Those “spasums
Those things you naively describe as spasms are cause by the sensor wire no being kept stationary in the tissue. This can be caused by location, skin fold, garmits, loose adhesive and abrasion in the sensor, to name a few causes. This most likely not a product hardware issue, but rather a physical body placement issue. I have been able to cause this to happen and have never not found the cause when I have seen it.
The Eversense 365 insertion is a medical procedure not a sensor, and billed as that for the procedure, and not as simple as the illustration you posted. Thousands have used the product as well as the clinical testing have demonstrated the reliability and quality, there is no systemic things to assess with more use, based on the years it has been in use. If there are issue the manufacture will replace it, I know of a few that have had that experience. It is by far the most consistent and reliable CGM I have used in 20+ years. BTW, the difference in the G6 charting and G7 charting is do to the smoothing used to display data in the G^ more smoothly, the data is nearly identical, anc at times the G6 charting was displaying inaccurate data point to smooth out the cart to make the user feel more comfortable and to accommodate the algorithms in use at that time according to those who worked on both at Dexcom.
I’m now sure that the Dan Heller’s article looked at facts, but more so at FB online stuff. Since the Dexcom issues with production were pretty much resolved in mid-‘25, I have not experienced any repeated quality issues. 75% of errors I have experienced with the Dexcom G7 were user errors, my own. This is where Dexcom has failed; they are not informing or teaching patients how to use the device. It is all too common to see the same people having the same issues, when millions others do not; that is not likely a production or quality issue.
You are trying to compare a CGM to a phone or computer, and with human physiology and the dependence on the user to learn and use the product being critical to the outcome of product use, there will never be no fuzzy results; that is medicine.
I wish people could take the time and have the resources to learn about the product and accept that they may be doing something that is contributing to the struggles they may have. But that is medicine, and as mobile ICUs, a T1D needs to rely on themselves and learn 24/7 to get the most out of any T1D product or technology. Just as you often may make non-fact-based assumptions about products and procedures, you may want to take the time to do a bit of research before throwing the wad at the wall.
You state this as the unitary cause, which feels like an overly strong claim, but perhaps you have a basis in proprietary information that is not available in the general literature. The scuttlebut describes a broader set of causes.
A more careful statement would be that you always have found an explanation for the observation that you find convincing. To assert that you found the cause is a very strong claim. I’m not suggesting that your explanation is wrong, but I am being cautious about accepting it. That’s just a hold-over from my old training. (“You must never publish a claim that turns out to be untrue!”)
In @john58 's graph was for the start of the Dexcom sensor, day 3; his sensor had “settled down” by day 5. My experience applies to the end of the sensor life, starting around day 8 or 9 and not always starting then. Any number of explanations are possible although your hypothesis seems unlikely to be able to explain either observation; I always use the same location (back of the arm) and I don’t normally wear anything over it. I do sleep on it, but I do not see “compression” effects!
It doesn’t matter why it happens; that’s for Dexcom to work out and fix.
These; random errors, systemic errors and things that do not seem random (spasms, compression lows/highs, the effect of hot showers and wardrobe malfunctions) are all things that have been reported by multiple, but often different, Dexcom users here, on TuD, on FUD, on Reddit etc.
There are potential issues but they are not, IMO, typically showstoppers. The adhesive issue is/was a good example of a potential showstopper. We would all like something better and now that Dexcom’s US monopoly is being broken we might get something but we certainly need FUD users to report on experiences. Not “it works perfectly” but serious criticism backed up with reasonable data.
I’m sorry you don’t want to learn about products you use. Seems to be a habit to not listen to learn and to make assumption not based on facts. Give the suggestions a try, it may help you nail down the issues you are encountering. I’ve duplicated everything you described, find the cause and eliminated the issue. I take the time to learn ever product and tech I’ve used in the last 56 T1D years and rarely have found the product to be the lone cause.
Key point about product complaints, if you get repeated issues take a good look at what you are or are not doing, call the manufacturer, ask those with more experience, and realize the complaint that seem so loud are a small minority of users.
Respectfully, this represents a point of view and approach from a time when the manufacturer and developer had much more power than the consumer. No manufacturer will survive in our current economic environment in any reasonably competitive industry if they follow this design.
In fact, progress relies on the ‘squeaky wheel’ and the demanding customer.
To me, the issue here is Dexcom’s refusal to acknowledge the problems in their manufacturing and design. I can understand why they choose not to, but in ignoring the problem they limit us to “folk solutions”, like on discussion boards like this one.
I’m incredibly interested in your input… I have zero knowledge of the eversense products. I’m not making a stand for any other product… all the ones I’ve used have been ultra ■■■■■■. I’d be very curious to learn more..
So have you ever works in a medical equipment manufacturing and support environment or just FB? The CEO and CTO for Dexcom spoke publicly multiple times in 2025 on different media shows about what you are noting.
