Newbie and dexcom bruising...

[Lollypop91]

Hi all,

This is a long one so bare with me lol.

I have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes very recently. At am 34 weeks pregnant and it was found I had diabetes 4 weeks a go. They were certain I had diabetes and not just gestational as my hba1c blood test was 74. They done the antibody test to check for certain what type I have and I was told on Wednesday it's definitely type 1.
So it's been a tough few weeks, especially the last two days. But I am getting there and I'm okay.

The main reason for this post is this;

I have the dexcom G6. The first time I put it on my under arm I put it on length ways and it was too wide and really hurt and was bruised and bleeding lots, so I ended up phoning them and they said to take it off and they replaced the sensor. The new sensor is on and didn't hurt, I have it going long ways this time so it fits on my arm properly without pulling. The only thing is I have noticed a huge black/purple/blue bruise forming where the sensor is and spreading right out. It's really bad. Do you think I should just leave it and carry on? It doesn't hurt really but everywhere says to take it off if it's bruised.


Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Thebearcametoo]

I would give them a call and chat about placement etc with them as there are lots of variables. If you’re quite skinny it can hard to get a squishy bit of your body to put it in and I’m guessing using your abdomen instead isn’t a great idea at the moment.

I hope all goes well with the baby

 

[Bruce Stephens]

The only thing is I have noticed a huge black/purple/blue bruise forming where the sensor is and spreading right out. It's really bad.

I think I'd remove it. I had that once when I tried the inside of my arm (with a Libre sensor), and never again!

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi all,

This is a long one so bare with me lol.

I have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes very recently. At am 34 weeks pregnant and it was found I had diabetes 4 weeks a go. They were certain I had diabetes and not just gestational as my hba1c blood test was 74. They done the antibody test to check for certain what type I have and I was told on Wednesday it's definitely type 1.
So it's been a tough few weeks, especially the last two days. But I am getting there and I'm okay.

The main reason for this post is this;

I have the dexcom G6. The first time I put it on my under arm I put it on length ways and it was too wide and really hurt and was bruised and bleeding lots, so I ended up phoning them and they said to take it off and they replaced the sensor. The new sensor is on and didn't hurt, I have it going long ways this time so it fits on my arm properly without pulling. The only thing is I have noticed a huge black/purple/blue bruise forming where the sensor is and spreading right out. It's really bad. Do you think I should just leave it and carry on? It doesn't hurt really but everywhere says to take it off if it's bruised.


Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

If you are able to send them a picture of your arm then they can see exactly what is happening and maybe offer some suggestion.

 

[Lollypop91]

I would give them a call and chat about placement etc with them as there are lots of variables. If you’re quite skinny it can hard to get a squishy bit of your body to put it in and I’m guessing using your abdomen instead isn’t a great idea at the moment.

I hope all goes well with the baby

I will give them a ring. Thank you for the reply.

It's really not accurate either. It keeps missing hypos, telling me I am sitting at 5.6 and I felt shaky, used my blood checker and I was on 3.1! I'm getting myself stressed out over it.

I am skinny but definitely have flabby bits under my arm lol I had the libre 2 and that was absolutely fine. No bruising or pain.

I'm not allowed to place on my abdomen at the moment. Only my underarm but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working out for me.

 

[Lollypop91]

I think I'd remove it. I had that once when I tried the inside of my arm (with a Libre sensor), and never again!

See I was fine with the libre! I never had to remove or have any pain or bruising with it.
I am going to give them a ring in a moment as I am having issues with the levels being wrong too.
Thank you for the reply.

 

[Lollypop91]

If you are able to send them a picture of your arm then they can see exactly what is happening and maybe offer some suggestion.

I have taken some pictures so I will send them if they ask. I still have the bruise from the last one which was over a week a go.

 

[Lollypop91]

Not nice. I can see under the sensor it looks black.

 

[Inka]

I’d remove it personally @Lollypop91 I don’t use Dexcom but I had a pump cannula that did that and I removed it. Have a tissue ready because my cannula bruise bled a fair bit.

Is going back to the Libre a possibility if you were ok with that?

 

[Lollypop91]

I’d remove it personally @Lollypop91 I don’t use Dexcom but I had a pump cannula that did that and I removed it. Have a tissue ready because my cannula bruise bled a fair bit.

Is going back to the Libre a possibility if you were ok with that?

Thank you for the response. So I kept the dexcom on as I've never not had a cgm in my arm so didn't want to remove and have nothing. And my diabetic team are not available to speak to at the weekend. Well it started to bleed before removal, the white patch around the dexcom was red/brown with blood. I finally spoke to dexcom and sent them some photos. She said it's the worst bruise and reaction she has seen to it and thinks that maybe something else is going on with me (possibly low platelets) that is causing me to bruise and bleed so much so advised I end sensor and remove then speak to a gp about a blood test before inserting a new sensor.
Of course I only had a few strips left as I don't normally have to prick my finger so I couldn't remove until this morning as I had to call 111 and get an emergency supply of testing strips.

Absolute nightmare.

So yeah! At the moment, no more dexcom for me. I have libre ordered on my repeat but that probably wont be in until Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[Inka]

Poor you @Lollypop91 - that looks very unpleasant. Hopefully it will heal quickly now the Dexcom is out.

