I like restarts of my G6 and I go ocean swimmer for hours at a time weekly. So it became important to figure out how to keep a sensor on for an average of 25 days. I have been very successful in doing so by following a certain protocol. It is always coming up so I figured I would post what I did as when I first wore a G6 I even had trouble keeping it on the second day and taking a shower.
So this is what I do now, and this works great! I use the bottle not the wipes, and it lasts a long time.
Liberally apply Skin Tac to the adhesive part of the Dexcom sensor. Since it’s a liberal amount of Skin Tac I keep if off the middle marked section.
Wait for it to get tacky and then apply.
Smooth down the adhesive a few times and make sure it’s staying firmly down.
Liberally apply Skin Tac to the adhesive part of the Dexcom overpatch.
Wait for it to get tacky and apply. Do not peel off the top paper yet as that can disturb it adhering and smooth it down to make sure it’s firmly on.
Give it a good long time before peeling off the paper and popping in the transmitter, since both can disturb the adherence. I usually wait at least 30 minutes, you have to remember I’m putting on a heavier coat of Skin Tac and I want it to adhere.
Sometime after 10 days at some point I still have to use a Q tip with Skin Tac under the edges that sometimes start to come up on the overpatch, I like to keep the overpatch on securely because that’s the best barrier to keeping water from getting under the sensor adhesive. So a double layer to stop it from coming off.
I have to be particularly careful after a long swim and then getting into a longer shower when I’m home and washing my hair. I have to make sure the water doesn’t hit it too directly until it has a complete chance to dry after my swim. It’s at it’s most vulnerable with the direct impact of a shower stream when it’s still damp.
With so much skin tac, is it still easy to remove? I know for me when removing an omnipod, it sometimes feels like it will peel off my skin, too! It doesn’t, of course, TG!! I think your tip could be useful for pods, too, though. Thanks for the tip!
@Trying
I don’t have any issues pulling my Dexcom off of my arms with all the Skin Tac on it. Sometimes it’s more adhered than others. but most of the time my sensor is sort of ready to come off by the time I remove it. Unless I just touched it up with a Q tip and more SkinTac applied then I can tell the difference, but it’s still been fine.
I usually don’t have trouble with a pod coming off of my stomach, and a pod is only on for 3 days, so I don’t use Skin Tac there. My skin does protest pods being pulled off of my stomach some of the time. I can’t imagine using Skin Tac on more sensitive skin areas like a stomach for a pod because it’s only on for 3 days and it would be adhered really strongly, unless you use TacAway to remove it. But I have added Skin Tac when I put a pod on my legs otherwise I knock those off easy and that’s not been an issue…
Thanks. I also wear my pod on the stomach area but it can fall off while running with high humidity here. I think you might be right though, the stomach skin is more sensitive for skin tac. My recent pods have been pretty good, TG.
But not to your skin? I’ve always applied it to the skin where either Dexcom or Omnipod were to go.
My own protocol is:
Clean my skin with copious amounts of 95% ethanol (normally by spraying it onto my skin then wiping it off with a paper towel, several times).
Apply the pod or the cgm.
When I’m concerned that I might have problems with whatever happens next I use one of the overpatches. For the G7 (which has a minimal adhesive patch) I use a regular (bought on Amazon) overpatch, not the Dexcom one which I find impossible to use (to difficult to get on.)
When I’m ++concerned I go to skintac, although I’ve also used Adapt 7730 and Mastisol; they all seem to function the same way to me.
I’ve always assumed these things act broadly similarly to rubber solution but without the latex; rubber solution is applied to both surfaces, allowed to dry, then the surfaces are brought into contact at which point the adhesive (latex) on the two surfaces pretty much fuses into one.
@jbowler I do not apply Skin Tac to the skin directly. Exposed Skin Tac attracts dirt and it starts to get grimy looking, especially since I wear them longer. Trying to make sure the adhesive is completely covered with Skin Tac and then trying to only coat the skin area where it goes would be pretty hard, Applying it directly to the adhesive part means it stays nice and clean looking! One reason I never apply Skin Tac over the top of the adhesive either.
I really like the Dexcom overpatches. The only time I had trouble applying it was when I first tried to use it, I didn’t know better and I pulled off the part covering the adhesive and the paper cover, impossible to then apply. But I have found it as easy as any other patch pulling off the one side first and applying. Plus I didn’t use Skin Tac on the overpatch when I first tried it and the overpatch came off easily. Someone on a video suggested using adhesive on the overpatch too.
I have to use skintac just to keep my G6 on for 10 days.
I often have to touch it up before the 10 days is up.
This is why I stopped starting my sensors. So much hassle.
Oh, and I hate the overpatches. Feels like a large portion of my body is covered by them, and even with skintac, they seems to fail me earlier than if I didn’t use them in the first place.
Btw, I put skintac on the G6 and let tack up before putting it on. Once in a while I will put it on the skin as well, but I don’t seem to get that much more of a benefit, and get all the extra crud/build up where it wasn’t covered by the G6 itself.
No adhesive patch holds well at first contact. You have to smooth it over and over and over long after you think it has stuck. Then rub it all over again for a while. Works for bandaids, G6, Tegaderm or anything else stuck to your skin.
