Just tried my first G7 placement on my upper glute. I’ve only used my triceps because I don’t have enough belly or thigh fat, but my arms have been getting really beaten up so this is a break for them. Aside from having to remember it’s there when getting my pants on and off, it’s a decent placement most of the time. Readings are fine. Gets in the way of exercise more than I’d like, though.
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I was originally told to put the sensor on my abdomen, so that’s what I did for 10 years. But then a bunch of folks suggested back of the arm. I tried that for a couple of sessions, but I found it was always catching on stuff like shirt sleeves, and one time I inserted it there it was quite painful. So i went back to abdomen.
I don’t have your problem of not enough fat. And I’m using the G6 still (waiting for the inevitable obsolescence). So I can’t really help you. But just wanted to say hi and share my placement experience.
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Here’s a new failure mode for the G7. When I took the cap off the applicator I thought the sensor looked a little odd. It appeared glossy, whereas normally the adhesive makes it look more tacky. But whatever, new sensor day, so I blammed it on my tricep. It fell off immediately. Because there was no adhesive on it. (It did make a nice hole in my arm, though–thanks for that.) Poor quality picture below.
I reported this, obviously, but I guess just another thing to check new sensors for. Seems like a pretty huge QC oversight and reduces my confidence in the new manufacturing even further.
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I am now on my second G7 sensor. I love the 1/2 hour warmup, and the direct - to - watch, but I have had several issues already.
The first sensor gave wildly varying readings for about the first 12 hours (I was trying to sleep, with low alarms followed by crazy highs when I checked with my meter), and the second one just went crazy low last night (I put it on yesterday). Again - I checked it against my meter, and it was showing 68 when the meter said 159, so I just turned off the PDA and put my Apple Watch in the other room so the constant alarms wouldn’t keep waking me.
I had not needed to calibrate my G6 for the last several years, and believe it or not, it had been so long I had to buy a cheapie meter at Walgreens because my all my test strips were expired and I couldn’t find new ones locally. Finally got them on CrAmazon.
I calibrated the first G7 sensor the second morning, and checked it several times after, and it was good. Same thing for the second one, and I just checked it again, and it was dead - on. Weird.
The other odd thing about the G7 is I keep losing the bluetooth connection to my watch. Like every couple days. As per Dexcom’s advice, I turn off bluetooth on my watch for a while, and turn it back on, and problem solved, at least until the next time.
I just today updated the software on my watch, and I hope it helps, or at least doesn’t make things worse.
I went so long with absolutely no issues on my G6 that I guess I got spoiled. Hopefully the G7 gets better with time like the G6 did. Fingers crossed.
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Oh yeah - one other thing that I didn’t expect. When I inserted my second G7 sensor, I hit a blood vessel (or whatever causes a gusher) as I had several times over the years with the G6, but instead of blood leaking around the transmitter like it did on G6, it POURED out of the little hole in the G7 sensor. Hmmm. So that’s what that hole is for. I mean to tell you - the stream of blood from that thing was unbelievable, and made a huge mess dripping off my elbow.
I haven’t read any reports of this yet, so beware!
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Yeah, the inserter for the G7 is aggressive and impossible to finess the way the G6 could be. I mentioned somewhere in one of these threads that I had a 20-minute bleeder like that as well. Made a mess of my arm and the sink. It’s a great annoyance.
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A little background info for those who had never used it. (Not really relevant or related to the topic of this thread, but just for fun comparisons.)
The G5 inserter was totally old-school. It had a manual insertion, and looked like some medieval torture device!
It was much more uncomfortable than the G6 or G7.
But on the plus side, it was packaged much smaller, and a lot easier to pack for travel.
When the G6 first came out, there was a lot of discussion of how big it was. And when I saw it, this is what I posted on FUD:
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Hah. As usual, torn between marveling at how much better they are, and also how much they still (can) suck.
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That was so hard to use (G4 and G5!). And you had to be fast enough to get it in right - so, no nervous hesitation allowed!
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I think I started using Dexcom with the G5, and I really liked the simpler packaging of the G5. I felt like @Eric when the G6 came out - too big and clunky.
Much of my professional work was in product development and some of it in medical devices. So I have been interested in the kinds of choices Dexcom (and Tandem) make in their new products. The transition from the G5 to the G6 was all about broadening the market and making the product easier to use. In that way I think the G6 was a big success. I haven’t made the switch to the G7 yet, so don’t have personal experience. But technically I’m sure there are a number of big advances.
I think Dexcom has a non prescription CGM which also makes a lot of sense.
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Yup - it’s called the Stelo.
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Yes, the Medicare-labeled sensors are likely the older revision models. Is there a consensus as to whether those of us having lots of issues are receiving “government payors” sensors? Are they all/mostly lower-number revisions? My most recent ones are Rev 6.
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@BethsGallery I get my G7s from a military pharmacy in Fairfax, VA. There are no markings on the boxes indicating a “government” payor or Medicare (I’m Medicare and Tricare for Life (retired military). My most recent fill (90 day supply) have all been Rev 10. I try to fill all my pharmacy stuff at one time to reduce the trips down there (EPI Creon bottles x9, other script meds, G7s, and Omnipod Dashes), Yes, I’m one of the guys with a large shopping bag! I keep waiting for one of the techs to say, “Paper or plastic today?” 
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Forklift, Mr Tom?
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Yeah. I don’t do that; I just eat it. Since my insurance refills at 75 days on a “3 month” (more correctly 90 day) supply I do, in fact, get ahead. So my failure rate is less than 83% which, I have to admit, is in line with the advertised 95% failure rate (from the G6, I don’t have the docs for the G7 but I guess it is the same).
Kinda interesting that Dexcom dropped documenting their failure rate with the G7.
The two in the row was ■■■■■■■ annoying - no denying that. I did actually ring the Dexcom customer servile about that and she was very helpful. At least they still have customer service; try that on any other piece of electronics! (Well, Insulet is ok too.) Be nice to them, or at least try.
I like the integration. Yes, of course, combining the sensor with the transmitter obviously means the errors increase. Most people, however, don’t understand how much they increase; it isn’t additive!
The good thing is that combining the two decreases the cost massively. In most of the world that means cheaper, more available, CGMs; ones that healthcare systems will pay for. This is good.
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