Don’t want to bring @James.J.Igoe post off track as well as older posts.
Problem with G7 and it seems to be two fold
a) Sleeping and getting a failed sensor when on right arm as I am a back/right side sleeper. I don’t get any alarms just failed sensor.
b) Having the sensors fall off or become too loose to have accurate readings.
Trying to deal with this at the moment. Bought some Tegaderm large patches. Tried cutting in 2 and they are not quite big enough. Also noticed they were tight even though I did not stretch it. They rolled up immediately which they did many years ago when I quit using them. Next tried Skintac and the large patch. Total fail.
It seems as though when I lift my arm to put on the patch the skin is firm but as soon as I lower my arm the skin becomes that jiggily old arm and the patch is too tight.
For the life of me I can’t figure out how to do it when my lowered arm is flat by my side. Any ideas?
The Glad press and seal seems to be doing a good job protecting it in the shower but need to figure out how to swim as it seems in my limited experience that the water really messes it up.
Thanks.
I am using 4x4 inch Tegaderm over the sensor. Have not lost a single one to sweat or bumping off since I started that. I don’t bother with the Dex ovepatch any more. For me the Tegaderm grips tightly and doesn’t peel at the edges, but I scrub the arm with alcohol first and let the Tegaderm warm up on my arm for a few minutes before peeling off the backing. I also smooth down the Tegaderm over and over and over, since adhesive doesn’t stick much on first contact.
Like @Randy I use large amounts of alcohol to clean first. I’m 66 and I work outside a lot so my skin is always dirty. I use 95% ethanol but that isn’t available everywhere, US “rubbing alcohol” (propanol) works fine but takes a lot longer to dry particularly if it is “70%”'. Getting it dry may not matter very much but getting anything detachable off does; oils, lotions, flakey old skin 
After the alcohol rub I use SkinTac over the whole area of the G7 applicator, plus a bit of course since it’s difficult to do this in the mirror. I let that dry too.
Then I use the applicator. I line up in the mirror with my elbow bent so my upper arm is visible and my lower arm is precisely backward toward me in the mirror; this is how I get the darned thing on the back of the arm. This also means I end up “flexing” my upper arm, as the body builders say. I suspect I won’t be able to do this in a few years time.
After all this I try my hardest to apply one of the overpatches with the hole cut out for the Dexcom. I don’t like the Dexcom ones, I don’t regard them as cool, but they would probably work. The ones I do use are significantly bigger but clear. They go over the Dexcom adhesive (which is really small; about 0.5cm width round the whole thing) and hit the Skin Tac adhesive.
I’ve only had one adhesive problem so far with the G7 in the years I’ve been using it. It’s a lot of effort but it’s “only” once every 10 days. I used to do a lot of work for the Omnipod as well but these days I just alcohol then slap the 'pod on; it only has to last for 3.5 days and almost all the time it does. I still do the alcohol stuff; not those silly medical pads, paper towel and a spray bottle full of alcohol.
My skin doesn’t currently flag much, at least not the skin around my upper arm, so I don’t have problems with wrinklies. When I do I don’t know if what I am doing today will work.
Thanks!
@Randy, does your skin wrinkle when it is down by your side and is it loose? I like your idea of letting the tegaderm warm up for a bit and then continue with the process. Am still unsure about how to apply the tegaderm so it doesn’t become too tight as the skin wrinkles and loosens.
@jbowler I did notice that when I did the experiment using the Tegaderm with the SkinTac that the G7 patch that had the SkinTac on top of it became much tighter when I lowered my arm. It also became much more stable. Last night I had to add some Nexcare tape around the edges but that was 8 1/2 days in.
Thank you both very much for your help.
When I do my Omnipod dash pods I stick the very slightest bit of one edge of the Hypafix tape over the adhesive on the pod while sitting and then lay down and firmly attach it. I found this keeps it from becoming too tight when I sleep instead of sitting. I guess some sort of similar action will be part of the next experiment although I wonder about the 4 x 4 size of a Tegaderm patch entirely covering the sensor.
Appreciate your help.
@Freckles, I am only 83 and do not have much trouble with wrinkled skin on my upper arms, so I find your discussion interesting but don’t have anything much to add. When I do get Tegaderm too tight it seems to stretch a little, so I have never had to remove a patch for that.
How’s about using other parts of our body? Thighs, torso, upper chest? You can wear sensors just about anywhere.
Thanks @pugmommy.
My sensor failed at day 8.5 on the way to the lake so I just ripped it off. Big mistake as I destroyed skin. Decided at the moment to just leave it off so no experimenting done. Missed it and those blessed alarms like crazy.
Early this morning I srarted a new one on front of thighs with alcohol, SkinTac and G7 overlay.
I figure it should work well here except when granny’s lap is in use.
Thanks so much for the assistance everyone.