I just spoke with my end. I used to wear the Free style Libre on the back of my left arm (a bit more fleshy and out of the way so it never got knocked off) He said that if this new one I just inserted doesnt work, I definately should give my arm a try,
What other areas have you guys tried out and found success?
My best results with Dexcom G6 on the back of my upper arm and pretty good on the inside of the biceps. One thing I do is after the adhesive pad is stuck to my skin, I pull the applicator and skin out and press the button. This has led to less or no pain from the sensor lead hitting muscle.
I have had major reading issues on the abdomen.
DM, you are not going to be happy with it if you are using it to tell you your current BG on a very accurate level.
Think more of it as something that just tells you if you are going up or down.
And it will wake you up at night if you set the alarm on it for a high or low reading. That way you donāt need to set your own alarm clock to test every night. You can just allow it to wake you up if you are above or below a certain level that you set.
But during the day, donāt expect it to replace your BG meter. Itās not the same thing. Itās just a different tool to use.
Eric, I am curious about the people on the Dexcom who actually bolus off of the number it tells them your BG is at. If its not so accurate, wouldnāt that be dangerous since the dexcom is inaccurate?
I have heard this from a LOT of people. Then why on earth does Dexcom advise people to use it on their abdomen or upper buttock? Do they just assume that the abdomen is where all the fat is? Dont they know about us who are thin and/or muscular? where do they expect us to adhere it?
For me, it just doesnāt seem to matter. Whether my BG is 110 or 140, if itās rising Iāll take insulin, and if itās falling thereās nothing to do until it gets lower. If it says my BG is 70 Iāll take a little carb, and if I actually was at 95 Iām not going to get in trouble from going up another 20 points or so.
The main thing is that if my BG is falling falling falling the CGM will alert me and Iāll eat some carbs. The exact numbers really donāt matter for this, the point is to get the BG to start rising before Iām in trouble. Same thing with BG rising rising rising: The CGM alert tells me that I need more insulin and Iāll take it until the BG turns back down.
But Iām looser than you are in terms of what BGs Iāll tolerate. You are very strict about what BG levels you keep, so that makes any CGM errors a bigger issue for you. For me, they really donāt matter since Iām just trying to stay safe (and healthy, of course).
Thanks for your input. I really needed to hear exactly what you were saying in order to understand how people use their CGMs. You are 100% on the mark when you say that I am not very loosely-goosey about my BG control and my numbers. I try and hold everything very tightly together.
Before FUD, I was completely the opposite. I wouldnāt even mind if my BGs were 200+. As long as I felt comfortable physically and I wasnt either passing out or getting sick, I was fine with it. Of course, I didnt know much about my own body back then, and I had a terrible terrible Endo who taught me nothing and was of no help whatsoever. (I just continued with him bc he was always giving me tons and tons of samples of free insulin 
)
But once I got on FUD and started learning, I changed Endos ASAP and found someone wonderful to work with me (its not easy to find an endo who is knowledgable and willing to work with us Type1 tough cases compared to Type2s)
Anyway, I dont want to jinx myself, but I put the new sensor on the opposite side of my tummy and it has been reading spot on for almost 12 hours now. And the up and down arrows have been a tremendous help bc yesterday I went out for my famed Grilled Cheese Sandwich (4 slices of Greuere, on crispy Rye with Grilled tomatoes layered inside 
) and fries and I duel bolused and that CGM saved my life. MY BGs were all over the map (unusual for just a grilled cheese, right?).
So thank you again. Youāve been a tremendous help to me in understanding this Dexcom thing. I am very very grateful 
As a type 2 on a pump who exercises daily, I keep fairly tight control. There are issues with any CGM because they do not measure blood glucose levels BG) but the level of glucose in the interstitial fluid (IG). For this reason there is a lag.
Sweat glands are supplied fluid by this same fluid. CGMs are notorious for reading low from dehydration. In my opinion one can be fully hydrated blood wise, but the interstitial fluid can be dehydrated.
If I am right this would increase the difference between BG and IG.
My exercise is bicycling. There are some oddities. On the stationary bike I often drop into the hypo range at 20 to 30 minutes, If I stop it slowly rises on its own without any feeding. Is this my Alpha cells responding to low BG or is it my interstitial fluid being re hydrated? I donāt know.
Now on a real road ride it is different. I often go as much as 3 hours riding with BG reading from the CGM showing a slow rise to 130mg/dl and then a slow decline to the 90s at the end. Once again there will be a rise after I am off the bike.
This difference is something I have learned to live with. I pay attention to how I am feeling, how strong or weak I am and if I am experiencing hypo symptoms. The most annoying thing is that is get time in range errors. I am by nature a data analyst.
