I've been using the Enlite along with the 640G since November 2015. I still get a few hypos but that's usually my fault. I sometimes get alerts of going low but continue doing what I'm doing "as it won't take very long", but it usually does and I then get an alert saying that the basal has been stopped. If I don't eat quick acting carbs at that point, I will go hypo.
The Enlites have their pros and cons but on the whole I would say that, used properly, they are failsafe. Occasionally I get a sensor that says my BG is higher than it actually is. I take account of this when checking the pump for my BG (before going dancing etc) and am very careful to check my BG more often (just in case ).
Taking your points one by one:Hi @tim2000s Thanks for posting your link, that's really useful. Theres a few points to consider, firstly reliability, so which sensor is more robust and less likely to fail, second it's accuracy, I'm not so fussed about smart guard as this would be more useful at night time and as my levels are stable through the night, I don't have a great fear of hypos then, it's getting alerts to my iPhone which would make this useful as I can then take action to correct or treat, so not sure if the enlite is just a glorified way of doing this as its considerably more expensive than the g6.
You have to be very careful not to move the sensor when removing overtape from the transmitter and disconnecting. The one time I wasn't so careful, the sensor wasn't accurate and didn't last another 6 days.So far so good. The sensors are not as accurate as blood sugar testing, but it's great to see the graph showing if your levels are stable, or going high/low. It's also fantastic to visually see how foods affect you. You get 1,2 or 3 arrows which dictate how fast your levels are rising and dropping.
I've been sneaky and disconnected the transmitter, recharged it and reconnected it as a "new" one as they're not cheap. However, both times I've done this I've got 2-3 days extra and "sensor error" messages. There doesn't seem to be any accuracy as to how long you can eek out of a sensor past the normal 6 days.... Risky.
Yeah - it pays to work out how to tape the sensor down solidly and independently of the transmitter.You have to be very careful not to move the sensor when removing overtape from the transmitter and disconnecting. The one time I wasn't so careful, the sensor wasn't accurate and didn't last another 6 days.
There doesn't seem to be any accuracy as to how long you can eek out of a sensor past the normal 6 days.... Risky.
That's what you see in the Enlites that are available on the 640G - I believe that's second generation glucose sensing tech. I'm not sure, but I think the Libre, Dexcom G6 and Enlite 3 on the 670G are a newer generation where there is no longer the hydrogen peroxide conversion and it's a direct electron transfer.An enzyme called glucose oxidase - the same that's in test strips, only a fraction of the amount. This converts glucose to hydrogen peroxide. This then reacts with a tiny amount of platinum in the sensors, which then calculates this into a glucose reading from the interstitial fluid.
So they are meant to last 6 days, but depending on your body chemistry some people can get 6 days more, some less (seems like I'm one of those who get less - but having said that I'd want accuracy over saving a few $$!)
(Found this link which explained the anatomy of a CGM sensor)
http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2014/05-may/anatomy-of-a-cgm-sensor.html