This morning I got a little worried about my 9 day old Dexcom G7 sensor. So I inserted a new sensor but did not start it, intending to presoak for a half day or more. Eventually in the late afternoon the 9 1/2 day old sensor gave up…3+ hours of “ Brief Sensor Issue” no readings. So I went ahead and started the presoaking sensor and here is what Dexcom says: “Sensor start 8:19 AM” !!? The app says I started it when it was inserted, about 8 hours before I actually started the sensor.
It wasn’t my intention to shorten the new sensors life by 8 hours but apparently I did…has this been the usual thing when attempting to presoak G7 sensors?
That’s normal. The timer in the G7 sensor gives 10 days + 12 hours starting when the sensor leaves the inserter—that’s what turns it on. So this sensor will last you 10 days + 4 hours from the time you told the app to start it.
Well it was news to me! Not sure how I managed to avoid learning about that tricky habit of the G7 but oh well I guess I can live with it. Now I feel even less guilty about reporting a Day 9 sensor death and getting a replacement.
The G7 seems to be kind of a dud as far as quality and reliability and compared to G5 and G6, but Dexcom keeps selling millions of them. I’m not sure what to make of the situation. Makes me feel like a pawn to keep using it but on the other hand I have not found a better alternative. One of D-life’s little pleasures!
