Has anyone been using omnipod-5 and G7 CGM and if so can you share your experience?
4 Likes
Hi @Andee and welcome to FuD! I just received m first order of G7 supplies and G7 compatible Om5 pods. I am planning to run a test of the G7/Om5 combo soon, probably when my current G6 sensor runs out this weekend. After that G7 sensor runs out I plan to go back on G6 and use up about 3 months worth of G6 supplies.
I will also be trying out a new Apple Watch on “direct to watch” with the G7; my old Watch 3 is no longer communicating with the Dexcom app.
Will keep you and FuD posted!
3 Likes
Thank you John! I am also planning on trying the apple watch since as I understand it we no longer need to have our phones or receiver nearby to get readings on the G7. That is very exciting for my future snorkeling endeavors - yay. I was on the omnipod years ago but then went back to MDI so contemplating now the pump again with the somewhat closed loop system…
3 Likes
Love to hear both your experiences! My current stockpile of pods will run out in January so I’ll live vicariously through others until then.
Im hoping the Dexcom numbers on an Apple Watch are bigger for G7. The G6s are just so darn small. I’m also thinking 
that if I stack the insertion 12 hours before I start I won’t get has many false low alarms as I do now on my first night on G6 since I always change it late at night.
My pods usually last 80 hours unless there’s a clogged cannula. Man that has added up to quite a supply.
3 Likes
@Andee My experience, also many others report similar, is that BT and water (ocean or pool) don’t mix well, so you may be disappointed in how it works while snorkeling. My experience is with the G6, I don’t presume the G7 will do much better. Apparently water just kills the limited signal of BT. If someone else here has different result, please speak up and correct me; if one of you knows the technical side, I wouldn’t mind hearing that either!
2 Likes
@Josie My experience with the G7 may be different from others, but I’ve found the G7 initial results (first 30 mins or so) to be just as off as the G6 was off for the first 12-24 hours or so, but then the G7 settles in and has been pretty accurate (within 5-10 pts of finger stick). I’m still using my first 90 day supply, so it could be beginner’s luck, but I’d say this of 7 of the 8 I’ve used so far. My last G7 was off the whole first day, first it read low when I has high (off at least 40 pts), then it read high while I was VERY low (off at least 60 pts, I probably should have swapped it out at that point, but didn’t), it also had several outages where it said to wait up to three hours (I find this unacceptable at all with both G6 and G7), and on day 9 [editted from 12, it occurred on 8/12] it just gave up the ghost and told me to start a new one. I reported that G7 via Dexcom’s online request form and was just notified it’s being replaced as having been defective. With me, it only takes one of those incidents to cause me to question the product reliability, but in reality it’s still better than finger sticks (though I did several of those during the time of that one G7 because my trust was shaken). Other’s here may report differently, but my experience has been mostly positive.
4 Likes
Thx for the reply! I was hoping if I did the insertion 12 hours before the previous sensor expired I would avoid the false LOW alerts during the first 12 or so hours. Guess I’m out of luck on that one.
If I was MDI I would totally use that 6 or 12 month Eversense. Cutting out that first day or two of Dexcom would be so wonderful.
3 Likes
I’ve had the G7/Om5 combo going now for a few hours and a few initial thoughts:
- I started the G7 yesterday, about 24 hours prior to my G6 sensor expiration. So I wore two CGMs for about 20 hours. The first 16 hours of the G7 were pretty jumpy and every bit as unreliable as the typical first day of a G6 sensor. I ended up calibrating the G7 twice. The first calibration seemed to have no affect, the second about 2 hours later seemed to settle it down.
- Of note, I discovered with extra fingersticks that the G6 on Day 10 was also pretty far off. I tried to calibrate it back into reasonable accuracy but no luck. I have had spotty BG data on Days 8, 9, 10 in the past so this is not unexpected.
- Important: When starting your first G7 pod, use the “Manage sensor” menu to enter the new sensor/transmitter BEFORE you start the new G7 pod. This requires the secret code numbers on the disposable applicator piece. (I had to fish mine out of the trash…). If you jump the gun and start the G7 pod first, you will waste that pod (This is clear in the user manual which I did not read before wasting a pod).
- I went with back of arm for the G7 sensor and abdomen for pod. So far, communication between devices has been 100% good. I am using direct to watch with an Apple 9 watch.
Good luck!
2 Likes
@Josie this doesn’t address the O-5 part, just the G7. Apparently I spoke prematurely, the last now two sensors I’ve had failed prematurely, the one I mentioned that failed day 9 and now the one I replaced it with…at least per the Dexcom Tech Rep I just spoke to…the interesting part is it’s still providing data, sometimes even reliable data! I’m beginning to wonder if the trial G7’s I got from the doc were “different,” as they performed flawlessly after the first 30min-1hr. Admittedly, 5 of the 9 stock G7s I got have been OK, two failures, two to go. In a life altering industry 2/7 isn’t the best of odds and is worse than my G6 experience,
The current problem: This G7 has been saying “Calibration not available. Your last calibration is in progress. Wait up to 5 minutes for calibration to finish.” since I entered a calibration about 0200 (2AM) this morning; it’s now 2117 (9:17pm). The tech said this is a known issue, indicates a failed sensor, told me to replace the sensor, and they’d send another replacement (it’s true, the confirming Dexcom em’s already arrived). Then he cautioned to allow at least a 15 minute gap between taking the one G7 off and putting the next G7 on, if not the old failed sensor can cause the new sensor to also fail…what, the radio waves hang around the area?! I told him unless there’s been a karma-ic shift in the universe that what he described, unless an issue with their app, is pretty much impossible. I asked for an email stating Dexcom views this as failed sensor that Dexcom will replace, he declined (“It’s against Dexcom policy!”). I asked if this failure was documented and available on their website, he said “yes” even em’d me a link to follow…it led to Dexcom’s new replacement policy, nothing about this particular issue. I asked why, if its a known issue, Dexcom hasn’t documented the problem in its FAQs, told users how to fix it (rip it off, put a new one on); he apologizes profusely, said he pass on my concerns. I’m betting that doesn’t happen…just a feeling!
