as eric mentioned, i gave it 2 rounds (14 days 24/7 monitoring ). the first week was great. i was told i could swim with it. i was told it would stay on, that it was completely waterproof, etc. well, the first week was a charm. my endo was able to tweek some of my pump basals, which i thought was fantastic (i dont use a dex anymore; another story). then i thought, maybe i should wear it for another 2 weeks to see how my new basal rates worked. so i paid out of pocket $350, expensive but what i thought was a worthwhile investment. i was very exceited.
well, as you know i swim between 4 and 5 days a week. didnt think i would have any problem whatsoever, but on the 5th day it pealed right off. luckily i caught it before it hit the floor. i put it in a sandwich bag and called my endo. he said that there would be enough info from the 5 days, and to come into his office so we could download it. that seemed okay, but S, i paid $350 for this piece of futuristic equiptment and i wanted my money’s worth.
so, i called Abbott customer service and reported the problem. i wanted a replacement, which seemed like a reasonable request (Medtronic and Dexcom both replace problematic devices, so why shouldnt Abbott, right? )
well, they were as rude and offensive as can be. then they told me that it was NOT waterproof and should not be expected to stay on in a swimming pool, nor a bathtub. just a quick shower. WTF. why was i told differently? no appologies, just excuses. i would still love to try it again, but i would not use a company whose customer service is so inappropriate and did not stand by their product.
hope this helps your decision making process easier.
One of the problems with New York City folks is that they don’t always tell you exactly how they feel. They kind of mince their words and soften them up…
My Dexcom G4 platinum loses accuracy during week 2. I can restart it and often do if traveling and don’t have a fresh one, but by day 11-14 it is pretty swingy and no longer matches the finger stick (Freestyle Flash) very closely.
Yes, it’s a bummer. It’s only covered for some special groups of patients, like pregnant women.
CGMs cost about €3000-5000 per year, whereas the FSL costs about €1700 per year.
You know, I kind of think T1s who manage their BG without a CGM are basically superheroes. I cannot see how on Earth it would be possible for us to get our son into any semblance of blood sugar control without it. Any tie his CGM is off for warmup or if the sensor is dying, he’s either high or low… I’m sure we’d get better eventually but I have nothing but respect for people who are able to do so without CGM because it really seems incredibly challenging.
I don’t know; y’all have more challenges than adults with diabetes. Just thinking of the two and what it takes to stay on top of things, it’s no surprise a CGM seems more needed for a child. I think parents of CWD are the real superheroes.
She used the Libre Pro, which is a self-contained sensor with a memory, for use by a doctor. The regular Libre allows you to scan, so that you can actually read your own BG level. The Pro does not allow you to do that.
The Pro is designed to be used by a doctor so that the doctor can see your BG over 2 weeks.
Not covered in many parts of Canada, either, and nor do they fall under my province’s Assistive Devices Program, which does cover much of the cost of pumps and pump supplies. And the third-party insurance through my spouse’s work won’t cover them. I am assuming they do qualify as a medical expense for the purposes of income tax deductions. It will be interesting to see whether governments and private insurance are more willing to cover the Libre. Not that that would make me switch.
If the Libre is $70 and dies on purpose after 10 days and the Dexcom is $80 and I can get 3 weeks out of it and it will alarm me in the night with no gluing on extra stuff then why would I do this? Net cost of Dexcom is less and the alarms are great.
If you are basing your decision just on cost, that it is a no brainer. Stay with the Dex, until they make you switch to the G6 that also dies after 10 days…
Unless there is a workaround found.
Also if cost is your primary motivator, then you can use XDrip+ to reduce your costs on the transmitters even more.
How does the XDrip lower the cost of the transmitters? I currently use my phone with the Dexcom app. When I come to the end of a sensor, I end the session and start a new session with the same sensor and off to the races.
I am down for any savings, kid in college is killing me!
you can use the transmitters beyond the 3-month life with XDrip+ (not just the sensors). Some on this forum have gotten nearly double the transmitter life that way. Now, Dexcom may send new transmitters at the regular frequency and the battery does die down some in the box, but you’ll still get longer life that way.
