Sensor fell off taking 2 week old TX with it...somewhere

Sigh, after several years of poor Dexcom experience due too all the know reasons, especially in dealing with Solara (who have been very, very good this year so far) and sensors that seem to start and calibrate very quickly and accurately (I really think Solara was pushing out improperly stored sensors for quite a while) But the whole G6 CGM has been fantastic. So good that in the past 9 or 10 months I went from an a1c of 6.9 down to 5.9 last month. I attribute this in total to the G6 and Dexcom with Xdrip. Without it I could never properly manage my BS as it is extremely volatile. So color me beyond happyā€¦ OK so Iā€™m meandering to the pointā€¦ Iā€™ll get there, promise.

So here is what happenedā€¦i had put on a new sensor wore it for 2 days. It seemed to not be as sticky as normal but I wasnā€™t worried it would stick, right? I mean them sticking too firmly was the big issue for so many folks. Hmmm, on day three in the afternoon sometime the whole thing. sensor & TX fell off. I didnā€™t notice until getting ready to take an adjustment dose (I use fast acting Novolog so I take a lot of doses all day long as needed) and Xdrip was showing no data and sensor errors.

But the TX was only into week 3ā€¦now I have had no TX for almost 3 weeks, Solara sent a batch of new batch of sensors.

Did Dexcom change to a weaker adhesive? Iā€™ve only worn a Dex for about 4yrs now but never had one come even close to falling off for ko reason. I have ripped them off walking around a corner in the house, getting into or out of a car. Dexcom was nice telling me thatā€™s actually pretty common. But this one just went missing. Ug!

Anyone had this happen to you? Iā€™m back to trying to manage with finger sticks and itā€™s difficult to keep under 160. Iā€™m bummed because everything was working like promised when they sold me on trying the Dexcom G5. Itā€™s been fantastic. Iā€™ve had several depressing heath turns this year and, ironically, my diabetes was the bright spot in it all.

I might give Dex a call to see what they say but since they are now a publicly traded corporation they will never be honest with customers again.

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found an app that claims it will sense the BT signal strength. So far results are not very inspiring. But it did uptick near where it makes sense it fell off but the sensor is nowhere I can see it. Thinking it might actually be outsideā€¦will look when the pain meds & coffee kick-in a bit more.

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Great A1c! so glad the Dex is working for you, except when it gets lost. That is really some bad luck. Hopefully the companies do the right thing and replace it.

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I popped out a transmitter once while weeding in the garden. Happily I found it in the mulch and was able to pop it back in. After that, I started using OpSite Flexifit to keep the sensor in place. There are many types of overlays, e.g., GrifGrips, to secure the sensor.

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thanks for the atta-boy on the a1c. For me a CGM is really ideal for how I perceive managing the BS.

As for the darn sensor laughing itā€™s happy behind off at meā€¦ ahem. hehehe

But you know, Dexcom should consider adding a buzzer we can activate in the app just for situations like this. A lot of us are older now and our eyesight is not as good as once upon a time, especially in the shadows. I would suspect adding a tone generator would be really trivial in both hardware and software.

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on good griefā€¦ in the lawn cuttings? thatā€™s a good one. So cool you found it though.

I donā€™t need anything to cause the sensors to adhere better as a rule. I get good adhesion but if the next sensor is like this I am definitely saving your suggestions. I do have bunch of left over adhesive coverings for when my hip was replaced a few years back. I have used then cut into smaller chunks when I had the G5 and my senor got a bit dirty around the edges. Used it as a just in case. Worked pretty well but kind of bulky. So will look at your list for sure.

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hmmmm, I think Iā€™ve learned some pretty obvious to anyone but me apparently. The TX only is active for a few seconds every 4min or so. oops?

this is now a quest not for fun anymore! :stuck_out_tongue:

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Far less than that. Dexcom transmitters broadcast data once every 5 minutes. The old G4 only needed 4.48ms to broadcast a packet of data.

With the G6, the amount of data that is transmitted can vary, depending on what the controller asks for. At a minimum the transmitter advertises its presence every 5 minutes with an ā€˜advertising packetā€™. Then there is a service discovery phase (bit hazy on the details here) where the BLE central can inquire of the peripheral what services and characteristics are available. Then there is an authentication step, where the central and peripheral exchange some messages derived from the transmitter ID (to prevent snooping by people who donā€™t know the ID).

If that passes, there is then a pairing phase where the central and peripheral exchange keys to set up an encrypted connection. After all this, the central (1) asks the peripheral for its current time (2) sends any pending commands (start / stop / calibrate), (3) asks for the current glucose, (4) asks for the latest calibration and (5) may ask for 3 hours of backfill data.

