harrisphil
Member
- Messages
- 12
Hi all,
After getting Dexcom G6 in October 2018 (3 weeks after diagnosis…) I had a relatively good and seamless experience with it. I do a lot of exercise (sweat on sensor, Abb crunches etc) and always wore it 5-10cm to the left or right of my belly button. I would say 85% of the G6’s went the full 10 days without issues (or 20, when you could used to hot re-start them…!) and maybe 10% would go a bit dodgy the last few days, with just 5% totally going haywire after a few days.
Given it’s smaller size, warmup time of 25min and generally being the new thing from Dexcom (whom I am very happy exist), I upgraded to G7 in December 2022, and stared using it from mid Jan 2023.
Unfortunately, I have had nothing but trouble with them! About 70% of them fail after 5/6 days, which often catches me out when I’m away from my stock (ie weekend away or short business trip, where I should have more than enough time remaining).
Dexcom have replaced all of the lost time - you call them up, explain the issue and they give you X number of sensors back depending on the multiple of 10 days lost.
Also, the G7 app cannot (maybe now can) show as a widget on the iPhone; so I have to use Sugarmate as a follower and then have that on my widget screen. It also works for Apple CarPlay via the iPhone’s standard calendar App, which is ingenious!
But nobody on the phone could tell me why my G7’s were failing so often; they even sent different batches, in case they were due to manufacturing issues. They said they get the same number of issues on G7 as they do on G6, when I asked if they get complaints from people like me all day about the G7!
Then, finally… I spoke to a bloke at Dexcom who asked “do you do a lot of exercise and are quite low % body fat?” — Yes.
As it turns out, the big difference between G6 and G7 is that the G7 fires the needle directly down (90deg to the skin). Whereas G6 fires it at 45degrees. The guy said for Dexcom Athletes (thank you…) they were not recommending the G7 because the needle was often hitting muscle and then the measurements would be corrupted, especially if the muscle is moving around a lot next to the sensor wire.
So.. I am now on my last G7, with a 3 month pack of G6 subscription waiting in my bathroom cabinet!
Hope this is helpful for anybody in a similar situation to me.
Cheers,
Phil
After getting Dexcom G6 in October 2018 (3 weeks after diagnosis…) I had a relatively good and seamless experience with it. I do a lot of exercise (sweat on sensor, Abb crunches etc) and always wore it 5-10cm to the left or right of my belly button. I would say 85% of the G6’s went the full 10 days without issues (or 20, when you could used to hot re-start them…!) and maybe 10% would go a bit dodgy the last few days, with just 5% totally going haywire after a few days.
Given it’s smaller size, warmup time of 25min and generally being the new thing from Dexcom (whom I am very happy exist), I upgraded to G7 in December 2022, and stared using it from mid Jan 2023.
Unfortunately, I have had nothing but trouble with them! About 70% of them fail after 5/6 days, which often catches me out when I’m away from my stock (ie weekend away or short business trip, where I should have more than enough time remaining).
Dexcom have replaced all of the lost time - you call them up, explain the issue and they give you X number of sensors back depending on the multiple of 10 days lost.
Also, the G7 app cannot (maybe now can) show as a widget on the iPhone; so I have to use Sugarmate as a follower and then have that on my widget screen. It also works for Apple CarPlay via the iPhone’s standard calendar App, which is ingenious!
But nobody on the phone could tell me why my G7’s were failing so often; they even sent different batches, in case they were due to manufacturing issues. They said they get the same number of issues on G7 as they do on G6, when I asked if they get complaints from people like me all day about the G7!
Then, finally… I spoke to a bloke at Dexcom who asked “do you do a lot of exercise and are quite low % body fat?” — Yes.
As it turns out, the big difference between G6 and G7 is that the G7 fires the needle directly down (90deg to the skin). Whereas G6 fires it at 45degrees. The guy said for Dexcom Athletes (thank you…) they were not recommending the G7 because the needle was often hitting muscle and then the measurements would be corrupted, especially if the muscle is moving around a lot next to the sensor wire.
So.. I am now on my last G7, with a 3 month pack of G6 subscription waiting in my bathroom cabinet!
Hope this is helpful for anybody in a similar situation to me.
Cheers,
Phil