Well, yes. Mostly in cardiovascular products, but I also did some work on iv pumps. Worked in the industry for about 5 years as a consultant in innovation and new product development. Wrote several cases for Harvard Business School on it.
The major thinker and researcher in this area is a guy at MIT called Eric Von Hippel. He pioneered the idea of the lead user.
I am unfamiliar with the phrase “lead user,” but I read a bit just know about it. If I understand correctly and example of lead user would be the T1s who developed open loop insulin delivery that has now become commercialized in OM5, Tandem, Twiist and any other pumps that pair with CGMs and have an analogue to (simi) automate insulin delivery.
Another I just thought of goes to my drag racing days. Spilling any fluids on the track gets you and your car dismissed.
Radiators had a overflow tube that would just eject coolant on the ground. Someone used a can to catch the water and found out that the coolant would be drawn back into the radiator when everything cooled down.
This is now a standard on all vehicles that are not air cooled.
That is a great example of lead user, as is the hot rod example. @Eric and you are both probably lead users - pushing the products or hacking the products to get where you want them to go.
Lead users also often indicate where larger groups of users might go - or indicate features that may be useful to a larger group. So in product development work you want to find those folks and get their critiques of the product /service they are using. Feedback is a gift.
The latter half of my working carrier I would repair customer troubles with landlines and special circuits. First I would often have to repair the relationship with the client and me.
Why?
It was the clerks the clients reported their issues too. This people were untrained and basically ignorant of how our technology worked. The worst were That they treated women business owners as though they were stupid. This was women on women.
I seldom was on the customer’s premise and dealt with them on the phone. I would first have to calm them down. Their anger was considerable as they were losing money. I would do this by convincing that I am going to fix the problem and I need better information than is on this repair order.
The people we get when reporting problems with diabetic tech are not much different from the clerks that took calls from my customers.
I always want to give them informed feedback and would like it in return, but that is not the way of things.
When I was on. G6 they would often get wonky on my around day 7-8. It wasn’t just me, but occurred with others. I think most people got 10 clear days out of the G6 some even restarting them for 20 or more days.
This intrigued me, but not data from Dexcom. I sacrificed a new sensor and then did microscopic exams comparing the new to both early failed and sensors that worked for 10 days.
Sorry to say, inconclusive. I could see some slight differences but nothing that really stood out. I think a chemical analysis of the reagent on the lead would be necessary, and I don’t have a lab.
My conclusion is that my body’s immune system was attacking the foreign invader or it was inflammation. It all goes back to we are all different.
@bostrav59 I appreciate your comment, but think I disagree with your apparent conclusion. I agree customer’s have some voice, but disagree that in the current economy customers get much of a voice except in the early steps of product introduction, and even then, depending on the market, have a limited voice. As long as the number of people buying a product results in perceived significant profit, the producer, while presenting a caring face in public, doesn’t really have to care that much about customer opinion. In the medical arena, consumer voice is even more limited due to the need for a product in order to live (or perceived so) due to FDA (EU or other equivalent) approval in order to market a medical product. People can’t access most products except by script by the medical establishment which virtually requires a quasi-government or government approval of a product. The free enterprise system doesn’t work well at economies of large scale or for perceived requirements for life. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not advocating for communism or similar, just stating that I don’t think the current system is working well to meet people’s needs.
@TomH I agree with you. I wish that there was a way to get real answers about problems that some have with adhesives, odd failures that affect a few and more. Reporting to the FDA is a non-starter as I doubt we would receive an answer, but the products may lose their FDA accreditation.
As to the problem I had with G6 tending not to last 10 days, my thought was doctors would be allowed to prescribe 4 sensors for 30 days, with the prescription reading “change every 8 days.” This would eliminate having to report failures regularly. It’s not like Dexcom does anything about these failures except to send out a replacement at high cost. I’m thinking FedEX air. That’s how mine came.
Horribly ambiguous and pretty much useless:
There’s a 1900 example of this in the Box Brownie:
Quoting from that article, selectively:
Advertisements for the new Brownie camera proclaimed that everyone—even children—could take good pictures with it.
The Brownie rapidly gained popularity, with initial shipments selling out almost immediately. Kodak further supported this initiative by creating clubs and competitions for young photographers, fostering a community around amateur photography.
The term that I know from my work in the commercial software industry, not FOSS, is, “Product Advocate”. Cynically; someone who promotes a product because they have spent so much time working out how to use it that they don’t feel inclined to use anything that might be better on the entirely reasonable premise that this is unlikely.
The “product advocate” term is functional; someone who has learned to deal with a product and is able communicate how to do so. As a result of the investment the individual also tends to “advocate” for the product. Having product advocates is an essential part of the modern marketing of high tech gear.