I know this is no use to you now but it always pays to order strips even if you have a sensor, and keep enough in stock to cover you. Lots of things can go wrong with sensors and their readers, and it always happens at a bad time eg the weekend, middle of the night, important meeting, etc. I also use strips when my blood sugar is changing fast as the Libre can’t keep up. I use them to check hypos and highs too, and before I drive. Even when you get your Libre, do still order some strips so you have enough in store.

I hope your blood tests are fine. I put my cannula incident to just inserting in the ‘wrong’ place. I hope that’s the case for you too.

 

[Lollypop91]

Poor you @Lollypop91 - that looks very unpleasant. Hopefully it will heal quickly now the Dexcom is out.

I know this is no use to you now but it always pays to order strips even if you have a sensor, and keep enough in stock to cover you. Lots of things can go wrong with sensors and their readers, and it always happens at a bad time eg the weekend, middle of the night, important meeting, etc. I also use strips when my blood sugar is changing fast as the Libre can’t keep up. I use them to check hypos and highs too, and before I drive. Even when you get your Libre, do still order some strips so you have enough in store.

I hope your blood tests are fine. I put my cannula incident to just inserting in the ‘wrong’ place. I hope that’s the case for you too.

I do the same, I test when libre says I'm having a hypo to make sure it's correct. Also when it's over 11.1. These are things my nurse has always said to do even with the libre so I get 50 strips. But unfortunately I put the prescription that was due in on Thursday. I couldn't put it in any earlier than that. They also recently upped all my insulin so my levels have been dropping low which they always do when it has been changed, then it settles down. So I've used more strips than usual. Just a lot of annoying things happening at one time to cause a massive load of stress this weekend.


Thank you though. Hope it heals up quickly too. I thought that I had put it in the wrong place the first time I used it because I bruised and it really hurt. This time the nurse showed me where to place it and it didn't hurt so I thought it was all good. I can't use on my belly until baby has been born.

 

[Inka]

The whole prescription thing is annoying, isn’t it? I hate running low on stuff and not being able to re-order when I want to. Perhaps you could have the number of strips increased? I have a fair few strips on my prescription which allows me to keep a good amount. I then don’t have to order them every month, just when I drop below a certain number of strips.

Personally I’d stick with the Libre if you got on ok with it. I put ‘wrong’ in commas like that because it was technically the right place but clearly wrong for me eg it hit a capillary or whatever. You didn’t do anything wrong at all - just bad luck.

 

[Lollypop91]

The whole prescription thing is annoying, isn’t it? I hate running low on stuff and not being able to re-order when I want to. Perhaps you could have the number of strips increased? I have a fair few strips on my prescription which allows me to keep a good amount. I then don’t have to order them every month, just when I drop below a certain number of strips.

Personally I’d stick with the Libre if you got on ok with it. I put ‘wrong’ in commas like that because it was technically the right place but clearly wrong for me eg it hit a capillary or whatever. You didn’t do anything wrong at all - just bad luck.

Yeah it's really annoying lol. When I collected the emergency prescription the pharmacist said to have a word with the GP and ask for some more. They did the same with the needles. Didn't give me enough to cover how many times I inject so I had to phone them and ask for more. They done the math and said 'oh yeah you need more don't you?' silly people lol.

I will do, i was doing well on it, sometimes it would be a pain in the arse with signal loss but it was always very accurate. Dexcom has caused me grief since the second I got it lol so I'm staying well clear for now. Hoping the libre will be ready tomorrow at the chemist but we shall see.

Thank you for your kindness

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry you had a dodgy time with Dexcom, those bruises look nasty!

Hope the Libre continues to work well for you. Gotta keep looking for the kit that works best for you as an individual eh!

 

[mikeyB]

The advantage of using Dexcom G6 is that you have a choice of insertion sites. I have put the latest sensor on my arm for the first time, all my previous sensors have been on the abdomen, as is demonstrated in the instructions for the G6.

What happened with the bleeding an the bruising is that you punctured a significant vein which are more common on the inner side of the upper arm. In my case I only insert sensors (when I used the Libre) where i have to shave the hair before inserting.

At 34 weeks you may well be able to see abdominal veins and so avoid the problem, and avoid the arms.

 

[Lollypop91]

Sorry you had a dodgy time with Dexcom, those bruises look nasty!

Hope the Libre continues to work well for you. Gotta keep looking for the kit that works best for you as an individual eh!

Thank you. Yeah definitely! Hopefully once I have had the baby I can try again and see if it's any different. I know it's meant to be very good, and so far the dexcom customer service is amazing.

Thank you again

 

[Lollypop91]

The advantage of using Dexcom G6 is that you have a choice of insertion sites. I have put the latest sensor on my arm for the first time, all my previous sensors have been on the abdomen, as is demonstrated in the instructions for the G6.

What happened with the bleeding an the bruising is that you punctured a significant vein which are more common on the inner side of the upper arm. In my case I only insert sensors (when I used the Libre) where i have to shave the hair before inserting.

At 34 weeks you may well be able to see abdominal veins and so avoid the problem, and avoid the arms.

Whilst pregnant you are not advised to place on abdomen. Even the customer service lady I spoke to from dexcom said pregnant women should not place on their stomach. She advised not trying again at all until I speak to a gp. I know I definitely hit something the first time as it really hurt after insertion. I couldn't stand the pain so I had to take it off after about 4 hours. This time it felt fine and didnt hurt at all. Even before taking it off it didn't hurt at all and doesn't hurt now.