Forced to switch to G6

I’ll be starting on the G6 tomorrow so I am encouraged by your report, @cardamom.

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I’ve yet to restart a G6 sensor in over a year since I migrated from G5. They seem to always be noisy by then so I don’t chance a restart.

I’m glad the G6 is working pretty well for you. I had a heck of a time when I switched. I learned through weeks of trial and error and great advice here by @JessicaD and othets that I needed to inert them on my arms; abs only caused errors!

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Inserted first sensor, bled extensively, already with Tech Support for replacement! :flushed: :crazy_face:

ETA: The filament of the G6 appears longer than that of the G5??

My husband and I looked at the inserter and we both said “looks like an electric razor”. :scream_cat: :smile_cat:

After a few minutes he wondered why the sensors don’t come in a cartidge for a reusable insertion device. Genius!

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Ours has been more accurate than G5. The tradeoff is that when it’s unsure, it gives a lot of “Sensor errors”

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Meaning whole new sensor installs?

more like it will say “sensor error” or “no readings” for 2 or 3 hours until it figures out the numbers again. But it rarely gives wrong readings.

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So you don’t change it out when it happens? Just wait it out?

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According to their rules, they won’t replace sensors unless they’ve gone three hours with no data and magically fir a few days it almost always comes back right at the three hour mark.

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But the “no readings” blank-out isn’t a new problem for Dexcom, is it? I’ve always had them with my G4. For no apparent reason it will just zonk out with either “???” or the “out of range” symbol, then after a few hours come back like nothing happened. I just assumed it happened with all versions, and expect it to happen when I switch to G6 in a few months.

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So far I haven’t really had problems with sensor errors, knock on wood. I’ve had brief signal fall outs, mostly when I curl up in a position that probably blocks the bluetooth, because my leg is pressed against it, which I really shouldn’t do anyway (bad for posture), but that’s easily corrected if I move. I wear mine on my lower abdomen, the only place I’ve ever worn any Dexcom, and that works well for me, but I’ve got a little padding there, so can’t speak to issues lean folks or small kids might have. I tested again recently just to double check this sensor (also because I was super thirsty at a normal reading), and it was within 10pts, so was satisfied with that and didn’t calibrate (and also drank a bunch of fluids, since apparently just dehydrated).

Also my first sensor was going completely strong, no signs of noise at all, by the end, but when I removed it, I had a significant red mark/inflammation at the insertion point, so I’m going to keep changing them out every time, because I think my body will prefer it that way.

Based on my experience so far, I’m guessing if the G5 was really low maintenance and effective for you (it was for me), the G6 will be too.

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The threshold at which they say “no readings” I think it lower – so if they’re at all unsure they give that.

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Yes, we have this issue with the G5 also. Most of the time at the beginning of the calibration time or during the last day when I suppose signal may be weakening. But yes, we get ??? all the time with G5 as well and most of the time it disappears in 1 - 3 hours.

I’ve heard members who had used G5, complain a lot more about the G6 (mostly those with small ones, like me)! I HOPE that’s the case with us - we have a fairly low maintenance relationship with the G5s.

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An update—I mostly like the G6 ok now. When I check against my meter, I usually find it very accurate, most sensors pretty quickly. However, I’m only really occasionally checking, and since those tests are almost always very close, I haven’t felt the need to check more frequently.

That said, for the first time ever since starting using a Dex CGM (I’ve had one since the G4), my A1c was way off from what I expected based on Clarity. Previously, my A1cs had always been within .1 of my Clarity estimate, to the point where getting them done had started to seem kind of useless, since I already had a near perfect estimate. This time, I had expected an A1c of 7.4 (had gone up earlier in the year for a number of reasons, and I expected it to still be there, since that’s what Clarity said), but my A1c was 6.8 (which yay, headed back toward where I want to be). No reason to suspect the A1c reading of being off (and if anything, the decrease is consistent with other labs), which leaves me wondering if the G6 is less accurate than I think it is, and I’m just not checking during the times it’s off…

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I’m always lower than the clarity estimate.

I’ve heard the A1C is impacted more by recent BS than older BS. Maybe your 30 day average is closer to 6.8?

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No, 30 day (and 7 day) is about the same as 90 day.

I know other folks have always found the Clarity estimate to be substantially off, but it surprised me given that it never once was before for me with the G5.

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Sorry if this has already been mentioned in the thread—- but how do people actually go about “pre soaking”. (I prefer “marinating”) the sensor?

I’m about to switch to the g6… the g5 would be pretty susceptible to damage if someone just wore it without the transmitter?

So how do they put it on and protect it for 24 or so hours without the transmitter? I saw someone mention putting tape on it? How do they prevent that from becoming a mess?

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You may not find it necessary. I haven’t figured that out because it hasn’t seemed necessary for me, since most sensors seem very accurate pretty quickly.

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The first 12 or so hours for me on the G6 are all over the place—gah!

Guess you could use an expired transmitter if you have one

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