I could not find any user feedback about Senseonics CGM, please share if you have it
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@Charlie the bulk of the user feedback will be EU based as they have had the 90 and 180 day cgms for awhile now. US availability was 2018? and integration has been slow to date since they have yet to get any traction with insurers.
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Letās just say Medtronicās in the NIT tournament while dexcom and libre are battling it out in the NCAA March madness tourney
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If Senseonics gets their non-technical act together, they could be the next star player.
The Eversense technology is extremely impressive. The Senseonics management team so far seems to either be incompetent or have questionable motives.
PS - I hate the stupid auto-filter that insists on stripping quotes. If I want to quote the entire previous message so it is more clear which I am replying to then I will quote the entire previous message. Blah.
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While their sensor technology is impressive, the need to have small surgical procedures every 90 days isnāt so attractive. Maybe if it lasted a year.
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@Chris
Agreed.
However IMHO this has nothing to do with the technology. The technology already clearly works 180 days at a minimum.
The failure of the Senseonics management to immediately start the process for the 180-day approval is IMHO inexcusable from a business point of view.
(Pure guesswork below backed up by absolutely nothing.)
I expect (most) people would not (currently) consider this as a viable option due to the small surgical procedure at 90-day intervals.
I expect most people would consider 1-year intervals to be acceptable (and would then focus on other areas of comparison/concern/discussion).
I expect that 180-days would not be long enough for everybody (as you clearly indicate) but the increase in acceptance over 90-days would be huge. Not to mean the technology is still going to be appropriate and a choice for anybody but rather that the duration of the insertion coupled with the required small surgical procedure would no longer be the main point of discussion.
(End of guesswork. Below is intended to be factual)
As FYI, the clinical trial for the US FDA approval for the 180-day device (ie - Eversense XL which currently AFAIK is the only version currently being inserted in Europe as the 90-day version has already been phased out in Europe) was started about two months ago in January of 2019.
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Do you have a feel for the probable timing of the FDA approvalā¦assuming they hit their goal of completing the 180 day clinical trials in late 2019?
I agree that Senseonics seems slow to start the clinical trials for the 180 day sensor in the US. I expect that approval will be a āslam dunkā once they complete enough clinical trials. Even the 90 day sensor will be a big step up in usefulness for me compared to Dexcomā¦I am one of those people who tries not to schedule the ādying breathsā of a sensor to overlap with hockey games which hit on 2-3 nights a week. The last thing I need is to show up at a rink and see the ā???ā on my Dexcom. I will consider trading off an Eversense insertion every 90 days over this weekly guesswork of G5 sensor longevity, provided the rest of the Eversense package meets my standards for ease of use, accuracy, etc.
As far as Libre vs Dexcom, one observation I have is that Libre is readily available at every pharmacy I have been in lately. When I inquire about ordering Dexcom sensors or transmitters, many pharmacists give me a puzzled look (or stare at their computer) and suggest the Libre as an alternate. In other words, Libre is much easier to get which (I believe) gives them a huge business advantage over both Dexcom and Eversense going forward.
From my initial experience with ordering the Eversense sensor and transmitter, I suspect Eversense users will continue to have a difficult time processing orders via the DME supplier they are using (Solara). Even with two endos and the Eversense sales rep trying to push the process through, the DME supplier has been moving at a snailās pace.
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Assuming management does not screw up the clinical trial and does not screw up the FDA submission?
Best guess early Spring 2020.
In terms of Dexcom session stopping at bad timing, if you extend, remember that there is no need to wait until day #10 to extend. If more convenient to extend on day #9 then extend then. If extending, I would STRONGLY suggest that you check the cgm against a reliable meter for a good 2 or 3 days afterwards and perform calibrations (no more calibrations than once every 12 hours) if difference is unacceptable to YOUR standards.
I have another post on Dexcom via Pharmacy. Granted, I may have been the first one to ever discuss this with our Pharmacy staff but that is OK. We are in the midst of a Dexcom refill via Pharmacy. The last Dexcom G6 sensor was filled on the 28th of last month. Today (on the 25th), I received a txt msg that the script is processing (or whatever they call it) and they are ordering the sensors for us. (No surprise they do not have these stocked). Last month, it took one day for the sensors to come in. If these sensor again come in and are ready tomorrow, that would have required zero effort, zero phone calls on my part. Same out-of-pocket cost as via DME (either medical supplier or direct from Dexcom) and none of the hassle of backorder, black-hole order process, etcā¦
This is something the Senseonics management should have been working on PRIOR to the FDA Approval. Look how fast the Libre was ACTUALLY available as soon as the FDA Approval came through. Granted, Abbott is obviously a huge company and Senseonics is a little tiny company. Regardless, Abbott showed that it is POSSIBLE and Senseonics showed what happens with a good product that is not available and not covered by most insurance. I fully and 100% blame Senseonics management for that. If the product ultimately fails, it would not be to bad tech. IMHO.
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I always appreciate your insights! I am rooting for both Dexcom and Senseonics to succeed long term and am concerned that Senseonics roll out was not managed better. Hopefully they can recover some momentum if/when they get the 180 day sensor approved.
Iāve had a good long run with extending G5 7-day sensors and only occasionally struggled with a sensor dying at an inopportune time, but my attitude sometimes caused premature ābetter safe than sorryā sensor replacements. Usually I have to make a decision on a āripeā sensor (already restarted once or twice) about a day ahead of a hockey game for peace of mind. I have relied on gut feel about the ripe sensors (consistency of graph, calibrations, BG checks etc.) with pretty good results but still find it to be one more time-wasting hassle Iād rather avoid if I can, and frankly a little stressful driving to the rink and not totally trusting that my sensor is good.
I could always switch to the G6 or replace my G5 sensors at 7 days but Iām going to defer that decision until I test the Eversense. Plus I like the old push button G5 receiver.
Iāve been doing G5 orders via pharmacy (billed via DME benefit) since December and found my 20% copay was much lower than Edgepark had been billing. After the second order I grew dissatisfied with my local pharmacy. The owner understood what he was doing but they had some order-fillers unable to process it through my insurance. So I tried some chain pharmacies who seemed pretty clueless about Dexcom supplies (except trying to sell me a Libre). I eventually got G5 sensors via QFC (Kroger) pharmacy at the same co-pay I had been paying at the local pharmacy. But they were unable to understand the difference between a 90-day transmitter and a 7-day sensorā¦so I went back to my locals.
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Sounds very similar to how we decide when the sensor is still good or not.
Well - lol - So I didnāt want to bash our pharmacy so I may have left a small part of our story out.
But yeah - They also seemed confused on this. The sensors had the pharma printed label for the transmitters and vice-versa.
I am hoping when I go to pick up my 30-day sensor refill tomorrow that it really is an order of sensor and not another transmitter.
I have a good feel about this approach (ie - Pharma for Dex) but the proof is always in seeing.
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@John58 - if you are good with the G5, stick with it! There is something truly a bit off with G6 sensors that, especially if you are extending at all, you may notice your ability to extend is limited. I am hard capped at 10 days and much of the time donāt make it to 10 days with G6 before getting breaks in coverage and multiple sensor errors leading to sensor failure. (Today I had a new sensor in fewer than 24 hours and wound up with a sensor AND transmitter error - ugh! But thatās the first time that one has happened.). Anyway. Strong advisement to stick with G5 as long as you can. I wish I had. Jessica
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