alcholol swabbed the area, then the skin tac then the dexcom tape and unit but still having problems? Oh well, my rep said the ability for the transmitter to communicate with smart phones is already done and is being tested so the device you have to carry with you could soon be a thing of the past?

Never even knew there were forums like this one until googling "how to insert my dexcom sensor" then found this site! awesome, nice to be able to talk with other people having the same struggles as me!

Thanks

Riff

[Melba86ss]

Hi,
First post but I have been using a DexCom 7 since 9/10/08 & thought some might nbe interested in my experiences.
As of today I don't think any CGM is perfect. We need to take them for what they give us. My CGM BS (blood sugars) will often be 10-60 points different from my FS's (finger sticks). My Endo says that research indicates that the interstitial readings of the CGM might be more accurate but they lag behind 5-10 minutes. That's also OK. The CGM gives us trends which are great. My CGM told me that following my bedtime BS of 100 would climb upwards of 220 between 2-6AM. Short of FS's every 15 minutes there's no way to determine those changes. My highs were fixed by increasing my basal rate.
I have had three defective sensors. They show up after a few hours of operation. Report it to the company and they will send a replacement.
The low alerts are great to retrain the body to the sensations of those lows.
Also once the initial trends are determined, adjustments made one could discontinue use for time periods and restart in times like vacations etc.
It does take another commitment of time and energy like the use of the pump but what is ones health worth? All in all I am pleased with the DexCom.
One more bit of info. I have used the 7-day sensors up to 15 days. You will usually get at least 7 then fool the unit by indicating that you have changed sensors and it will restart another session. You can continue as long as you are getting signals.

[Melba86ss]

Still very useful

[Melba86ss]

I have been using the Dexcom 7 since January 2008. I love it and I hate it. You never know when it is accurate and when it is not. Usually the first day or 2 is inaccurate. The rest of the time it is hit and miss. When I see the meter reading the same reading or nearly the same reading for 3 hours, it is probably way off. This has been happening a lot lately and I'm wondering if its because the internal batteries are nearing the end of their warranty period!?! Sometimes this thing recalibrates itself quickly after a finger stick, and sometimes it completely refuses to alter its errors, even after 4 fingersticks within a 90 minute period! It is completely waterproof. I have been in the hot tub for 20 minutes or so with no problem. If the tape starts coming loose, I add my own tape to hold it down while I'm showering. I usually use the same sensor for 2 weeks. The new software upgrade (if its the latest one your talking about) does not add much except it allows you to manually enter a fingerstick value rather than having to hook it to your one touch meter. Using this meter I have found that my nightly blood sugars are fine until about 2AM then they start going up. If I sleep late, they are over 250, so then I spend my time trying to get it down to normal. The software has many many functions and can show you patterns of when your bs is high or low so you can change habbits or basal rates or whatever to fix things. Lots of ways to visualize your bs's with the software. If you export your data, you have to manually manipulate it, and it sends your meter (fingerstick) data to a different file than its sensor data, so you have to combine the 2 in your own excel spreadsheet if you want to see how they compare.

thank you

[Riffster]

So far so good, as mentioned the finger prick readings are not always the same as the Dexcom unit. It has NEVER been right on but more often than not it is within 5 to 15 units. It has been off as many as 80 units before. Found this to be evident early on. I have noticed if I take readings on my forearms (where I always did before with my freestyle lite meter) the readings are MUCH closer to the readings on the Dexcom, within 20 units. So perhaps the readings from my fingers and my forearms have been this different as well? I never checked, once I got a meter that said I didn't have to check by pricking my fingers anymore I just never did. I have always used my forearms since getting a meter that said I could?

I don't know exactly but they claim the Dexcom takes a reading every 5 minutes? I would say the time difference along with some slight variances with the blood glucose readings could account for some of those large differences in the beginning? The manual readings every 12 hours seem to help it stay more in line as well.

I LOVE the trending arrows! They are AWESOME for me when doing intense power lifting. I used to check and if it was 300 or 350 shoot up accordingly but never knew if I was trending up or down. What that would mean is still having a reading of 300 or 350 or crashing after I got home from the gym! This would cause difficulty with my body taking in nutrients after working out, which is the most important time of all for muscle recovery.

Nothing is fool proof but according to the software I have already improved my A1C by 4 percentage points! The device will not get my goal of 6.5% but close enough that I can make some more changes to get things in range? for the first time I am starting to be able to "tell" when my sugars are too high, I have the alarm set for 250 on the high side and I am starting to feel the difference. I will give that another week and I will take it down to 200 for a few weeks and then a little more after that..... I have a large trade show at then end of the month in Las Vegas, usually when I travel west it is hell on my sugars! I am interested in seeing how much the device can help me out west!

Over all I give it a 95 out of 100! With the improvements i have been reading about on the horizon this is only going to get better!

Just my take, but my sugars were OUT OF CONTROL for too long so anything would have probably helped, but I am a fan so far!

[Gburke24882]

I am on a trial use of it for one week. I got it yesterday. I am getting used to it pretty quickly and really like that it can alert me before I actually go way to low since I have had diabetes for almost 40 years now and suffer from hypoglycemic unawareness for a long time now. the more I am getting used to it the more I wish I could get one that I could keep.
My insurance co will not cover it for some reason. cheap jerks would rather let us die and suffer diabetic complications than spend a little to save a lot in other medical expenses. I am looking for a way to get one for my self even though the insurance wont cover it. I believe it may be the answer to a lot of my problems. if anyone knows anyway I can get one and what I need to do and the expenses it will cost to get and keep using it please write back. I would rather have a way to know what is going on than not know what is going on.