Dexcom G7 thoughts and general Dexcom experiences?

[littlevoice359]

Another thought springs to mind in this regard. It seems to me that there is the possibility of some phone protective cases interfering with the bluetooth antenna reception. So, if any of you are having difficulty with signal loss, irrespective of the type of CGM transmitter involved, it might be an idea to remove the phone from the protective case to eliminate that as a possible cause of the problem. Hope that makes sense?

 

[ChrisH22]

My wife (T1 55 years insulin dependent) has recently been trying G7 since L2 has been getting more and more unreliable after 3 year of L1 & L2 usage. Using L2 with bulky winter clothing became a real pain on top so it was time to consider a change. Using G7 is chalk and cheese and easy to set up and use - once you have a compatible phone (£250 for a reader!!) The compatability list is on the Dexcom site and you have to get the correct model of phone. Eventually we did and havent looked back. The app is clear and meaningful and yyou can modify everything important. Reconnecting BT resolves the few issues but living with new technology is like that. Customer service and delivery has been very impressive as well.

 

[Paulbreen]

My iphone seems more robust in terms of its connection to the G6.

The tandem tslim seemed to benefit from being on the same side as my sensor arm though.

Glad I'm not the only on Mike, they definatley work much better together when both are on the same side, I'm over a year now with the G6 and T-Slim and still in the high 90% with my time in range, cant fault either unit.

 

[Deetee40]

I started using the G7 a month ago and my experience to date has been very positive. It is much smaller than the G6 and it is recommended that it is worn on the back of the arm, just like the Libre. This, for me works much better than the G6 which I wore on my abdomen (I stopped using the G6 after my 1yr contract expired because I became allergic to the adhesive).

On the plus side, the accuracy is very good. For my current sensor I have only had to calibrate it 3 times during the past 6 days. Each time, the sensor was under 1 mmol/mL different to a finger test. For instance, at lunch today, I chose to do a finger-prick test for comparison as my blood sugar was a little high ( I have one of my frequent winter colds ). The G7 app showed 8.7 and the finger test showed 8.6.

Another plus is that the G7 warms up in 30 minutes, as opposed to the 2hrs for the G6. It is a little jittery for the first 24hrs but still useable.

The alarms are not nearly as configurable as xDrip+. They work quite well with my Apple Watch, though, so I have not had a problem so far.

On the negative side, your concerns about mobile phone compatibility are well-founded. Luckily, my iPhone 8 is compatible so I did not have to jump through any hoops. I have two old Android phones (Samsung and Sony) that I have used for xDrip+ but neither of those is compatible with the stock Dexcom G7 app on Google Play. I think there is a build-your-own solution now for the G7 app but I have not had any experience with that.

It may be important to point out that, because the G7 has a built-in transmitter, the previous method to link the sensor with xDrip+ will no longer work, since there is no way (that I am aware of at least) to determine the transmitter ID. There is a 4-digit numeric bluetooth pairing code on the device that is used to pair each sensor with the app.

You can, though, set up xDrip+ as a Dexcom Share follower. I was able to get that working quite well, but I got tired of having to carry around two phones, so I turned it off again.

The G7 Apple Watch app is not really useable at present, as it takes too long to update. So I had no option but to install the SugarMate app on my iPhone and set the Apple Watch face to use a Sugarmate calendar. This is not ideal, but it is good enough for now. See photo below/attached.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now. I hope this is useful.

I have a Samsung S21 the G7 is compatible with that I calibrated my G7 3 times also and found it very accurate whilst my control is very good I still have the odd highs or lows my G7 woke me at 2.10 am yesterday with a low alert, I only have it on the free 10 day trial as Leicester is one of the few places that do not prescribe the G7, disappointing

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Oh, blimey! 😱 A receiver doesn’t look like a good option then (unless the clinic will provide it)!

I'd be very interested to hear if your clinic do provide the Receiver and if so what geographic region you are. I use a Samsung A52S successfully. The Bucks, Oxford and Berks (BOB) ICS don't include G7 Receivers on their Fomulary (nor Dex One Receivers at £50) and my inside help can't find any intention of that likely to change in the near future.

