Hey, sorry Nick Jonas and Dexcom and all the rest. But sometimes I just wonder…
I heard a comment one time that said, “My Dexcom is so accurate, I never test anymore.”
If you don’t test, you won’t ever see things like this.
And BTW, there was no IV insulin given or anything that should have given results like this.
You can have my BG meter when you pry it out of my cold dead hands.
I have run into this too. I literally had mine off by 75 points higher one morning. Usually when I calibrate it to get within 5 points in the first 24 hours, afterwards it doesn’t go that astray. Usually it loves to slowly trend lower on me and if I don’t keep an eye on it, it can end up being 20 points plus under what I really am at. So I always check mine too.
20 points might not seem like a lot, But at 130, I dose, but at 105 I am happy. It makes a difference. Like @Eric has said, I’m not letting go of my BG meters.
@Eric such a pretty picture. I wonder which number is accurate? I know which number I would choose being a longtime Contour fanboy. If I didn’t have a Contour nearby a Freestyle Lite would be my next choice (my next favorite and back up back up meter).
For giggles you should have verified the Dexcom against a Lifescan meter (apologies in advance for those who use and like that meter)
I agree with the Contour number being the best, and Freestyle being the second best.
I think the Freestyle is generally a few points higher than the Contour, and is sometimes less consistent. Two consecutive tests with the Contour are always very close. Sometimes the Freestyle has a bigger difference between two consecutive tests
But to me, 126 and 122 are pretty much the same thing as far as what I am gonna do with it. 
I am sorry to all for being disparaging to the Dexcom. I know it’s an incredibly useful tool. But sometimes it just frustrates me.
(I guess that’s fair. I also love my wife, but sometimes she drives me nuts too. 
)
I got an early lesson in the foibles of the Dexcom G6. It may have been in the first week of the first sensor. It was showing hypo that I treated and treated. The low numbers would not come up. Finally it twigged and I did a finger stick. I was way high.
Since then I do occaisional finger sticks, especially if the Dexcom data seems wacky.
BTW, @Eric , I got that neat little Contour Next One last week. It fits perfectly in my kit that fits in my cycling jersey pocket. The kit goes with me everywhere. Besides the meter, it has strips (individually wrapped, lancet, glucose tabs and a couple of snacks. Oh and an emergency syringe to draw insulin out of the pump should it fail.
Agreed. When mine is wrong it’s off by 20-ish points, which is usually right at the margin of calibrating it. Almost every morning I can count on those sorts of false highs. Sometimes I rage-calibrate, but half the time that just makes it worse. The alternative to calibrating is mentally subtracting the 20 points for a day, or however long it takes it to get back to normal. And after a run it gets so confused that I just don’t trust it at all for about an hour.
The CGMs are a very useful tool but I can’t imagine not using fingersticks. I never dose without them.
The no more finger sticks phrase has always drove me crazy! Dexcom G6 is amazing but that is totally misleading.
If I wanted crappy control I would no longer do fingersticks. It looks like I’m not the only one who pulls out two meters to double check dexcom lol
To continue the theme, I love my Dexcom, but it’s all about the TREND not the actual number. I trust my Contour more than my Dexcom for the number. Sorry Dexcom. Sometimes things just move too fast for you to keep up. It’s not a Millennial or Gen Z thing, it’s just that if I’m going to treat a low I want to know, really know - beforehand. And a trend just doesn’t get it done when I’m low. When things are stable and moving a little slower, you are my rock Dexcom, my trend savior. I can glance down at my smartwatch or pump, or phone or whatever connected robo-device i’m rocking currently and know you have my back. My trend buddy is on the job. When I’m high we need to talk and maybe consult with Mr/Ms Contour just to be sure you aren’t telling tales. Sometimes you don’t tell the whole story and I should have taken more insulin sooner, and would have except you fooled me with your sneaky trend arrow. That’s why we consult with the Contour twins. Don’t take it personally, it’s both of our faults. Maybe I didn’t drink enough water today, or maybe your sensor is grumpy and just needs to be reset (again). Oh, did your hear your cousin G7 is coming to visit soon?
