Dexcom failures- reporting to consumer watchdog

[ailsa12]

Hi guys,
I've been using dexcom for just under 2 years and in the past 6 months have had multiple sensors fail to stick due to the needle not retracting properly, tonight I have 5 sensors fail which takes me up to about 11 failures in total. every time I call dexcom they replace the faulty ones for me but I'm getting fed up with the amount that have failed now. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue and was hoping that people might be interested in trying to take this to some form of consumer watchdog to force dexcom to stop sending out faulty lots and reimburse people for the issues they have had.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa

 

[EllieM]

Hi guys,
I've been using dexcom for just under 2 years and in the past 6 months have had multiple sensors fail to stick due to the needle not retracting properly, tonight I have 5 sensors fail which takes me up to about 11 failures in total. every time I call dexcom they replace the faulty ones for me but I'm getting fed up with the amount that have failed now. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue and was hoping that people might be interested in trying to take this to some form of consumer watchdog to force dexcom to stop sending out faulty lots and reimburse people for the issues they have had.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa

I'm located in NZ and haven't had any issue with sensor failure (though they stubbornly under read for first 12 hours). Where are you located, as this may well be a location specific issue?

Not sure how you expect dexcom to reimburse you other than send out new sensors. (Though I too would be very very upset by that number of failed sensors). I'm sure they are not sending them out on purpose...

Good luck.

 

[ailsa12]

I'm located in NZ and haven't had any issue with sensor failure (though they stubbornly under read for first 12 hours). Where are you located, as this may well be a location specific issue?

Not sure how you expect dexcom to reimburse you other than send out new issues. (Though I too would be very very upset by that number of failed sensors). I'm sure they are not sending them out on purpose...

Good luck.

I'm UK based, been an issure for 6 months now, they keep dening it are you G6 or g5?

 

[EllieM]

I'm UK based, been an issure for 6 months now, they keep dening it are you G6 or g5?

G6, but dexcom in NZ only moved to G6 earlier this year. So I suspect they are using completely different batches of sensors to you.

 

[jackois]

I use G6 in the UK and had a couple of sensors fail during spring, both due to sensor hanging up in the applicator. Both were replaced without fuss, and packaging supplied to return the faulty ones. Haven't had a failure since.

If I have a day one reading issue, it generally reads high but, doesn't happen often.

 

[oldgreymare]

I use G6 in the UK and had a couple of sensors fail during spring, both due to sensor hanging up in the applicator. Both were replaced without fuss, and packaging supplied to return the faulty ones. Haven't had a failure since.

If I have a day one reading issue, it generally reads high but, doesn't happen often.

@ailsa12 I having been using the G6 in the UK for about 15 months. Had one early fail due to sensor falling off (adhesive), then same as @jackois earlier this year - 2 applicator needles not retracting - no problems recently. I've always been happy with the Dexcom technical support, all these sensors were quickly replaced and I've also been sent extra adhesive patches. It sounds like you've been particularly unlucky - I'd keep talking to Dexcom to see what they can do to sort this for you.

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi guys,
I've been using dexcom for just under 2 years and in the past 6 months have had multiple sensors fail to stick due to the needle not retracting properly, tonight I have 5 sensors fail which takes me up to about 11 failures in total. every time I call dexcom they replace the faulty ones for me but I'm getting fed up with the amount that have failed now. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue and was hoping that people might be interested in trying to take this to some form of consumer watchdog to force dexcom to stop sending out faulty lots and reimburse people for the issues they have had.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa

I'm not a Dexcom user, but have used Libre on and off since it came out. I am one of those folks who has loads of failures and lots that reading completely wonky numbers. On the upside, aside from once when it was rock solidly my fault, I haven't had adhesion issues.

I have come to conclude that there is something in my chemistry that means it just doesn't work so well for me as it seems to do for others.

To be fair to Dexcom, if they are replacing failed sensors you are not financially out of pocket, and whilst a CGM or Flash Monitor is a great, informative tool, they are rarely life preserving, and as such it could be considered you choose to subscribe to their products.

Have you tried other CGMs to see if they suit you better?

I know it's frustrating. I have my approach with Abbot well phrased now, to ensure I have all the data to hand when I have a wonky sensor.

