My Dexcom sensor failed about 8 hours before it was time to be replaced.
It was a hard failure where there was a sensor error and the screen told me to replace it, no more CGM numbers were being given.
(BTW, this was a 10 day sensor.)
I called it in for a replacement.
Ya, doing it with 8 hours left seemed kind of sketchy.
But my thinking is - Dexcom came out with a 15 day sensor. They better know that there are still issues getting to 10 days sometimes! And the only way they know is if you call it in.
I wanted to ask with a poll, and I will ask it in a way where it applies to those using both 10 day and 15 day sensors.
BTW, this poll will show your name by your answer. But hey, we are all friends here, and I think we can openly share and discuss. No judgement!
What would you do if you had a sensor failure with less than 1 day remaining?
With the cost of medical supplies, insurance, deductibles, copays and out of pocket maxes in the US, you better believe I have zero shame in requesting replacements if I don’t get every minute of operation.
I keep track of who’s ahead and decide whether to get a replacement based on that. So if one failed with 8 hours remaining, they owe me 8 hours, and when they send me a 10 day sensor I’m ahead 9 days and 16 hours, so I won’t file for another replacement until I’ve used that up. Seems fair to me that way. If I had bad insurance or I was paying out of pocket I might do it differently.
IRC the stats are that 5% (approximately) of Dexcom sensors fail before the guaranteed end-of-life. I’m trying to remember the Dexcom stats here. I’d prefer if they had used a lower percentage; I regard 95% as good for science but bad for healthcare and I prefer 99.6%.
Dexcom offers a product with a guarantee; money back if it does not last 10, or now 15, days. I mean, what’s the guarantee on your 'phone? Why wouldn’t you claim the warranty replacement when it fails?
Unlike Apple or Android claiming on the Dexcom warranty is pretty easy and, unlike Apple and Android, it is necessary. I really don’t have a backup for my AIDS.
So they say 15 days, so 14.999999 days it really is a replacement. They’re playing the numbers; they think they can be bookies. How many of the 15 day sensors fail before 15 days? And how many punters claim their prize?
I’m a complete hypocrite. I never claim if I don’t have to, I run the 10 day sensors to 10.5 days and then ignore the late failures. I would not do this if I were a responsible human being; license breeds abuse.
K’s sensors fail very often before 10 days. He already gets a ton of extra sensors (probably two per month). So he does not call in sensors that fail very near the schedule end time.
My answer is based on the fact I rarely have sensors fail that late into the session. If it happened more often, I would probably replace, but it is really rare that one would fail that late. I guess I give them a break since most last me 10 days +12 hours.
The majority of my sensors fail within a few hours and obviously I request replacements.
I’m shameless. If the sensor doesn’t go the distance (10 days) I’ll file a claim. They cost too much not to. I also leverage every single one of them that I can for the extra 12 hours (shameless, I know). I hoard extras, I’ll even see if my Endo will write a new Rx before the old one expires so I get an extra round of sensors (she will). I will if asked loan an extra or two to friends in need - I’m not heartless.
Insurance companies are not my friend, so I do everything I can to ensure I have sufficient resources to manage when policies change and the dreaded January “let’s do a benefits check first” before we fill that Rx or DME order comes around. So no. I’m not shy about asking for a new sensor that didn’t last 10 days. Sorry if that offends anyone. BTW…Happy New Year everyone!
Back in the G6 days I was pretty flexible, giving consideration to the size of stockpile at any premature G6 failure event, which was a rare occurrence. With G6 I always had a decent stockpile so I was rarely submitting for a replacement sensor even with occasional premature failures.
But with G7…I submit for a replacement every time a sensor fails before end of Day 10. Although I’ve had consistent reliability lately I worry about a bad streak possibly using up my spares right around the corner.
@elver I know you’re using “shameless” as an adjective, but we should use caution because the impact to the newly dx’d may be high. There’s no “shame” in expecting what a company claims to provide. If it was a phone or a car or a microwave or stove, if we expect the guarantee on those, we should expect the same with CGMs, pumps, artificial hips or knees; perhaps more so as they are medical devices and impact quality of life.
When I made it, I did not give an option of “sometimes”. I know that option might have applied to many people. But if we had results that showed “sometimes” at 90%, then the poll didn’t really tell us very much! I thought it would tell us more if it required a yes or a no either way.
New sensors are so wonky on me for the first 24 to 48 hours that if I know I’m going to be driving a ton on the first day of a sensor I will actually start the new one 24 hours ahead of time and lose the 12 hours. I don’t feel bad at all for any replacements I request.
I think the stats on the 15 day are like 20 percent failure?? That’s a lot of replacements!
Yeah, 26% failure rate for the 15 day! This is the announcement/ad I got on the Dexcom app today. Woof! I’d need a sample or two to test before I’d want to change my prescription.
I do not have much luck getting G6 sensors to last much more than 10 days when I restart them.
When they discontinue the G6 and I am forced to switch to the G7, my Dr. Evil plan will be to buy a single 15 day G7 sensor, and then never have to buy another one again. Because I know it won’t ever last 15 days for me.
Do you think that with a 26% published failure rate they will get cheap skatey about replacing 15 day sensors and will dream up a “pro rating” policy for replacements? Sort of like those tread wear warranties on new tires…
@Josie The Loop and Trio devs have asked for testers of the 15 Day version. That bodes well for having a working version of Loop and Trio in the foreseeable future (that’s usually measured in months, vice days/weeks).
No, because the poll proves that we don’t do that. I guess Dexcom statisticians are salivating as they read the results.
If they had published it as, “We are extending the run-time of our 10 day sensors to 15 days because we believe that this will work for a lot of people and they will welcome it.” it might have been more understandable. The “grace period” on the 10-day G7 was, I guess, another practice run-around-the-block.
The poll proves that we don’t, of ourselves, hoard; we don’t replace unless we have to.
The irony is that we have to if we don’t have a hoard, a small, reasonable one. Most of the time we are more like our dogs than our squirrels; we don’t forget (most of the time) where we buried it.
Maybe a solution would be to have a “startup” supply after the first few months, when we establish that the thing actually works for us. Then we wouldn’t worry about running out. It’s not just G7s, maybe every American should have a right to 5 rolls of toilet paper, after we have proved that we know how to use it? (Hum, my dog might be a problem there.)
I get a replacement!!!
This is the announcement/ad I got on the Dexcom app today. Woof! I’d need a sample or two to test before I’d want to change my prescription. 
