I have been having frequent problems with the alarm on my libre 2 not working. This has happened on quite a few occasions and I am losing faith in it. It was suggested by my diabetes team I could try the de com instead. Has anyone on here gone from a libre to a dexcom and have you found dexcom more reliable? Are there any drawbacks to the dexcoms? I would be interested to hear of your experiences.
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Dexcom v libre 2
- Thread starter Don68
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- libre 2 v dexcom
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Hello @Don68 I have used the Dexcom now over 4 years, having previously used the libre, in my opinion it is far superior, In Response's experience is quite rare, I am on a forum with many other Dexcom users and they have little/no issue with the system, many of the other people I interact with use it with their pump as it can transmit readings and act like a closed loop system, it's more accurate and more bomb proof in comparison, I have had one fail in the last 18 months, the system lasts 10 days with the transmitter being replaced every 3 months, I wear mine on my arm's bingo wing, having started out wearing it on my lower chest, neither was a great issue, I just didn't like looking at it so it's hidden from view, some users wear a patch on theirs too, there is a 2 hour warm up but a minor niggle, all in all I wouldn't ever use a libre again, I started self funding my Dexcom but as I now use a Tandem Slim with Control IQ I am fortunate to get it funded.
- Messages
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Dexcom G6.
You only used the system for a very limited amount of time, less than 10 days ? as someone who has used this for 4yrs+ my experience and others is highly positive, it's reliable, accurate what more can you get from a CGM system..
You only used the system for a very limited amount of time, less than 10 days ? as someone who has used this for 4yrs+ my experience and others is highly positive, it's reliable, accurate what more can you get from a CGM system..
- Messages
- 9,269
- Location
- Worcestershire
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
- Dislikes
- Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
To be honest it's not a balanced view as it's not representative of the wider user group, it's your experience alone which I was trying to balance by saying from speaking with others who have a much more positive take on using this system, and is in fact a rare one off experience, fortunately you have the libre which is great, but it's more balanced to hear from regular Dexcom users on their views.
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I've been using the dexcom G6 for about 3 years , and generally find it very reliable, though I occasionally have issues with new sensors under-reading as they settle in, and though dexcom does allow calibration (very very useful) you can't do it for the first 24 hours. (I was a libre one user before that but had to stop using it due to an allergy to the sensors which also made them completely inaccurate for my body).
I know I read a thread by someone trialling the dexcom one and decided that I needed the features that they've cut from it. (In particular the follow app, which lets me send my dexcom data to my watch face).
The sensors do fail sometimes. Recently twice, with readings that never got higher than low, and I suspect something to do with my body and the placement of the sensor. I have switched from my stomach to my arms, because I think that maybe I was overusing my stomach (combo of a bit of hyperlipotrophy and a bit of weight loss). But given that I had to stop using the libre because of a reaction, I think maybe my body is just fussy with cgms?
This is not necessarily a problem for anyone else.
Dexcom customer support in New Zealand and Australia are a 24/7 helpline staffed by a team of dexcom users, not sure how it works in UK.
Note that the G6 only sends a signal out every 5 minutes, so if you've been away from your phone and want to pick up missed data you have to wait till the transmitter does its next signal, unlike the libre where I believe you can scan at any time. (Not sure about the G7).
I've been very happy with the dexcom.
I know I read a thread by someone trialling the dexcom one and decided that I needed the features that they've cut from it. (In particular the follow app, which lets me send my dexcom data to my watch face).
The sensors do fail sometimes. Recently twice, with readings that never got higher than low, and I suspect something to do with my body and the placement of the sensor. I have switched from my stomach to my arms, because I think that maybe I was overusing my stomach (combo of a bit of hyperlipotrophy and a bit of weight loss). But given that I had to stop using the libre because of a reaction, I think maybe my body is just fussy with cgms?
This is not necessarily a problem for anyone else.
Dexcom customer support in New Zealand and Australia are a 24/7 helpline staffed by a team of dexcom users, not sure how it works in UK.
Note that the G6 only sends a signal out every 5 minutes, so if you've been away from your phone and want to pick up missed data you have to wait till the transmitter does its next signal, unlike the libre where I believe you can scan at any time. (Not sure about the G7).
I've been very happy with the dexcom.
My husband uses the Dexcom one and we have found it to be quite glitchy, he did get support from the helpline which was an hour re setting a lot of his phone but it still loses signal regularly even though the sensor is situated on his stomach (as advised) and his phone is in his pocket. All this said it is still preferable to the finger pricking and hypos that were a regular occurrence.