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thanks for being so helpful. Really I mean thatā€¦ while it doesnā€™t help at all right now, it does for future understanding in how it all works. Always amazed by just how many really solid IT people are here helping!

I keep threatening t0 break out my old enterprise developers hat but then Archer comes on TV or something equally as shiny. hehehe

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hey Jim,

do you have any suggestions on where I can at least lurk and read in developing modules for Xdrip. I can manage apps (as in old school meaning of what an app isā€¦ :stuck_out_tongue:) to play with the data exports from Xdrip fine. but would help to get a better feel for the design of Xdrip as a framework?

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https://gitter.im/jamorham/xDrip-plus

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yeah I have the source from Github. Didnā€™t know about the research version to bang on so cool. Just have had only the source from the dowloads pageā€¦

Was hoping to find somewhere with actual dev to dev conversation. And w/o the typical arrogant know-it-alls the field attracts. Most if us can hang shingle after shingle of accomplishments when youā€™ve been at it for 20-40yrs. For me I developed a taste for positive peer interaction.

Iā€™ll look at some of the Q&A on the Github pages as I know there is a fair amount of discussion there and it looks to be a good place to start. I just enjoy the peer exchanges plus the fun of joking around too.

Sorry if my typing or phrasing looks odd. I broke my glasses and also having flare (meh, escalation really) of lifelong insomnia and have been getting about 3hrs sleep every r 54hrs give or take. Example today it marks 4hrs in about 3 days. It has finally begun to affect the cognitive part of things. so if I post something in a disjointed or just messed up Grammer I appreciate your taking the time to figure out what the crazy old fart is posting.

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The link to GITTER above that I included in my previous post IS where you can converse with the developer(s), as well as other knowledgable users who often perform needed, early QA for xDrip+. Most of the participants are not at all arrogant. They genuinely want to help each other improve their diabetic experience. You can ask questions in the gitter forum and will surely get a helpful response.

Github is totally different from Gitter. Github is meant for code developers and reviewers so they tend to get directly to the point without considering oneā€™s experience. Gitter is much more for ā€œdiscussionā€. I recommend you check out the conversations on the link I posted.

Oh, Iā€™m very sorry to hear of your insomnia. That has to be bad for your BGs as well. I hope it clears up!

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oh crud, sorry I misread the text. need to go get at least some new readers. Very appreciated to have the linkā€¦awesome.

My insomnia is literally a life long thing no docs can explain and no meds help. Def frustrating when I hit those ā€˜flaresā€™ of it. What sleep I do get is totally inverted. I can, once I get tired enough, Iā€™ll sleep lightly during the day. if I stay awake all day, Iā€™ll sleep about an hour then wide awake. Going in for a new sleep study to see if anything has changedā€¦as usual the doc suspects sleep apnea but weā€™ve never caught it to confirm as I almost always canā€™t sleep during the studyā€¦ itā€™s both weird and actually interesting.

for me my BG is not affectedā€¦ hence my past 3 a1c results of 6.9 (down from 13.9several years ago) then 6.0 and 5.9. Then again who knows maybe if I can sleep well again the insulin resistance might improve. I can say w/o hesitation the CGM is the primary reason Iā€™ve developed such tight control while still eating well.

Just very few carbs is main diet changes this past 3 years plus the constant monitoring via our CGMs. I also made several other changes this past year which were the final pieces of my puzzle.

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Have you tried Melatonin for sleep? I used it once for a flight to Australia (24+ hours) and it worked great.

Yes, I agree, CGMs really make a difference. Sensor day changes/failures are my worst days of BG control! :frowning:

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I was also going to suggest Github. Facebook has groups for just about everything so you might give that a shot as well

Not to totally hijack, but my wife and I used to binge these episodes, soo funnyā€¦lol
Imagine our surprise when one of our friends said their 11 year old was watching this cool cartoon called Archer. She had no idea what her kid was watching, you should have seen the look on her face when we showed her part of the first season. She said she had some talking to do with her son. So many topicsā€¦

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@rkw back to your transmitter issue ā€“ I would definitely phone Dexcom directly and complain about the transmitter issue. They guarantee that the sensors will work for 10 days ā€“ yours did not and took the transmitter down with it. You may have to go up the chain of command on the customer service line OR just continue to say ā€œThe sensor fell off, along with the transmitter. I have no transmitters and need you to replace the one that was lost.ā€ And then be silent ā€“ they will make their way to making it right for you. Just be persistent.

And I am so sorry about your long time insomnia. Iā€™ve also suffered my whole life, although in what sounds like a different way. It is so frustrating that there are no easy go-to fixes. Wishing good rest for you - Jessica

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