 

[searley]

Hi guys,
I've been using dexcom for just under 2 years and in the past 6 months have had multiple sensors fail to stick due to the needle not retracting properly, tonight I have 5 sensors fail which takes me up to about 11 failures in total. every time I call dexcom they replace the faulty ones for me but I'm getting fed up with the amount that have failed now. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue and was hoping that people might be interested in trying to take this to some form of consumer watchdog to force dexcom to stop sending out faulty lots and reimburse people for the issues they have had.
Thanks in advance,
Ailsa

I don't think they intentionally send faulty units as it costs them too much to replace

In the last year I've only had 1 fault where it didn't release and withdraw the needle

But if you smack it with something hard it releases and works thereafter

A watchdog can't do much unless they are refusing to make good.. which they are not

 

[EllieM]

they are rarely life preserving

I would disagree there, having had two lantus lows, not sure how well I'd do without dexcom's warnings for low blood sugars.

 

[Jollymon]

I would disagree there, having had two lantus lows, not sure how well I'd do without dexcom's warnings for low blood sugars.

For as slow as cgm is, how unreliable the readings are, and sensors fail for me, I disagree with your disagreement. I’d rather just test my blood sugar.

Right now I’m going through another failed sensor. I just stopped paying attention to it 2 days ago and then it died this morning well before it was supposed to expire. The company will replace it. But I’m thinking about just shelving it.

CGM isn’t for everyone. For some people, it just doesn’t work and isn’t reliable. For some it does, and the information is a huge help to them. But again this is not true for everyone. I don’t know why.

For me this won’t be the first time I’ve shelved a cgm unit. But for the OP of this thread, I’m sure this might be. They are in the “fight mode” to figure this out. I remember being there, trying to figure out why and trying to figure out how I would make this work for me. I never did.

I don’t have answers here other than CGM will work great for some, and not so great for others. If we could make it work perfectly for all we should be designing/engineering/manufacturing/selling a better CGM. But we don’t- we are only users or these things.

 

[Jollymon]

I have a friend on another website struggling with CGM. For her this is her first time. The hard part for me was that she self-funded hers. But she is very pro testing, and isn’t afraid to test. She’s well prepared to just walk away from it just because of what she’s used to doing for testing. But it still hurts that she funded it to find that she can’t make it work for her- that’s disappointing.

 

[EllieM]

I have a friend on another website struggling with CGM. For her this is her first time. The hard part for me was that she self-funded hers. But she is very pro testing, and isn’t afraid to test. She’s well prepared to just walk away from it just because of what she’s used to doing for testing. But it still hurts that she funded it to find that she can’t make it work for her- that’s disappointing.

I'm an ex libre user (became allergic and as a result the readings from the sensors became completely erratic for me) so I can well understand this. I can make testing work, at 50 strips a week, but I have to keep my blood sugar levels higher, because I lose hypo awareness if I have too many hypos. So a dexcom is wonderful for me, though I realise that there is a good chance it will no longer work if I become allergic (so far cavillon cream is keeping the itching at bay).

The NZ diabetic consultant keeps offering me a pump (not going there because of issues with allergies and injection sites) but there's no chance of a government funded cgm or a basal other than lantus. I'm truly lucky that I can afford to self fund the dexcom and will be very sad if/when it no longer is compatible with my body. But conventional blood testing meters are still awesome gadgets - way ahead of the urine chemistry tests that were the only tests available 40 years ago....

 

[Jollymon]

I'm an ex libre user (became allergic and as a result the readings from the sensors became completely erratic for me) so I can well understand this. I can make testing work, at 50 strips a week, but I have to keep my blood sugar levels higher, because I lose hypo awareness if I have too many hypos. So a dexcom is wonderful for me, though I realise that there is a good chance it will no longer work if I become allergic (so far cavillon cream is keeping the itching at bay).

The NZ diabetic consultant keeps offering me a pump (not going there because of issues with allergies and injection sites) but there's no chance of a government funded cgm or a basal other than lantus. I'm truly lucky that I can afford to self fund the dexcom and will be very sad if/when it no longer is compatible with my body. But conventional blood testing meters are still awesome gadgets - way ahead of the urine chemistry tests that were the only tests available 40 years ago....

You are from my era if you also started with testing urine. I remember my 1st meter- my doctor said it was a delicate piece of equipment and I was to not take it out of my house. And now I take one with me everywhere I go in any conditions.

I am hypoglycemic unaware. I test 17-18 times per day. Cgm was going to save my life when it first came out. I was one of the very first people on it. It was disappointing when I experienced it not working for me. Like the OP, I thought I could fix it and make it better for everyone- I couldn’t. I didn’t.

I am appreciative for some of the things I’ve seen and learned from cgm. But when it goes horribly off it’s hard to know what to do. Do we fight for it? Or shelf it? This is difficult for someone new at it, especially when others say it works perfectly for them.