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I’ve been using opsite flexifix for years. It comes in a roll so I cut it into strips about an inch wide and basically use it as scotch tape. If it starts peeling up, I just trim off the loose parts with scissors and reapply.
Since I use the dexcom on top of a hydrocolloid dressing, the opsite is really the only thing holding it on at all. Works quite well for me.
My husband decided to try wearing a Dexcom. So I applied Skin Tac to the sensor and the Dexcom overpatch with Skin Tac. Within 2 days it was coming off, half hanging already. I managed to save it by applying more Skin Tac every couple of days.This has worked on me with virtually no issues except maybe a minor touch up with Skin Tac 1-2 times in over 30 days at a time. Swimming in the ocean for hours etc. The only difference is he sweats a lot doing yard work almost daily besides swimming.
I have a few other patches I had gotten to try, so first I tried putting a patch from ADS that they supply called RightCare CGM Patch with KTTAPRPRO Extreme. It stayed beautifully on him with no Skin Tac used. Yet when I had tried it, with and without Skin Tac, it fell off within days on me. I did test it on his abdomen and he wore the sensor on his arm so we’ll see if that makes a difference.
But here is a list of helps.
ADHESIVE LIQUID
Skin Tac- Probably by far the most popular product
Mastisol
Adapt 7730
Hollister Adhesive Spray
MOST POPULAR PATCHES
Dexcom Overpatch
Opsite Flexifix Transparent Adhesive Film
Tegaderm
Simpatch Adhesive Patch
IV 3000
Lexcam waterproof CGM Overpatches
Fixic Adhesive patches
J & J Tough Pads
Hypafix Tape
Grif grips-They have different strengths of patches and some really cute ones
Rockadex
Pump Peelz
Expression Med Adhesives
RightCare CGM Patch with KTTAPRPRO Extreme
ALLERGY SPRAYS/WIPES
Flonase Spray-Most popular to use
Cavilon Spray
Bard Protective Barrier Film wipes
Skin Prep Protective Barrier Wipes
Hollister Skin gel protective wipes
3M Cavilon No Sting Barrier Film
Over the years, my NUMBER ONE thing I do for better adhesion?
I use alcohol wipes on the skin before putting anything else down.
For me, it makes a bigger difference than any amount of skintac.
I find these even more important now that I am using the G7 with a much smaller footprint.
I sweat like crazy when playing tennis almost every day plus I walk or bike 20 out of 30 days each month and am able to keep a Dexcom on for almost 20 days usually. My secret, like @Hammer 's, is to clean my skin with alcohol (I wet a Kleenex with it out of a bottle) prior to putting on the sensor. At day 10 I clean around the sensor patch again with alcohol and put the Dexcom overpatch on, which lasts another 10 days. (If I don’t do this, the sensor patch tends to get a little crispy and will lift up and start to lose contact with my skin.) It’s interesting to hear how much each of us differs.
@JessicaD We definitely do differ. I definitely cleaned the area well with alcohol before I applied it. And made sure it was a no hair area. The LIbres when he uses them with Skin Tac, stayed fine on him and they always do with me too. I use both a lot because I can get a reading in the water with the 14 day or Libre 2. The Dexcom without any help on me the first time I wore it years ago, came off the 2nd or 3rd day and I wrapped it with the only thing I had on hand at the time, an ace bandage. I couldn’t keep them on but saw people recommending Skin Tac. Using Skin Tac solved my issue until I started restarting mine. Then I was back to trying to put Skin Tac over it and under it and around the edges at first trying to keep it on. Using the overpatch didn’t help at all. That’s when I started ordering different patches (which I turned out allergic to all of the ones I tried). Then I watched someone on a video say to apply Skin Tac to the overpatch too and that worked great. My magic answer for me! Every once in a while I had to touch up under the edges for the second or third restart, but I’ve worn the same sensor once for 48 days. So I used the same strategy on my husbands and it didn’t work well at all.
My sensors generally last around 25 days on me. Yet some people have them go fritzy before the 10 days. I guess it’s our different chemistry make up. I was curious how long they will last on my hubby. But this one had to come off at day 10 because it was a mess by then with all the crinkling up and Skin Tac all over. I will have to wait until he decides he wants to try again to know if he can restart them and they work!!!
My last one stayed for 30 days!! I usually just call it quits and don’t push it at 20, but I was away and had to restart at 20 so just let it ride. I could have restarted again at 30 but the optics were starting to look quite junky.
Are you able to restart them currently? I’d stopped trying because it stopped working for me for a significant period of time… is there a new trick I don’t know?
@Sam Yes, I always restart mine. (G6) They last an average of 25 days, although I used to have a lot more that used to last over 30 days. It’s possible you are following the old instructions for restarting? You have to break the communication between the transmitter and sensor now. I’ve included the link to the new instructions and videos for a couple different ways.
If you’re on G6 still, yes you can restart. I am consistently successful with it – I think Marie’s instructions are good and I know I posted instructions somewhere on here as well. Let us know if you get it to work!
PS - has anyone heard any chatter anywhere about hacking the G7 for a restart? I really dislike the idea of disturbing my skin for CGM on a 10 day cycle.