@Quadgirl - I use a barrette, like the purple one in the last video/picture that @Marie posted, to pop out the transmitter. Works like a charm. I bought a whole bunch of them and would be happy to send you a couple if you’d like to try it out. Jessica
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Another premature Libre3 death just now (actually knew it was dying yesterday, as I was getting ‘urgent’ low-G alarms all day while finger sticks showed me to be in the 80’s and 90’s). I’ve come to accept sensors that last 12 days out of 14 as ‘pretty good’, and I am too lazy to call Abbott and go through the questioning every time it happens (most of them, at this point). Of course, on the other hand, every time I just let it go I feel guilty that I’m letting the community down by allowing the less than up to par QC slide, but there’s only so much time in the day and those phone calls are so time consuming…
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It doesn’t happen often but when Dexcom is way off, and I want to correct it and have the correction persist, I calibrate 3 times, 15 minutes between each calibration. It is very predictable what each calibration does - it takes the two numbers (the Dexcom reading and my input), adds them then divides by two, and what results is the average (mean). Three times in a row, over 30 minutes, and I’ll end up with a Dexcom reading very close to where it should be reading and the calibration “sticks”.
Example, using your numbers: If Dexcom is reading 143 and I calibrate with 118 Dexcom will correct to 131. Next calibration I’ll put in 118 and Dexcom will correct to 125. Final calibration I’ll enter 118 and Dexcom will correct to 122.
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I’ll also share what I’ve found to be a valuable technique - don’t press down on the inserter when pressing the button to release the sensor wire. A long time ago, when I was struggling with Dexcom accuracy, someone suggested I have such a light touch between the applicator and my skin that I could hardly feel it touching. The sensor wire wants to be shallow, to read interstitial fluid in the shallow, subcutaneous zone. Anyhow, since following this practice my Dexcom behaves like a champ.
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I’ve gotten really lazy. I just do 3 calibrations one after the other and Voila Dexcom is showing the new number. All done in 2 or 3 minutes.
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I’m retired and have too much time on my hands, I guess. 
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@Strat1117 If numerous are going bad towards the end, I understand not wanting to call, it’s tedious. I would suggest since you are only losing a few days with each one that maybe you call/fill in the form in every 4-6th sensor and that way you make up for the lost days. You can use the online reporting form and it makes it a lot easier. You don’t get all the weird questions, but you still answer some basic questions.
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I am not sure where I read this, but I actually pull the inserter --back-- so that I’m pulling my skin that the inserter is stuck to a little bit, so that maybe I’m tenting the interstitial space a little bit when the wire goes in. I have such terrific luck with extending sensors, maybe helped along by this little trick?
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I do the same. My thinking is that by lifting the skin the sensor lead will not hit muscle, as I have very little body fat. Just count yourself lucky about being able to extend sensors. I don’t have such luck.
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I too had read somewhere that pulling up on the skin helps, but for me they were already working fine and I was restarting and extending them. I started doing it to try not to hit muscle like @CarlosLuis since I like putting them on the front of my arms. I am not lean, it’s just there is not a lot of fat on the top of my arms. My muscles would get achy when I had a sensor right over them so I figured I was getting close enough to bother them. Lifting when I apply a Dexcom has helped that. Of course it would be really difficult to lift a Libre as you have to press down on it to apply it.
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I’ll have to try this “tenting” approach to see if I can avoid my chronic bleeder problem with G6s. It won’t be an option with the G7s because they shifted to a press-down application system, but they also shortened the sensor wire. I didn’t have bleeders with the two G7s I tried.
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I can’t do the skin lifting trick with my Libre3, but I have had somewhat better luck since I stopped applying ‘excessive force’ to the applicator and only press down hard enough to trigger the springs in the applicator. They still die a day or two early, but I’ve cut down substantially on the doa’s, or the 3 days and out scenario.
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@mremmers Thanks for that. I think that could be my problem. And the one I just put on must be a little deep because if I sit in a certain chair, I get instant pain upon contact of arm with dexcom touching the chair. And I am not changing it since it is now calibrated and I have had such poor luck with these g6’s lately. Thanks!
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Thanks, Eric! That is funny!
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This is an interesting article from 2018 on glucometers.
It is not saying they are worthless, but have limitations when it comes to accuracy v a venipuncture lab test.
Oh and like @Eric You will have a hard time prying my meter from my cold, dead, stiff hands.
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Yes - my endo and I have discussed this many times, and his position is that the CGM is for keeping track of trends, not absolute BG numbers so, even if it is off, as long as it is consistently off, you still have an idea of when you are trending in the wrong direction. I use the finger prick now only to corroborate (or discount) an alarm or, conversely, when I don’t feel ‘right’, and the CGM is unperturbed about it.
It had not really occurred to me that the strips themselves could also be wonky.
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