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Reliability of Dexcom G7 with Tandem T2

R

rabdcd

Member
Hi I am T1 supported with Tandem T2 and Dexcom G7. In general I have had only positive experiences with Dexcom/Tandem however since upgrading from the Dexcom G6 to the G7 I am not so happy. With the G7 I lose the connection with my pump quite often more so when I am asleep however Dexcom is generally always connected with my phone app so I believe this is a Tandem issue unfortunately Tandem insists it’s a Dexcom problem. More worrying though is the amount of Dexcom G7 sensors that fail usually during the warm up however the fist 24 hours the G7 is completely unreliable which causes havoc with my pump either thinking I am Low and stopping insulin delivery or on opposite pump believes I’m high and delivering a correction that I don’t need.
Does anyone else have these problems and if so did you find a way to reduce the connection issues and sensors failure
 

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Hi @rabdcd I have had some of these issues. I was already using the G7 when I started the tandem so I only had a few G6 weeks (they wanted to start me on basic IQ system which only worked with G6) so I don't know whether the G6 is better.

No real suggestions on the loss of connection, sometimes it helps to move the pump to a different pocket ? Mine seems to cope better when the sensor is on my stomach than when it is on my arms?

As for the failure on start ups, this has been an issue for me but has improved recently.
I now insert the new sensor up to 12 hours before the old one finishes, and then connect it to my phone once it's had a few hours to warm up. I then wait until the grace period is almost over to connect it to my pump, and that way it's usually giving decent readings by then, as it's had at least 12 hours on board. I can also compare the readings between pump and phone to see whether the new sensor is reading properly yet. (Sometimes I find they work very well from start up, others they need 24 hours.)

As regards the failures, I also sometimes find I have to have more than one attempt to get the sensor to link to my pump. I figure that if it's linked to my phone then it will connect to my pump eventually.
 
Hi EllieM I will definitely try starting my next G7 and let it run the 12 hours of the grace period I think that will help a lot with the initial erratic readings but given these are a crucial component of the control IQ I think they should be better calibrated from the moment they are inserted. I do wear the G7 on my abdomen mainly because it has a very short range so bad if my sensor is on the right side and the pump is in my left pocket I will lose signal which is weird because my phone can be on a table several meters away and rarely to I lose signal. But I guess it’s just a small annoyance given the work the system does overall. Thanks for the tip I will try it next week..
 

Couple of things - are you deleting old G7 bluetooth codes on your phone ? I clear old codes to ensure current is the only one on there, helps with connectivity issues.

Where are you positioning the G7 on your body exactly ?

I use the G7 and have done for around 5 months now, had some sensor issues but not a regular occurrence and still reliable IMO.
 
My understanding is that it's because of how your body reacts with the sensor and there is not much you can do about it because it depends on an individual's reaction. I have to use barrier cream to avoid an allergic reaction so am not surprised that I need a settling in period.
 
I have erratic readings with libre 1&2, g6 and g7. I know its me, apparently it is something to do with your body reacting to a foreign body appearing.
I do as Ellie does and insert a new g7 during the 12 hr grace period and connect that to my phone and leave tslim talking to the old sensor. I do this overnight as I reckon it helps the new sensor to sort itself out with meals to deal with.
I keep my pump on the same side of my body as the sensor, at night I sleep in a brilliant belt that stays firm around my middle.
Like others have said my phone works much better at maintaining contact, a Dexcom rep did explain that there are 2 different parts in the sensor with bluetooth, hence the sensor can stop working with pump/phone but continue with the other. They have replaced a sensor that did that to me once.
No pump or sensor is perfect ' yet ' but I find I can make the g7 work for me but yes it took time and was frustrating to start with.
 
Some interesting comments regarding loss of connection. I'm using the G7 with the Tandem. My pump rarely looses connection to the G7. My phone and watch loose connection maybe 2-3 times a week, sometimes a power reset on one or the other or both fixes it. I've had maybe two dodgy sensors since I moved nearly a year ago from G6. All in all I've been very happy with it.
 

How does this work with both sensors there for a time? I'm having terrible trouble with start ups and general failings and the thing I had to do was put the old sensor at least 20ft away
 
megan said:
How does this work with both sensors there for a time? I'm having terrible trouble with start ups and general failings and the thing I had to do was put the old sensor at least 20ft away
Click to expand...
I've had occasional issues with connecting the new sensor to the tandem, though it's connected to the phone so I know it works. It's a little scary but I've had to end the new sensor on the tandem because it says it can't find the new sensor, and then restart with the new sensor's code... (This was done under advice from dexcom and I admit I disconnected the pump and went far away from it before doing the sensor end, just to make sure it didn't end the new unconnected sensor.
 
I'm still using G6's, so it's probably just that I'm not using g7's yet, but am confused by your post @EllieM How could you end your sensor on the pump if you weren't near it?
 
Hopeful34 said:
I'm still using G6's, so it's probably just that I'm not using g7's yet, but am confused by your post @EllieM How could you end your sensor on the pump if you weren't near it?
Click to expand...
The issue is that the pump doesn't let you enter a code to pair with a new sensor until you end the current sensor, even though you are reentering the code because it hasn't actually managed to do the pairing. Am pretty sure ending the sesssion would have no effect on the new sensor but am too scared to risk it.
 
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