Sunday, March 27, 2011

So fed up with Dexcom

I am so.over.it.

I am taking a break from the thing. I will test his BG every 2 hours and log it. I am just DONE with the Dexcom that doesn't seem to work.

I read about how some people make their Dexcom sensors last for 14 days. Are you kidding me? How in the H - E - double hockey sticks to people do that? Ours has lasted for 7 days a grand total of ONE time. And we've had "good" numbers for a whole week a grand total of ONE time.

Here's what happens with ours. We attach the sensor. It works great for like one or two days. Then we get ???. Or we get a sensor failure. Or the transmitter falls off and we lose it. (yes, this has happened TWICE!) I've been on my hands and knees in my front yard searching for the G-D thing. Adam seems to bump it a lot when it's on his arm and the transmitter gets loose.

Or the sensor falls off when swimming. We swim a lot here, people. It's Arizona. I might as well not waste the money if it's not going to last this summer

I am just incredibly frustrated. Yes, I've called Dexcom and we've gotten replacements, but I can't do that every week obviously. After repeated sensor error 0's, it never calibrates right again. Does he not have enough fat on his body to get good interstitial fluid? Is he too rough on it? Am I doing it wrong? I seriously am at a loss.

Arrgh. For something that's supposed to make our lives easier, it is just NOT.

9 comments:

  1. I SOOOO feel your pain!!!
    We have the same issues (except the sensor/transmitter falling off...they stick like crazy for us) but the errors and ??? and the wacky numbers. the problem is, I LOVE the arrows! I just wish we had the same luck that other bloggers have...not feeling the love here but can't get him out of our life either.

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  2. Oh my gosh, Just saw your post after I posted my piece on Dexcom! How funny!

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  3. I'm sorry youre having such a rough time. Have they replaced the reciever? I wonder if its another issue.

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  4. That stinks!!! I don't want to jinx anything here, but we've had nothing but good experiences. I wish I had something helpful to offer. What does Jackie say (that's the name of the rep, right?)?

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  5. So sorry!!! We have had our ups and downs with Dexter for sure. I do know that I have to crank WAY BACK on the inserter and pinch Joe's skin WAY UP to get the needle in his subcutaneous tissue. The adhesive sticks to Joe like glue...so I got nothing for you on that part. BUMMER...xoxo

    Take a break for now for sure. The frustration isn't work it.

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  6. Ahhh...I meant "worth" not "work" - duh...:)

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  7. I put Ellie's on her butt, her underware covers it from getting ripped off and there is FAT where there is none on the rest of her! May help with the swimming too. Do know that I am on my second bad sensor right now myself and YES it just flat pisses me off! ??? are like a dagger going in my back! I hope all gets better with it, but Reyna is right...if it is causing MORE stress then a break is good! ((hugs))

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  8. We initially had problems and relied on Dex mostly for the trending arrows. They replaced our Receivers twice and also transmitters twice. At some point Dex did get pretty darn reliable and I am wondering if it takes a while for Dex to "learn" her patterns (took about a month solid after our latest replacements). ??? happen at night; just roll her over; sometimes it works; sometimes not. I don't pull that sensor but wait until she is up in the morning and once on her feet, sensor usually works or a Restart will do it. Now she won't wear Dex though, resists it, not because it hurts or is uncomfortable; just does not want to wear two sites and carry the extra Receiver. Life is not easy with D, with or without cgms, pump, etc. Getting by with more frequent fingersticks is definitely a decent option. If Dex is causing stress and not working properly, time for a break. I think lack of body fat is definitely an issue as well.

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  9. Oh man, that stinks! When I saw ths post I couldn't help leaving a quick comment. Our son (he's two) has been on the Dex for almost a year now. Looking back, when we first started on the Dex, it was summer time and we were hitting the pool every day. I noticed that once the weather got cooler and we were no longer swimming, we've had MUCH better results with the DEX. During the summer, our sensors only lasted 5 days (at best), but this winter we've had sensors last up to 11 or 12 days. We also see more accurate numbers and far less ???.
    I remember our Dex rep mentioning that the sensor and transmitter are water proof, but only approved for up to 20 minutes (length of an average shower). Unfortunately, I think they still design these devices with adults in mind, rather than active children.
    We also had lots more problems with the adhesive in the summer. We had to clean his skin very well with alcohol because he usually had some type of sun screen build up and then we had a few slide off only hours after they were placed because we didn't let the alcohol dry completely. We also used a lot of new skin liquid bandaid and regular bandaids to re-adhere edges that started to pull up after lots of pool time. I think Skin Tac helps a lot with adhesive problems, but you have to leave the skin clean at the insterion spot (a little tricky)
    As for the transmitter falling out, we've never had one fall out, but we've had a few times where we didn't have the transmitter seated very well and it won't read numbers (???), but once we re-seat it, it works fine. You could have your local rep watch you do a sensor change to see if they have any suggestions.
    All in all, I do think that all the pool time might be at the root of your problem (at least it was for us). I would be way curious to know if there are any avid simmers who have successfully used a CGM system and if they have any advice. We live in Texas, and like you, NOT swimming all summer is just NOT an option! I'm worried about what to expect from the CGM this summer, and I'm thinking we might have to take a little break from it- the inaccuracy and unreliability is a KILLER!
    Well, I wish you the best of luck! And just remember that you are an adequate pancreas even without the CGM!

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