Dexcom G6 Calibrate requirement

Type 1 & LADA
1

T1 LADA
Tandem t:slim X2 with Dexcom G6 for about 1 1/2 years.

I recently started receiving a “Calibrate Required” on my pump, the Dexcom app, and the t:connect app. They come in about once a day.

When I changed the sensor I was required to calibrate 2 times. I normally don’t calibrate this often.

Is there a way to stop this?

Thanks,
Charlie

2

Do you recall entering the sensor code when doing the start sensor?
If no code entered at start, will always be prompted.

1 Like
3

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I always inter the sensor code on both the G6 app and the pump.

When this calibrate requirement is pending the pump is pretty much unusable (can’t start a bolus) until the calibration is completed.

4

Interesting, I have never had that happen on my Tandem pump. Pump seems to be acting as if no code (or thinks it is invalid code?) was entered.

Call Tandem support and they may send a new sensor??

Or try stopping sensor, and try to restart it, if you are familiar with that process.

1 Like
5

I have had that happen when i entered the code in multiple places.
On the pump, when it asks for code, it says to “skip” this if you already put it in the app.

If you do that, just enter in the Dexcom app, they all end up syncing with the app.

It’s very annoying to have to enter it, although i have just entered the latest reading instead of doing a finger stick. :upside_down_face: .

6

Thanks.
I tried your procedure last night. So far it seems to be working.
I had been entering the code on both the pump and the app for some time but only recently started to have this issue to recalibrate every 24 hours.
Thanks again,
Charlie

1 Like
7

Resurrecting this old thread because I wanted to check with folks on their perspective on doing what @JGJpal describes above.

I am getting frequent calibration requests from my newest sensor and I just enter whatever the last reading was on the cgm because:

  1. I’m lazy and don’t want to do a finger stick.
  2. I believe that Dexcom is not so accurate anyway - so calibration won’t make too much of a difference in my readings - or the actions that I take in response to them.
  3. I’m lazy and don’t want to do a finger stick.

Am I making a terrible mistake that I will regret? Please advise …

8

Well, if you’ve never done a finger stick with this particular sensor then yes, I think you’re making a terrible mistake. Some sensors are worse than others especially in the first 24 hours and if you’re just reinforcing those incorrect readings with incorrect calibrations it sure sounds like a recipe for creating a big gap between the sensor and reality.

If you checked via finger stick once or twice early on and everything seemed okay then I personally endorse your laziness.

1 Like
9

Thanks @ttnyc - you’re correct – I did do an initial fingerstick when I was putting it in. But for some reason it has kept asking me to calibrate.

I suppose one way to test this would be to find someone who has had a similar issue and has done the fingerstick calibrations, and the fingerstick readings have matched the readings on the sensor (or, alternatively, that they did not match). Has anyone had this experience and can let us know?

1 Like