I was transferred to G7 earlier this year after being on G 6 for one year. My experience of failure rate with the G7 is about the same, and disappointingly high. Since last August I have had one complete failure to pair up, which I think may have been due to a slightly bent sensor ( when I removed it); and a couple of times when I got wildly erratic readings. This appeared to be a result of bleeding, visible on removal; one time when so much blood spurted out that I had to remove it anyway, and one when the ‘brief issue’ alert came up. This did resolve itself after 24 hours, but I got a false low alarm in the middle of the night when the sensor failed. A finger prick test revealed that I did not need the glucose I had hastily chewed, which was annoying. That is about 5 complete failures in 11 months and 1 partial failure. That seems to be a lot but maybe not percentage wise. I have not been able to find Dexcom’s own statistics.
I have to say that I have found Customer service quick to answer the phone , very courteous, and have always received a replacement very promptly. I receive the CGM sensors thanks to the NHS so I cannot complain. Yes, I wish the failure rate was lower, but I have ceased to think it was my fault.
On balance CGM is a great improvement. I think the challenges are not for the faint hearted though -not just the sensors but the connection to the tandem T slim I found quite hard to master, and have probably experienced every possible problem. Getting the sequence of changing the sensor and pairing it has to be just right.
I also have to remember to take twice the number of sensors with me that I may need when I go on holiday.
At the end of the day, I have my trusty finger prick kit to rely on - and that is what I had to use for 25 years so overall I can go with the inconvenience.
I would like to hear of other’s experiences with G7. I am 79 years old with rather wobbly skin on my arms, so maybe that does not help! And maybe I am not so quick to learn new technology as others.
