i was under the impression that the dex/sensor/receiver was continuously sending the BG readings, just slightly behind the actual BG. for example, if my BG is 100 at 5pm, then the dex will show me that data at 5:05pm. or something like that.
also, a lot of the problems i had with the dex was that i was frequently getting the ??? icons, so i had a lot of missing information. i found it very frustrating. i dont know if that had to do with being too skinny and not having a sweet spot site or not. it certainly wasnt wearable in my tummy area.
i used it a lot on my upper thigh/tushy areas as well as my sides of my waist, where love handles would be.
Do you think your doctor could get you a sample Freestyle Libre sensor and reader instead ?
If you once owned a dexcom transmitter, you could sign up for the offer for free trial if it is still available. You need a dexcom transmitter ID to enter to sign up.
Each time you get out of the pool, you would scan the Sensor with the Libre Reader, and see the graph/trend line, and current BG value.
the problem i had was that the Sensor Libre was NOT waterproof and on my 2nd trial run, it fell right off in the pool on day 5. if it were waterproof, i would go for it completely.
I heard otherwise, but I donāt have any hard facts, so its possible I got it wrong. Hereās hoping one of the experts on xdrip will tell us what they know about this.
Refer to what @Thomas mentioned about backfill. Transmitter will send every 5 minutes, but some readings may not be received real time due to being under water or too far.
@Thomas
In terms of the 3 hr data backfill. This would of course be quite useful while swimming if the G5 Transmitter is unable to send data in real-time to the Dexcom Receiver.
However, the 3 hr data backfill does NOT work with the original Dexcom Receiver. It does however function with the new Dexcom touchscreen Receiver as well as with the Dexcom G5 Mobile App running on a Smartphone.
I think this agrees with what I was thinking: the transmitter doesnāt send continuously, it wakes up the radio once every 5 minutes to send the BG report to the receiver/phone. But Iām still looking for a correction if I got this wrong.
this has been my understanding about how the receiver collects its info; there is a drag time between the actual BG and then the one that appears on the receiver. you could tell this by doing finger sticks, i believe.
Yes, there is a lag time between the actual BG and the one that appears on the receiver. So the number showing as my blood sugar at 4:00 PM is closer to my actual blood sugar level at 3:50.
In addition, the transmitter is not constantly transmitting to the phone/receiver. I assume it transmits every 5 minutes, but Iām not sure on that exact number.
If I step out of range of my phone, then it doesnāt always immediately update and backfill as soon as Iām back in range. It may take a few minutes before I get a transmission again (rarely does it occur immediately and probably then it only does because it was time for a transmission anyway). Once it does transmit again, Iāll get a backfill of every transmission that wouldāve been sent if Iād been in range.
during this time do you get the ā¦ between BG #s (like info is missing) ?
If I only miss one transmission, then itāll just show the older value until the new transmission goes through. Iām not sure at which point the signal loss error comes up. Ill try to keep an eye out for the next time this happens
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i am just curious how many people get this on their receiver and how often. when i was using the dex, i got this frequently and found it terribly frustrating.
That does sound frustrating!
I donāt usually have those problems unless Iām truly out of range (eg. left my phone in my office when I went to a meeting). Occasionally I might have this problem with a particular sensor. Iām not sure why though! I also tend to get less accurate readings with those sensors. It donāt happen very often, so I donāt consider it a major problem or drawback.
Hopefully your experience is better this time. They may have improved the technology.
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Are you referring to ??? On receiver ?
I hardly ever get this, and am using G4 with receiver. ??? Means the Sensor is getting/sending confusing readings to receiver. I may get this just before itās time to change the Sensor, after 14 days or more, or after a shower.
The other situation is when the icon in top right shows a circle with antenna symbol (G4). Not sure if G5 does the same. If you are in the pool, far from receiver, or sensor is under water which may weaken the signal, or your body is blocking it, then the receiver is expecting a reading but canāt get a good signal from transmitter. For a G4, that 5 minute reading is lost when receiver misses the signal, and tries again in 5 minutes to send the next value. The G4 ends up with a blank spot and displays the antenna symbol, and no BG reading.
For G5, I think the G5 transmitter is able to store more data, and send more data when the next 5 minute send is done. Per Thomasās note, this could be up to 3 hours worth (backfill). So 10-15 minutes later, you may get full readings passed to the receiver, but may show the antenna for a short while when waiting for the next 5 minute send of data (with backfill).
Unfortunately, your goal is to see most recent number on the receiver when you get out of the pool. You may need to wait up to 5 minutes for that if previous transmissions were not yet received, with G5.
On my G4, the new BG shows up exactly on the 5s. 1:05, 1:10, etc. You can check if your receiver is the same, and if possible plan your checks at that interval. If you get out to check at 1:04, you might see update within 1 minute, if itās the same as mine.
Check this link for image.
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