I’m in possession of nine CGM sensors; which, as someone who pays out of pocket, is far more sensors than I’ve ever had at one time before. Since I’m hoping each of these will last for a month, I’m wondering what the best storage method is. I’ve heard of people storing sensors in the fridge. Does anyone here do this, and if so, do you feel it preserves the longevity of the sensors?
I store mine in their boxes in a big plastic storage bin, along with infusion sets, cartridges and other diabetes junk.
I’ll be honest, I cannot conceive of a reason why it would be beneficial to store them in the fridge. If anyone can provide me with any reasoning maybe I would consider relocating mine!
1 Like
Probably the fact that it holds them at a constant temperature in darkness.
We store ours in a closet in a bin. The enzyme is not hydrated when in storage, so I see no reason why the fridge would help, but on the other hand, it probably wouldn’t hurt either.
I do move mine from a closet that gets warm in summer to the basement landing. Otherwise, nothing special for storage…
I am always impressed at the length of time youyour sensors keep going, @Jen!
Well, it’s partly because I will restart the sensor about four times in a row before giving up. This sometimes means several days with no reliable data. Most others I know give up on a sensor sooner than that (as would I, if I had coverage for them).
1 Like
@Jen, this comes from a guy in my group. He posted this a couple of weeks ago. In response to his post, a number of people left comments that seemed to back the claim. I don’t store them in the fridge myself, but it was a little convincing to hear people in warmer climates confirm shorter sensor life. Not convincing enough to actually get me to put them in the fridge, but that’s just a character flaw. 
“Today's hint for those who feel they are not getting 7 days use out of a guardian 3 sensor.
First, let’s talk about expiration dating and in use stability claims. The long term storage for these sensors is set for 36f to 80f. So hypothetically it will last until the expiration date when stored up to 80f and have 7 days in use stability at that max temp. Now… I spent many years working in the in vitro diagnostic business (lab tests/assays). During that time I was actively involved in stability testing protocols and results. Based on my experience minimum dating is achieved at the elevated temperatures while max dating is achieved at the lower storage temps. The dating on the package is the most conservative dating allowed.
I store my sensors in the refrigerator and warm them at room temp for 1 hr before use and have never had a sensor fail with less then 7 days of use. My suggestion is to improve performance of your sensors store them in a refrigerator at temps above 36f and warm in the sealed package for 1 hr prior to use. Using them immediately out of the refrigerator can cause condensation which may impact stability.
Note: Your performance may vary from my performance, (lol, my disclaimer)”
I have no idea why it did that. I’ll fix it if it says anything more than “Guardian sensors”
Thanks! It’s been pretty hot here (though isn’t usually), so I think I’ll pop them in the refrigerator just to be safe.
1 Like
Oh, good. I hope it works out!
I just keep ours in the box they come in, inside a closet. Nothing special required to my knowledge.
Out house is set to 75.
From the Dexcom website: Sensor Storage
"Sensor Storage
Store the sensor at temperatures between 36°F-77°F for the length of the sensor’s shelf life. You may store the sensor in the refrigerator if it is within this temperature range. The sensor should not be stored in the freezer.
Storing the sensor improperly might cause the sensor glucose readings to be inaccurate."
I dunno. It’s damp in my fridge. Dampness seems non-ideal, no?
I just reloaded and saw @Nickyghaleb posted different info. It gets way hotter in our house than 80°, and not often colder than 38° so maybe I should shift to the fridge.
Sigh.
So many variables to control on every stinking thing.
When our A/C went out last month, it didn’t occur to me until a few days into bandaiding the situation with portable units that my Dexcom sensors were all stored high up in a closed (hot) closet. Heat rises. Darn it.
So now I have them all in portable, breathable storage bins on the floor in a room with black-out curtains that are usually closed which help keep the room consistently cool.
I think having air conditioning makes a big difference. If I could keep my apartment at 75 degrees, I wouldn’t worry about the sensors at all. But I don’t have A/C and we’ve been going through a heat wave the past two weeks, so my apartment has usually been much hotter than that.
1 Like
I agree that it isn’t ideal, but any moisture also has to penetrate the packaging. The point is probably moot since you probably will use any you have now in under a year, and unless they are stored really poorly, I doubt storage will be the issue. Pick your poison, i.e. temp or moisture.
1 Like