That is a really interesting finding, and not one I have heard before. I will have to noodle this for a bit. I wonder if average glucose has an effect. I may have to look through our Clarity history to see if that had an effect.
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Iāve also been using Hypafix and just put on Flexifix for the first time. Itās SO much better. Iāll still use Hypafix for my infusion sets (the adhesive on the sets does not stick to my skin well, so theyāre prone to just falling out without extra tape), but Iāll definitely be sticking with Flexifix from now on for my Dexcom sensors.
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I would disagree. Maybe with some people - I just canāt see it for us.
If the sticky on the sensor starts getting lose, we use the 4" Opsite Flexifix.
But how long the sensor lasts also does not appear to be related as to when (or if) we use the Opsite Flexifix.
The only downside to the Flexifix is getting the stuff off. It is just not worth it if we think we only have a day or two left. Just yank the sensor (easily) and be done with it. Even with Unisolve the stuff (Flexifix) is a bear to get off. It certainly holds ?anything? firmly in place !!!
Ditto. There are zero disturbances for Liamās sensor siteā¦not even slight ones. But as always, YDMV!
We use skin tac (everywhere except the insertion siteā¦around about the size of a quarter.) After the sensor is laid down, we also lay a full sheet of tegaderm around the site (with a hole removed for the sensor/transmitter to poke through.)
Unisolve makes it VERY easy to remove. We use the liquid version, apply to cotton balls and it is every easy to remove everything, even from a toddlerās skin who is very soft. We also use flexifix for Liamās Omnipod when itās around the buttocks area. Our flexifix comes off very easily (as long as you apply the unisolve/cotton ball under the tapeā¦not on top of it.)
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For our case, I tend to agree w @cardamom, although I am now wondering about @Jenās hypothesis, which is now making me think, like @Chris, that I should go back on Clarity and see what happened in the past.
So, after reading everyoneās feedback, I feel that different causes may be present for different people and circumstances.
When I read @Jenās post it also got me thinking of that angle. Iāve never considered whether or not consistency in results may or may not help the longevity of these devices. This angle is definitely worth testing!
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The weird part for me is that I have two to three autoimmune conditions and about five allergic conditions, so my immune system is pretty hyped up and my body reacts badly to many things. Yet the sensor still manages to last a month or more (for which I am grateful!). I do notice that irritation causes pump sites and CGM sites to die, though. Iām allergic to Skin Tac and if I put some on top of tape (it soaks trhough) without any barrier cream (Cavilon) underneath, the CGM almost always dies within the next 24 hours, I think likely from the immune response. Iāve found a combination of Cavilon cream, Benadryl cream, and steroid cream help keep things calm (though some of these literally disolve the adhesives on tape, so require more Skin Tac and tape when used).
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Jen, Have you tried the small tegaderm under the sensor so that the sensor glue never touches your skin. We donāt do it, but I have heard it works well for those with skin issues.
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I havenāt tried this, but the Cavilon cream is a barrier cream that I put under the site (and let it dry/absorb before inserting the sensor). I found my skin didnāt like Tegaderm, but so far I havenāt noticed issues with Flexifix (Iāve been using it for less than 24 hours, though).
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Yeah, I have a pretty hyperreactive immune system as well, but it doesnāt seem to be causing a problem with sensors for me. I wouldnāt be surprised if it might for some people though, or if other body chemistry factors might come into play. It does seem like there arenāt any kids getting really long sensor life, so age could somehow be a factor, perhaps via a physiological mechanism.
I also wonder how sensor life correlates to overall sensor accuracy, which seems super
variable tooāI seem to generally have longer sensor life than a lot of folks, but I also find my sensors to be very reliable from the get-go. After the first day or so, it doesnāt seem to make much of a difference if I calibrate on time, and it stays reliable even with a calibration rate of closer to 1x a day than 2, and my Clarity 90-day averages are always spot-on with my A1c. I do have a connective tissue disorder that causes a lot of things to work differently for me (usually in very frustrating/painful ways)āI wonder if a silver lining might be improved Dexcom results somehow?
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I use Tegaderm under my sensor and under my pump/POD. My sensors stay on for 3-4 weeks and the plus for me is there is zero skin irritation from the sensors. Iāve had minor irritations from the POD insertion sites but expect that is from the 3 days of insulin delivery.
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