Dexcom g7 newness frustration

Good morning!
My name is Sheryl and I have a question for you!

Just had a bizarre compression low. Blood sugar read 8.7 initially and I bolus .0.8; as the insulin from my Omnipod starts delivery, my blood sugar drops to 3.3! I could only think it was a compression low.

So what are these products you sell to prevent compression lows? I am very interested if they’re available to the public. If you can, please share that info!

Thank you,
Sheryl

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Good morning Tom,
Did you start the G7 yet? I have one on order and was starting to worry. Am in Canada so things go through another testing process here before they are approved by Health Canada.

Any insight now?

Thanks,
Sheryl

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@Shecamp No, I haven’t made the switch to G7 as yet. My Endo wanted to wait and the G6 was working fine. Plan to discuss again at appt next week. I’ve been put off a bit by the reports by many of G7 being a bit “jumpy” and loosing BT connection to devices, though many others report it’s great. I’d really like to reduce the size, reduce the warm-up period, and get the grace period the G7 provides, but not at the expense of being a on the “wonky” side. I may try and revert to the G6 if it doesn’t work out. I’d be glad to hear how it works out for you.

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Yes - I have 3 G6 sensors left so am not sure if I’ll wait or go ahead.
The shorter warmup period would be great but if the results aren’t accurate as of yet, it may be wiser to wait.
It does take quite a long time for them to tweak new products too - especially for T1D items.

But I will let you know once I do Tom.

I’m the same too @Eric - and I’m only back as a Dexcom Warrior after not being able to afford the system since G4/G5 phased out. I just started on the G6 - and night and day over the other systems I’ve been using. Interesting about the placement @Mariethm - so far - with the G6 - on my arm lately - I’m not experiencing any lows.

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@FatCatAnna The compression lows are only if I lean on it, roll over in my sleep, etc. Noticeably worse than with G6. G7 is a lot more sensitive, in good and annoying ways. I haven’t tried many other placements, mostly front upper arm (can’t do back of arm if hubby isn’t around, as the overpatch can be tricky, and you only get the one that comes with the sensor)

Speaking of which, after a bunch of messed up G7 overpatches (user error, I must admit, I suck at putting bandaids on single-handedly as well), I called Dexcom, and they don’t have any way to replace the overpatch. I even said I’d pay for a box! Nope, you have to report it, and they send a new sensor with overpatch…

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Wow on the replacement for the overpatch! I’ve only been on the G6 for less than a month now - so still a “Virgin” - ba ha ha! And yeah, on the arm placement, and putting the overpatch on - I’m all thumbs - a useless twit. So if there’s a stud muffin around - you know who I’ll call. They’re becoming more used to helping me out, since for a time, they were complaining after almost 35 years of ball and chain - that my T1D got in the way of their life … bite me (is there a thread conversation here for folks with partners who complain about us holding them up LOL). Main thing, back to G6 - compared to the Guardian 3 - ugh - this is night and day for placement. My first G6 was on tummy due to no extra hands to help arm placement - but current one is on - and so far - being a side sleeper - no compression lows. Next week I’m in BC for a visit with a T1D as they undergo some kidney crap, so when I have to place next sensor on - it’ll be a nice treat to have someone who knows what they’re doing - and they’re an RN to boot as well. They were saying that once the G7 is approved to be used with the Tandem t-slim - they’re hoping their province covers the G7 - as currently - most of the provinces here in Canada - only cover G6. Very few provinces have CGM coverage - so I’m one of many advocates trying to make it the “real thing” (without any added sugar - Coke, Coke … incase you’re to young to remember ads like this) - where CGM’s are available to all. Where I am, had to basically almost go unconscious to prove that I’m hypounaware - which is the stipulation for getting coverage thru’ the province I live in. Stupid, stupid, stupid - I’m also hyperunaware - but having a CGM really does keep us in the good BG zone - depending on how our settings are for alarms. Wish I’d had this back in the 70’s as a teen … as I hung out at the Pop Shoppe guzzling yummy drinks! NOT

Oh and those patches are the cats meow (I’m FatCatAnna in the DOC) - I can’t afford those fancy ones that people buy to use. These so far are keeping the CGM on good and tight. Will see how they hold up in a salt water spa next week that my friend is treating us too! Beep, beep, beep!!

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In the 3rd quarter conference call, an analyst named Jeff Johnson asked about the rumors he’s hearing of a new version of the G7. The CEO reply included this: “And so we actually recently made an update to the Bluetooth capability on the product, both increasing the frequency that it can reconnect to a device, as well as the performance of the Bluetooth radio itself.”

So it sounds like they were aware of the issue and fixed it in the hardware.

And as for the warm up time on the G7, it hasn’t just been reduced, it’s been completely removed for all practical purposes. You can put in the new sensor to pre-soak while the previous sensor is in its last hours, and the new sensor immediately starts its warm up period while you’re still using the old sensor. When you’re ready, start the new sensor. The Dexcom app on the phone will show the line of data for the old sensor, plus the line of data for the new sensor starting 1/2 hour after the new sensor was inserted. There is no half-hour gap or 2-hour gap as long as the new sensor was in at least a half hour before you stop the old sensor and start the new one.

