Am I the only one who has noticed a tremendous change in the dexcom g5 sensor lifespan? They used to last me 3-4 weeks… basically until I couldn’t keep taping them on any more they kept working… my last couple shipments have consistently glitched out shortly after their first restart… haven’t had one work well for more than 10 days in quite a while… very different than it used to be.
At the same time they’ve worked far better during their shorter life span than they ever did before for me. ???
We have not been able to keep them going for long since April-May 2019. We top off at 7-8 days. We often lose them at 5-6 days 
But for us, this may be due to body changes. Although we know for sure it is not dehydration.
I feel like the G5s neither last as long nor track as well (e.g., post-prandial spikes). Glad it’s not just me, I guess?? 
I have been using some very old G5’s that @daisymae sent me.
They are expired and they work great! They have been some of the most accurate ones I have ever used.
But I have never worn any sensor for more than maybe 10 days or so. Can’t really answer anything about them lasting longer than that.
Like @Michel, at some point they appear to have changed the manufacturing process in the April-May 2019 timeframe, and we couldn’t restart successfully anymore, that was what prodded us to start using the G6 and we haven’t looked back.
@Sam I think this is a conscious effort by Dexcom, most likely as a precursor to integrating the system into a closed loop.
It was nice while it lasted. I used to get 15-17 days from a G5. Now it craps out at day 10. Next week I’m back on G6 as my G5 stock has been completely depleted, and Dexcom will only ship me the G6.
That’s what I thought too. But I thought it may have been more to sell more sensors? Maybe I am too cynical.
Great to see you again @MaryPat, I would be the first person to be cynical, but when I was working for a large device manufacturer the FDA made us adhere to a development standard for the amount of steroid in an implantable product that was insanely difficult to meet. So much so, that when our development lagged we had to buy the part from a competitor at a very high price until our manufacturing could figure it out. So it could just as easily be a standard they are trying or being forced to hit in the manufacturing that could be causing this.
Hi @MaryPat I’m much happier that you’re back than Michel!
Although I think that Dexcom is more shareholder driven now than in the old days, I don’t think that they would be that evil.
I too get about 50% lifespan with the newer G5 sensors. I have been lurking on CL buying up old sensors that I can use with abandon.
You are not the only one, same story here. I’m curious, what is your taping method? Do you tape right from the beginning or wait for a few days? Do you add tape on top of the old tape a few days later? Where do you put the tape, over the top of the G5 or just over the patch part?
Thanks
I’ve gone to putting down tegaderm and then the sensor on top of it. I punch right through it. This has made a tremendous difference in how well it stays on, I really don’t have to tape much at all anymore… was a constant battle before
Thanks. I have some sticky stuff called Mastisol that I spread on first and my sensors stay stuck on forever with that stuff. I think adding tape after day 7 or 8 prolongs the sensor but I’m not totally sure since I never get consistent results.
I tried mastisol years ago… that was a smelly dirty mess
I use a modified version of what Sam shared with an additional layer of Tegaderm on top of the sensor (with a hole cut out so it doesn’t cover the transmitter).
Here is a previous thread/ wiki with details and a pic of how it looks -
Avoiding Sensor Adhesive Irritation
We use SkinTac instead of Mastitol. It works reasonably well for us, although we still can’t get good lifespan for the sensors. They don’t fall off though.
Skin tac for me only made a small difference. I’m convinced it all boils down to how oily a persons skin is and how fast that breaks down the adhesive. Around the same time I went to tegaderm underneath I bought a hot rub and have been soaking in it almost every day, so even though I’ve been probably putting a higher tax on my dexcom sensor adhesive it’s been holding up far better… the only difference I can think of is that my body isn’t leaching perspiration and skin oils directly into it