Dexcom At School

[T1Dad]

Looking for people with experience of using a Dexcom G5 or G6 at school. For the past 2 years we have been using Libre and it has gone pretty well. The Libre Reader stays with my daughters TA at all times and she can get a reading on demand in a 'flash'.

Now that we have moved to using the Dexcom G6, the new School year is about to start and was wondering how you manage at school? My concern is the disconnects when out of range and then having to wait up to around 10 minutes to get a reading. We have the official Dexcom receiver but if this stays with the TA it will be going in and out of range all day and may cause a bit of a panic if a reading is not available and my daughter is experiencing hypo symptoms.

Do you let your child keep hold of the receiver all day (in a pocket/belt)? My daughter is 7 so quite a big responsibility still.

We also have a phone hooked up to transmit to cloud but would be fine for that to stay hidden away in her school bag for the whole day.

Interested to know of strategies that have been used and been successful.

 

[Antje77]

Hello, @T1Dad .
I don't have a Dexcom, nor children, so I'm not in a position to answer your question. You probably posted on a quiet time on the forum so your post got overlooked. This will bump it up to the top of recent posts again.
Also, if you're on facebook, I believe there are various Dexcom groups, probably even groups for parents of children with a dexcom. You might want to ask there as well.
Good luck!

 

[LooperCat]

Bump

 

[Whirl2]

Hi my daughter doesn't have the dexcom she had a libre, casie was diagnosed last year at the age of 6, so is 7 now the same age as your child. Casie has a small back pack that she wears all day that she keeps everything in for her to use as and when she needs it (monitor lancets strips ect ect, jelly baby's carton of apple juice, glucose gel incase of an emergency the ta/teacher can use it , she now also has a bolus advisor and that's in there too) only her insulin is in the medical cupboard and glycogen . We got her a wobel watch off amazon, you can set up to 6 alarms with a sound or vibrate, we set it at times we know she is likely to go low 9.30 and 10.30 as a reminder to scan herself which she does, I work in her school but not in her year and I've seen her test herself in a whole school assembly when her watch has gone off. Its also set pre lunch and 2pm so she knows to do a finger prick before lunch and scan again at 2pm.

I would only say that she keep everything with her because if she were out at play time and didn't feel right she can check herself and not have to try find the person who has her reader, I don't know the size of your daughters school or if her ta is with her all the time, but our school has 500 children and as hard as it is to let her be so independent we've kind of had to be.

 

[T1Dad]

Hi my daughter doesn't have the dexcom she had a libre, casie was diagnosed last year at the age of 6, so is 7 now the same age as your child. Casie has a small back pack that she wears all day that she keeps everything in for her to use as and when she needs it (monitor lancets strips ect ect, jelly baby's carton of apple juice, glucose gel incase of an emergency the ta/teacher can use it , she now also has a bolus advisor and that's in there too) only her insulin is in the medical cupboard and glycogen . We got her a wobel watch off amazon, you can set up to 6 alarms with a sound or vibrate, we set it at times we know she is likely to go low 9.30 and 10.30 as a reminder to scan herself which she does, I work in her school but not in her year and I've seen her test herself in a whole school assembly when her watch has gone off. Its also set pre lunch and 2pm so she knows to do a finger prick before lunch and scan again at 2pm.

I would only say that she keep everything with her because if she were out at play time and didn't feel right she can check herself and not have to try find the person who has her reader, I don't know the size of your daughters school or if her ta is with her all the time, but our school has 500 children and as hard as it is to let her be so independent we've kind of had to be.

Thanks @Whirl2 , sounds like you have a good plan in place and your daughter is becoming quite independent with all the alarms and such. We once bought that same watch but it did not last too long unfortunately!!

What we have done with the Dexcom is to have her keep the receiver in her pocket at all times as well as a flat memory card case containing 3 glucose tablets. The rest of her items stay in her rucksack in her classroom. We also have a phone hooked up to transmit readings so that we can see them during the day. This was a struggle to get approved but we got it in the end and were made to tape up the camera lens and ensure she could not unlock it. That is absolutely fine and the phone happily stays hidden away in her bag all day long and we intermittently get some readings during the day when she is near her bag.

Its interesting you say that your daughter carries all her items on person. Now that we have gone into Year 3 or Junior School, we are being asked to do the same as there are more children and they want to promote some independence. I think we will eventually follow suit and get her to carry some items around from place to place.

 

[lumusislight]

Dexcom G6 CGM System is commonly implemented by teachers, healthcare professionals and parents in schools. However, not all parents support it. Read more about the system in the research A Practical Approach to Using Trend Arrows on the Dexcom G5 CGM System to Manage Children and Adolescents With Diabetes by cheap essay writer and PhD Lori M. Laffel who studies continuous glucose monitoring and does projects with parents in schools.

Hi, one of the nurses at our private school suggested Dexcom G6 CGM System School Nurse Guide and Sample 504 Plan for Students with Diabetes Using CGM. The parents community still has to decide on it. We have a meeting in 2 days, so I will be able to comment more on this later.

 

[lumusislight]

My son has 22 students in his class (4 with T1). 2 of the boys wear spi-belts (for iPhones and receivers), so I thought maybe we should try that too.
I'm also worrying because he will be working with a new nurse next year, when he starts his 2d grade (they have to share a nurse between 2 schools - that might be a problem).

 

[BibblePieParent]

My daughter has the G6 and keeps her iPhone with her all the time, visible but on silent. After initial setting in period with her school this works really well. PE is the only time she goes out of range