I felt a little bad because my initial post was somewhat caustic. And I thought maybe I should clean it up a little bit.
I was vexed last night because the Dex number was so ridiculous. That’s why I did the post.
And then I felt bad about it.
@Josie nailed it. The “no more finger sticks” thing is what drives me nuts on the ads.
EDIT
I edited my original post. It’s a little nicer now. 
No apology necessary, Eric. I mean, we all have learned good stuff from you, and even the most laid back of us need to vent on occaision. And your post was illustrating an uncomfortable fact for some people who have swallowed the no need for finger sticks hype put out by the CGM people.
Sort of like the Tesla self driving advertising. You are a better person than most for editing your original post.
I completely agree with @CarlosLuis . I think most of us know where your head was at, and those that don’t will soon find out based on their own personal experience.
Hi Everyone- This post has been so helpful! I got my first CGM yesterday - a Freestyle Libre 3 sample from the diabetic nurse educator. After I put it on, there was bleeding through the hole in the middle. It took a while to stop and was very off-putting to the nurse who said, “I’ve never seen this happen before” followed quickly with, “This can happen occasionally” lol. I was glad to be wearing a mask so she couldn’t see the look of horror on my face.
Anyway, about an hour later, I got my first alarm for low glucose at 69. I didn’t feel hypoglycemic and I’m not on insulin yet so I wasn’t sure what to do. The next reading was 77. About an hour later I got a reading of 58, so I did a bg with my trusty meter - 102. Low glucose alarms went off all through dinner until “lost signal”. I took it off around 9pm.
“Freestyle” is a good name for that little device. It was definitely taking some improvisational readings from my arm 
(Edited to not sound so cavalier about my low readings.)
@jpf it’s always been my experience that bleeders have the best readings once they settle down. Hang in there. It’s not a very common occurrence, but I highly value my bleeders when I get them.
I’ve seen some gluco normal people use CGMs on their you tube channels. They take the actual numbers soo seriously. If they only knew….
I wish I had seen the original post. I get the same thing with my Libre3 SOMETIMES, and it’s the inconsistency that concerns me most of all. The one I’m wearing now is pretty spot on. But the last one was always low by about 30 points - I kept getting alarms for going below 55, and the finger stick would show low 80’s. It’s a crap shoot with every new sensor. Also, I’ve noticed that some of them start out accurate, and get worse and worse over the two week lifespan. And yet, the insurance company won’t pay for strips because I also have a CGM, so I buy grey market strips on Amazon (clearly labeled ‘Not for sale in USA’), and just hope they’re reliable.
This happened to me on my previous sensor. I’ve been using Freestyle Libre 2 since Nov 2021 and FreeStyle Libre 3 since November 2022 and this was the first time I’ve bled on application.
I dabbed the blood off as best I could (I couldn’t really get inside the hole and didn’t want to irritate it) and stuck a waterproof plaster on it. I had searched and found posts from people who had bleeding, and the bleeding stopped, but started again later. I didn’t want to risk bleeding on clothes, sofas and bedsheets, so I put on the plaster just in case. There wasn’t any blood on the plaster when I removed it two weeks later, so I think it was unnecessary but I slept sounder not worrying about it.
Once the bleeding stopped, it was a pretty consistent sensor. No pain, no more blood and readings close to my meter.
Bleeders are readers. 
I actually took my daughters dexcom off this morning and haven’t put a new sensor on yet because it has been driving me absolutely mad. So many false low alerts all night long and every post meal reading is at least 20 points above finger sticks. I’m considering leaving it off for a period of time. She isn’t using insulin, so we don’t really run the risk of missing a severe low. But, the thought it daunting. I’m honestly not sure what the right answer is. I miss sleep! 