Then there are the wacko things that happen with Dexcom G6. I have no experience with any Libre CGMs. This seems to be related to differences in individual biochemistry. Some people have really excellent and consistent results, while others, myself included, have issue with loss of data beginning around day 7 or 10. Some will say transmitters near end of life, or particular lot numbers. However, that is not the case for me.
My current sensor is in day 10. I had no data drop outs for 9 days, I did have a string of really excellent (and false) readings in the 90s. I think it was day 7 or 8. But in the wee hours of this morning I was woken with an urgent low, 40mg/dl and then a data drop out. It was false. These always do the same thing, a sudden drop over 15 or so minutes to low or urgent low and then it quits communicating, to come back around the same readings as before the drop. I no longer do finger sticks when this happens.
Hereās the trace of this incident.
These are not compression lows caused by sleeping on the sensor, or a communication lose between the phone/pump because there is no loss of data. Remove the pressure and BG will go back up and restore communication and the data will be restored. This latter happens most often with my big cat Manny who likes to lay on my pump.
Just to let you know that this also happens to me with biking - if I start to sprint my blood sugar will drop and if I go at a slower pace the sugar will come back up - without any input.
I will add my 2 cents, too. I noticed the same as @CarlosLuis, that my BG reactions varies between stationary and outdoor biking. I would have thought indoor biking would behave the same as outdoor biking, but like @CarlosLuis, nope, I start to go hypo within 20-30 minutes, and must drink a full glass of juice to continue the ride.
I use Zwift with a smart trainer for my stationary rides. I also have thing that is pedals with resistance that is meant to sit under a desk. I get the 20 minute BG drop with both of those, even though the Zwift controlled rides have continual changes in resistance to simulate climbing and descents.
One difference between trainer and on the road might be freewheeling. I donāt freewheel ever on stationary, but do some on group rides to stay in a safe position. But, when I am solo, I tend to seldom freewheel. We donāt have a lot of steep descents so I shift in a big gear and pedal on.
Iāve not heard of this term before! I ended up getting a subscription to Rouvy as I like seeing the actual video of the routes, especially the OmniView which lets you see different views of the route.
@CarlosLuis Interesting that your indoor vs outdoor bike rides have different impacts; I canāt imagine anything other than āmind over matterā that would account for virtually the same exercise except wind in your face. Any ideas on that?
It may be something as simple as when I am riding on the road emotional stress just melts away. I know for a fact that stress affect my BG control. As we avionics techs said in the Air Force, āItās FM.ā A special kind of magic.
I wish I could jump into the biking conversation, but bc I am in the pool, I am unable to connect with my Dexcom. I know that before I swim when I am in perfect TR, I need to take glucose that would normally bring me up to 140, but by the end of my swim I am around 85/95. I dont know what happens in-between .
It is a problem that radio waves donāt work through water. It would be interesting to see what happens to your BG as you swim.
I would literally pay to know whats going on while im under water! if only the 20 foot dexcom distance rule were extended without loss of signal it would b great.
Check Amazon or local store for a waterproof phone case.
I think @Marie uses Libre, from this previous post:
āI use a Dexcom as an everyday CGM and a Libre for swimming. The Libre has been a blessing because I carry the reader in a waterproof pouch and I can scan it while Iām actually swimming. So I wear both. That allows me to stay safely out for 2-3 hours at a time. I can just down some gel while out there if needed. But the Libre wonāt work in really cold water.ā
Thanks for this info and suggestion. But truly, between wearing a pump, a dexcom AND a Libre is a little too much equipment for me just to know what is going on while im in the poolā¦especially as I am at this point of my spinal surgery and only swimming for 1/2 hour. When I can build back up to a two hour swim, maybe Iāll think about trying this experiment out. Just not now.
@daisymae The Libre is small and can get placed almost anywhere. I could not get the Dexcom to read while Iām in the water. I put the Libre on my lower back and I forget itās there until I swim. I carry the Libre reader in a Stash waterproof pouch and literally can scan while I am swimming. I just run the reader over the Libre and read it underwater which is really easy to see. I donāt have to stop swimming. The Stash pouch comes with a cord I hook onto my bathing suit so you can let it float beside you, but I find it easier to shove it down the front of my suit, sticking up some so itās easy to grab (still tethered so I donāt lose it). I also have a couple of GU gels shoved into my suit to drink if I need to. That way I donāt have to leave the water until I want to.
The LIbre I just use for swimming purposes. The Libre has been invaluable to me for swimming. It lets me know which way my BG level is going so if I start to drop I can down a gel and keep going if I want to. As soon as I am out of the water the Libre reader goes into my purse until my next swim and I go back to using my Dexcom. The Dexcom doesnāt work underwater because of the way it communicates with bluetooth. The water blocks the signal. Iāve tried wrapping a reader or my phone right over it and once in a blue moon you might get a reading, but nothing you can count on. The Libre because you scan it works like a charm.