After Libre 2 and Dex One I found the G7 the most reliable for durability and accuracy, with calibration a great extra feature. The sensor output is far less "twitchy" than the other 2. Shorter warm up, always under 30 mins. I somewhat begrudge the 10 day sensor duration, can't get into a routine, but I like the 12 hr carry over. The app is less slick than L2, needing different steps to record FP readings and/or calibrations, insulins, meal carbs and other notes; and I don't like the limited views within the app, or else the delay as it opens and compiles a "Clarity" report (the equivalent of LibreView) onto my phone.

I'm temporarily self-funding G7 and simply can't afford a Receiver as well. I'm interested that your Clinic are offering G7 which is not a cost neutral alternative to L2, whereas Dexcom One is cost neutral. G7 is costing me c. £150 pm, but there is a cheaper quarterly subscription rate, tied to an annual commitment; I'm hedging my bets just now as I try G7.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

I'd be very interested to hear if your clinic do provide the Receiver and if so what geographic region you are. I use a Samsung A52S successfully. The Bucks, Oxford and Berks (BOB) ICS don't include G7 Receivers on their Fomulary (nor Dex One Receivers at £50) and my inside help can't find any intention of that likely to change in the near future.

After Libre 2 and Dex One I found the G7 the most reliable for durability and accuracy, with calibration a great extra feature. The sensor output is far less "twitchy" than the other 2. Shorter warm up, always under 30 mins. I somewhat begrudge the 10 day sensor duration, can't get into a routine, but I like the 12 hr carry over. The app is less slick than L2, needing different steps to record FP readings and/or calibrations, insulins, meal carbs and other notes; and I don't like the limited views within the app, or else the delay as it opens and compiles a "Clarity" report (the equivalent of LibreView) onto my phone.

I'm temporarily self-funding G7 and simply can't afford a Receiver as well. I'm interested that your Clinic are offering G7 which is not a cost neutral alternative to L2, whereas Dexcom One is cost neutral. G7 is costing me c. £150 pm, but there is a cheaper quarterly subscription rate, tied to an annual commitment; I'm hedging my bets just now as I try G7.

Just realised that for your pump G7 could make sense as an alternative to L2, even though its more expensive.

 

[Inka]

Just realised that for your pump G7 could make sense as an alternative to L2, even though its more expensive.

Yes, that (because they offered me the facility to loop with a G6, which I refused, so I’d clearly qualified for a Dexcom) and also because of erratic blood sugars caused by the perimenopause - ie I had an extra reason to have it, it wasn’t just a routine prescription.

 

[Deetee40]

It's a shame that it is postcode lottery as to what you can be prescribed, it should be the same nationally according to need🙄

 

[SB2015]

. Even having it on the other side (i.e., with much of my body between the sensor and the phone) can cause the G7 app to show a 'Signal Lost' error

I am not using the G7 but for my sensor/transmitter I find I have to have the pump and transmitter on the same side of my body, otherwise I get ‘lost signal’ message. A similar issue to Dex and phone.

 

[helli]

I only have it on the free 10 day trial as Leicester is one of the few places that do not prescribe the G7, disappointing

I think it is more likely that there are few clinics that DO offer the G7 as standard. If you read the NICE guidelines, people with Type 1 qualify for the Libre 2 or Dexcom 1. Anything else requires you to jump through more hoops and have more challenges with your diabetes management.
There is definitely no chance for me in my clinic in the South West.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

It's a shame that it is postcode lottery as to what you can be prescribed, it should be the same nationally according to need🙄

I couldn't agree more about the unfairness of "post code lottery" interpretations.

But to be fair here, this thread is in relation to the Dexcom G7 which is clearly defined by NICE and therefore interpreted by the NHS as an exceptional and higher cost medical device. There will still be cases where someone may be eligible under those more stringent conditions and yet might not be prescribed G7. I am not one of those, I simply am not eligible under the written guidance. That won't stop me asking to be considered as an exception, since neither Libre 2 nor Dex One provide me with a long term workable CGM; G7, so far, has proved that does work on my body and it has been illuminating to me just how much better daily living is with the right medication (ie G7). Meanwhile I'm pretty sure that I'll continue to intermittently self-fund G7 and manage in between with the less useful Dex One. My next Consultant review is this Wednesday; going to that in an optimistic frame of mind.