Question for experienced Dexcom G6 users: Have you tried any aging or expired G6 sensors and if so, did you notice any difference in sensor accuracy or longevity?
Only reason I ask is because I had a great long run of using expired G5 sensors and I thought they were great. Now I’ve been on G6 for a while and starting to squirrel away a few sensors (for example in my travel bag) which will potentially expire before I get around to using them. Curious if we should worry about expiration dates on our G6 sensors or not?
No but that is because we haven’t extended the sensors like we did the G5, so we use them as they get sent. For us G6 sensors don’t work reliably enough at expiration to justify extending them. So, no experience.
I’ve been stuck in a mini rut lately on extending G6 sensors but only gaining a few extra wear days…I average 13 days per sensor. Might take a while to build up a “peace of mind” stockpile. Slow and steady.
That will certainly take quite some time. We have also reached the place that my son who will be 18 next month has taken over almost total control, which is expected, but I did enjoy the lab rat phase where I could talk him into almost anything. Now, he has interests that don’t fall into the diabetes research area and just wants to live his life without his hovering parents. So I get to live vicariously through all of you!
If it isn’t clear from my ramblings, he decided that extending the G6 for very little payoff wasn’t worth it to him.
Especially when used with Tandem pump and C-IQ, I still restart, but end it as soon as it drops out a couple times. But also have a backup supply to replace quickly, since Dexcom is getting slower at replacements.
That’s been my experience with the G6 too! I only gain a few days, and they haven’t been as accurate as the new sensor. It’s also been my experience that even within the original 10 days, I’ve gotten a lot of inaccurate readings starting around day 8 on a few sensors, at least 3. Has this happened to anyone?
I had been getting 9-10 good days out of a G6 sensor (bad first and last 12 hours) but the most recent two have started showing significant jitter on day 8 and were borderline unusable at the end of day 9. I pulled one and lived with the other. I still have a significant cushion of supplies that I built up by extending the G5s, so I can do this a few more times without undue concern. But I don’t like it, and I think it may reflect poorly on their manufacturing quality controls.
At the most recent quarterly investor conference call, they said that they wanted the forthcoming G7 to be approved for 14 days, but were having trouble with that length of wear in a significant minority of the trial users. So they will apply to the FDA for a 10-day wear indication, and shortly thereafter when they get it working better, apply to extend the indication to 14 days. But we won’t see the G7 for another year+ anyway.
I have been using expired sensors lately. I had built up a decent stockpile and I am working through some older ones now.
I normally get 2-3 weeks per sensor. I almost always replace mine on Sunday, so it is weekly increments for me.
That being said, I haven’t seen any real difference.
I noticed some differences in how well some of them over time would adhere. I normally use skintac when applying a new sensor, and touch up with it as needed to make it to whichever Sunday I need to get to. I don’t drag them out too long after I have to apply it more than once.
Accuracy hasn’t changed that I can see.
I soak mine. I put in Saturday night, and start it up Sunday morning. Pretty consistent about this process, so I would notice something being off.
I’ve actually been impressed by the G6 accuracy after the first half day or so. I usually calibrate 2-3 times in first 24 hours of a new sensor and leave it alone until time to restart.
I’ve been stockpiling too, saving up for 2022 when I will land on Medicare.
I work in the operating room at a hospital and the expiration dates are a mandated thing. For instance needles have an expiry date, alcohol swabs have expiry dates the tegaderms expire etc. USUALLY it is related to how long the manufacturer can guarantee sterility out in the world. I don’t BELIEVE that the sensors themselves wear out in the packaging. I always try and draw my insulin or open tubing/syringes from the earliest expiration date.
Welcome @WntrMute2, the sensors will degrade in the packaging, but if you store them within their temp range expired ones should still work for some time. The reason for this is that the active ingredient in the sensors is an enzyme called glucose oxidase which does degrade over time, but degrades much faster once hydrated and kept at body temperature.
I do agree with you however, that many of the expiration dates in the hospital setting are in regards to their sterilization. If you have already checked out our insulin experiments, Novalog and Humalog work well past their expiration dates even with non-refrigerator storage.
Welcome @WntrMute2, You are indeed fortunate if you can squirrel away enough Dexcom sensors to let them go out of date!
I am looking for G6 sensors manufactured prior to December of 2019. I was not allergic to the adhesive on those, before Dexcom changed to a new adhesive to make them stick better. I am allergic to something in the new adhesive and even barrier films don’t entirely prevent the reaction. If anybody has older ones they want to get rid of before they expire, please send me a message. I would prefer that they not be expired, of course.
I am pretty sure that the G5 sensors do wear out. Their enzymes must age: our expired G5 sensors (we have many) are clearly not as good as non-expired sensors. I figure the same is likely try of G6 sensors: the question, though, is how quickly they age
I am still using G5. I used to be able to get 21-30+ days on a single sensor. Because of that, I now have an abundance of sensors, but I’m on my last transmitter. There were several ordering cycles I shouldn’t have ordered sensors, just the transmitter, but foolishly approved the refill for both.
I haven’t looked at expiration dates, I just use the next box in line. I have noticed though, I haven’t been getting the same duration I used too. I’ll get 14 days, if I’m lucky.
I had good luck using multiple "aged " G5 sensors that were 12 to 18 months past their expiration date. Actually never had a problem with any of them.
I tried to coax the G5 sensors to live to ripe old age by storing them in a dark cupboard out of the sun, room temp. If I remember correctly the label noted 36-77 degrees as an acceptable temperature range. Just checked a G6 box…the label says 36-86 degrees for the G6.
@Tapestry, you can buy more online, used but with a new battery, for less than $100. Do note that the clock on the transmitter battery starts when they ship it to you.
We bought several that have worked great for us. That is why we kept all of our old transmitters
I actually watched several videos on how to change the batteries. I bought the batteries and epoxy then, to replace my own. We already have the Dremel, but aren’t terribly experienced with it.
I started building my stock of G6 in July, but haven’t begun using it yet. I’ll get another transmitter this month, so I will have three transmitters available, and more sensors. This will be the last order I fill before I start to use the G6. As I’m finding out now with my G5, too much isn’t doing me a lot of good, especially in light of the fact I’m hearing skuttlebutt that Dexcom is nearing release of their next version!
I think I am ready to take the leap to G6 though. Time will tell
