Dexcom tech support said they would send me some of their sensor tape. It has the pre-cut hole for the sensor. And they are sending it for free.
I had no idea this was available until today!
Has anyone else gotten it from them?
All you have to do is request it when you make a call to support, and they will send it free of charge (makes sense, if it saves them from having to replace a sensor, eh?).
Just wanted to pass this along. Mine is being sent, I’ll let you know if it is any good.
How long did you spend on phone with them? I tried to get through to reorder transmitters and gave up today… and my usual salesperson hasn’t answered to emails that I started sending on 7-5 either. Main customer support address no answer since Tuesday…
About 5 minutes of hold time.
I am sure they are getting swamped with G6 silliness right now.
“After I upgraded to the G6, my blood sugars got real high. Do I need to change my IC ratio after the G6 upgrade?”
I got the free tape patches from Dexcom today.
Pretty easy to use, pre-cut, and free. It’s very much like Tegaderm, so it isn’t very breathable, but it should be able to keep a sensor on for a few extra days when needed.
Just ask for them next time you talk to Dex support.
It seems to vary. I have had both immediate response as well as annoyingly delayed response. I think it largely depends on level of demand (too many customers for the available staff?) and who you get on the phone to deal with your concern (some of us are better at customer service than others).
Got our tape. I was expecting them to be bigger! I guess I’m so used to Dextape that’s why. Will try them out.
I missed this thread when it was posted. This is very interesting.
Any thoughts on how the Dexcom Overpatch works as compared to other taping solutions?
Next call into Dex Tech Support, I will ask for the Overpatch to be sent out so we can give it a try. Typically we use the Opsite Flexifix (we have a cardboard template for relatively fast tape cutouts) but maybe this is a better solution?
Note that we only need a few days from any additional taping solution. The difference between how long the G6 Sensor adhesive lasts compared to how long the sensor delivers good data is not large for us.
I plan on using it for our next sensor changeout, but that’ll be a week still. I’ll post here how I like it compared to Tegaderm and DexTape. Can’t compare it to Flexfix because we have only used that very briefly and it didn’t meet our needs.
It feels kind of the same as Tegaderm, except it is cutout to fit the sensor/transmitter. The pre-cut shape makes it easier.
I don’t think it has any crazy gripping power compared to anything else. Basically just the cutout makes it nice.
I have cut Tegaderm before, and it often ends in a mess.
I cut tegaderm for the first 6 months of our CGM usage…had a cardboard template that I used a scapel to cut out the center of the tegaderm tape. The center hole going right over the sensor/transmittor is what works best for us to ensure the sensor can last for 2 full weeks.
It seems like there is a lot LESS tape with the Overpatch than the Dextape, so I’m going to have to see how it works out. I like all that extra tape that the Dextape provides as it’s a cushion for ensuring the sensor is going to stay put for 2 weeks. Not sure if the small amount of exterior tape that the Overpatch provides will be enough, but we’re going to test it to see.
The mess with Tegaderm for me is often in peeling off the top layer. The Dexcom patches have a very nice cover that spirals off.
I can’t say if it will hold up for two weeks. I don’t ever do anything like that.
I do still use tegaderm, though…much like how people use Flexfix. I cut small slits out of it whenever one side starts peeling up on Fred. 
I still have a roll of Flexfix I’ll use for that purpose whenever the tegaderm extra pieces run out. Because Tegaderm was so big, I only ever used 2/3 of the tape for Liam’s arm whenever I used it. The other 1/3 I put away to use as extra pieces (waste not want not).
This is how I punch my Opsite Flexifix tape using a punch I bought off Amazon. I buy a roll of Flexifix on Amazon for $20 that lasts a year. I often use two to four pieces to hold down my Dexcom sensor (putting a new piece down when the piece underneath starts to come up). I routinely get a month out each sensor using this technique. Having the hole for the sensor definitely helps it work better than having no hole, in my experience.
I have a similar hole punch, but it wouldn’t stamp out the hole in tegaderm well, though. But I can see how it would work very well for Flexfix.
I had major problems until I think it was you suggested putting several pieces of the cut tape on a mini ziplock bag and squeezing out all the air before punching. Since I’ve started doing that I’ve had no issues. So I guess we should add $3 to my price for 200 of those bags that will last five years… My only complaint about the system is punching requires a great deal of pressure.
I wish the hole punch were “adjustable”…meaning, sliding in and out to accomodate different sizes of tape. The hole punch I have was one set position and wasn’t able to be moved. Also, that wasn’t my suggestion, but I wish it were! 
Well, it was someone here at FUD! I’d all but given up on using the punch before trying it!
I see what you mean about the size and how that would be problematic for larger sized tapes. 
Yeah, the hold punch doesn’t work at all on tegaderm unless you can somehow figure out how to fold the tegaderm tape without messing it up…the hole punch only goes over 1/4 of the tape the tape so it’s not centered at all. We bought the hole punch and, after we found it wasn’t going to work, it’s been sitting in our closet ever since.
The tape I cut is about the size of the Dexcom adhesive. So it doesn’t provide much additional coverage. I wait till the Dexcom adhesive is peeling up, cut the loose pieces away, and put down a piece of my tape. Repeat as necessary. Sometimes I’ll ocerlap my tape with the slanted front part of the sensor to hold it down better if the adhesive underneath the sensor itself seems loose.