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Thanks @bkh for the notes on the earnings call, gives me more reason to discuss with Endo next week. I was aware of “soaking” a new G7 (may have been one of your or another FUD user’s previous posts) that you wrote of…just too lazy to spell out as well as you did (thanks for spelling it out so newer folks or those that missed previous discussion may take note).

For any new folks: This is what makes FUD a great forum, the number of people willing to share their experiences and knowledge from practical experience. You still get to be the judge and YDMV, but the info is available here!!

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I can send you a bunch of overpatches. Just send me a PM!

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@CatLady How’d you score extra g7 overpatches???

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Oops! I didn’t pay attention to the topic title. I have a lot of G6 patches. :person_facepalming::person_facepalming:

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After discussion with Endo today, I decided to hold off on G7 for another couple of months and see how the changes made for Tandem pumps might improve reported connectivity/accuracy issues. He indicated some patients with good and other with less good G7 results, more issues with accuracy than connectivity. He understood Dexcom was pushing for conversion of existing G6 customers to G7 thru mid-late ‘24, and establishing any new customers with the G7. He wasn’t aware of the 3Q earnings call statements we’ve discussed her (thanks again to @bkh), he appreciate the info. His recommendation was that other than convenience of warm-up time, if G6 was working with other items (CGM and Loop) to stick with it for a while longer, but he’d work with me either way. We also talked about Omnipod 5 and I commented I don’t like black box approaches unless they’re VERY effective and so far the 5’s didn’t hit the mark. While sometimes the answer is “if ain’t broke, break it”, I agree with his rationale and will give G7 a little more development/implementation time to see if the changes fix the issues some people have reported. That said, I place a premium on the personal experiences of those here on FUD, so feel free to comment.

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The social web is not an effective or a valid way to measure product performance. Just like the online thrashing of th g6, the good experiences aren’t heard on the web. The is a lot on great stuff being said about the g7 when talking directly to users. I’ll go with their word over social media.

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Yeah I just recently talked with my endo too. Personally, I liked the G5 over the g6, but he’s excited about the g7. I’m not going to be an early adopter either.

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I actually started on the G7 this morning and it seems to be working perfectly well so far. Only been about 6 hrs so far but have no complaints at this point. Was very easy to put on and the warmup was only 30 minutes which is great. Am in Canada so I wonder if we get anything that’s more updated or less updated. So far so good, will update you briefly as time goes on. :slightly_smiling_face:

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And it continues to do great! I am surprised as I heard so many bad stories. But the G7 has had no hiccups or anything of the sort. The fact that my glucose has been completely wacky is besides the point as it has nothing to do with the Dexcom.

Am very impressed with the G7 and that’s saying a lot since I am so very brittle. Wish more doctor’s recognized T1D brittleness as an actual issue cause it’s so difficult to manage. But I am a big fan of the G7 even though it’s only been 24 hrs for me.

I so hope everyone has the same kind of experience. Truly wish all of you the very best on the G7 - the 30-minute warmup is like a dream come true!!!

Sheryl

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Use an Omnipod Dash in addition to Dexcom G7 - so my history of insulin is in my Omnipod.
Very odd that they don’t show previous dosages - think you can see those on the History tab.
It’s there were it lists the insulin dosages taken.
Personally finding it quite good but it’s only been 1.5 days for me at this point. Look forward to seeing how it does moving forward. :slightly_smiling_face:

S.

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I am still looking for info on the adhesive in the G7. My allergy to the G6 adhesive and requirement for a barrier patch is the only reason I don’t want to switch. Dexcom is opaque on adhesive issues.

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just my 2 cents, but a great thing about the G6 was how easy it was to put the overlay patch on. Although i prefer being on the G7 is that i couldnt put that overlay patch on even if i were a contortionist. I need my husband to put it on for me. I dont know if anyone else is having this problem. Just say’in.

All in all i really prefer the G7 and am truly happy i made the switch. I rarely have accuracy problems, and when i do the callibrations arent that challenging. I do, on occasion, get those signals that my calibration wasnt used. I cant for the life of me figure this one out.

Also, on the subject of frustrations with the G7, sometimes i only get 3 days of absolutely perfect readings and then the sensor fails and the alert comes on that basically reads " sensor failure, change sensor." then i have to call up dexcom and have them replace the sensor and start all over again with a new one.

Also, my first 24 hours after i put on a new sensor the readings are totally inaccurate, but within 24 hours, they become spot on.

My sensor failed right in the middle of Christmas dinner. Great timing. That sucked. And one last thing: i had a transmitter failure and a charger failure. It took 10 days for Dexcom to sort it all out and about 2 weeks without a working sensor. I had to wait for them to replace them. But, i have to admit, there was something freeing without having the sensor around, even though, for the most part, it was a real inconveinience.

But if anyone were to ask me “Are you happy you made the switch to the G7, I would undoubtably say YES!!!”

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