I’m beginning to wonder if that DXCM slippage may not be earned…
4 Likes
Good info thx! Sounds like you need a bit of a stockpile before starting G7 in case of multiple failures. I hope some of these issues are addressed before I start next year.
This is unfortunate if true. I thought the whole 10 day and 12 hour thing was so you could do that exact thing. I’m sure I’ve seen it advertised that you could stack sensors to avoid any time(even the 30 minutes) without readings.
2 Likes
That’s what I do. I put in a new one about 8 hours before I start it, while the old one continues to give me readings.
2 Likes
Quick question - when you “start” the new one, does the timer start on it? So even though you are not connecting to it yet, the 10 day timer has actually started?
Or does the 10 day timer only start once you have connect to it?
The 10 day timer starts at insertion time. There’s a magnetic switch in the sensor that triggers when the sensor is separated from the little magnet in the inserter.
This has two effects. One is that by inserting 8 hours before starting, I only have 4 hours of grace time remaining at the end of the 10 days of use. For me that doesn’t matter, because I start the new sensor in the evening, and a few hours one way or the other doesn’t matter. The other effect is that sometimes (but not always) after I start the new sensor in the Dexcom app on the phone, I see two dotted lines in the graph after the new sensor backfills the 8 hours of data it collected. When this happens I find it very helpful, because I can see how closely the new sensor was tracking with the old one. In particular, I can see if the new sensor had the typical drop to LOW, and has subsequently recovered and is tracking near the old sensor. So it gives me some indication of how much trouble to expect during the first 24 hours. But I think maybe Dexcom has been revising the app to make the overlap not show up, because the large gap between the old and new sensor lines could be embarrassing to some corporate and sales types, or maybe they are afraid the FDA will see.
Here’s an example where a new G7 was inserted around noon, warmed-up around 12:30, but only started in the app around 10pm. You can see that the first hours after warmup were reading very low compared to the good old sensor, and by 10pm the new sensor still wasn’t reading right. By the next day it was fine, but the first 24 hours for me often is rough, perhaps in part because I wear the sensor on my abdomen rather than arm. Anyway, I can see why Dexcom might not want to display graphs like this, because they “could be confusing to the patient” :eye-roll:
5 Likes
Very informative. Thanks @bkh !
1 Like
@Josie Given my previous interactions with Dexcom support, I don’t trust the person I spoke with “knew” or that Dexcom itself advises a 15 min gap. I think he was telling me something to assuage my concerns and “give me a reason” for his actions. I note his refusal to put it in writing in an email and my educated, but limited, knowledge of how things work for my beliefs.
[Editted: I see @bkh has already addressed this.] In fact, what you describe is touted as a “feature” of the G7: You can keep wearing an expiring sensor and put on its replacement; the new sensor starts its 30 minute “activation time” timer (the device and applicator have magnets that when separated by insertion start the 30 minute timer) and at the end of that 30 minutes, the new sensor starts reporting data, and can take over for the expiring sensor. Voila, complete CGM coverage, no downtime…unless, of course you get tech support guidance like I did.
I’ll feel compelled to add I have had the Dexcom G7 app revert to an old sensor after having started a new sensor. The app went “wacko” and somehow reverted to the old Bluetooth sensor designation (I had not deleted it yet); it reported no data as the sensor had long jointed my trash, been picked up, and driven away, but that didn’t stop the app from reporting an error. I’m not the only one either, similar reports were submitted on LoopZulipChat, Loop Facebook Group, Trio Facebook Group, and Trio Discord. Very disconcerting! I now ensure I note and delete the old Bluetooth designation on my phone.
2 Likes
I think that was probably a leftover G6 process he was telling you.
If you recall the G6 restarts, how you would need to wait 15 minutes before reinserting the old sensor and restarting it. He was probably referencing that idea.
And he did not want to put it in writing because restarts were strictly verboten by Dexcom! He did not want to get in trouble!
1 Like
That could be where it came from, but throughout the conversation “G7” was discussed, addressed, and all that was mentioned by both of us. If you’re right, the confidence in Dexcom Tech Support is diminished that much further…and it confidence wasn’t high to begin with!
Anyway, back to the G7 and O-5 show…
2 Likes
Are the boxes of the g7 compatible pods marked to clearly indicate that they are? Are they still also compatible with the g6?
1 Like
Yes to both. The boxes and the label on the individual pod pack has “G6 G7” label.
2 Likes