…this keeps happening on Day 9 of wear:
I don’t understand why the sensor error occurs. But it almost ALWAYS happens on the ninth day: My sensor will work wonderfully and provide me with extremely accurate data, but then BOOM it’ll sporadically stop working and produce graphs like the one above that are virtually useless. Even worse, there’s no telling when exactly it’ll start communicating again with my receiver. The error message SAYS I’ll get data back within 3 hours, and I normally do, but there’s a big difference between going 10 minutes and going 2 hours without any readings.
This device has so many good things working in its favor: longer wear, painless insertion, increased accuracy, compatibility with acetaminophen, slimmer profile. But I’m of the opinion that if something says it will totally function for a certain length of time, then it WILL. The fact that it doesn’t, and that this has occurred more than once to me, is alarming and frustrating.
The only possible explanation I’ve come up with is that maybe the upper arm isn’t a great place to wear the G6. As we all know, Dexcom devices are FDA approved to be worn on one location, the abdomen. However, that hasn’t stopped the cheeky diabetes community from wearing it elsewhere. Besides the upper arm, I’ve seen people with it on their forearms, thighs, and calves. I even know one clever person who chooses to wear it on the upper bum during the summer months to prevent tan lines (hilarious and brilliant, IMO). I choose to wear my CGM on my upper arm most of the time because it’s comfortable there, and I like to give the sites on my belly a break. But maybe it’s time I start wearing it more frequently on my stomach, the “officially okay” site, to see if that prevents these ridiculous sensor error scenarios.
What I’d like to know in the meantime, though, is has this happened to you or anyone you know using the G6? Has anyone pinpointed a cause, and is it worth notifying Dexcom of this issue? I’d love to hear your stories and thoughts – drop a note in the comments or get in touch with me directly!
Hugging the Cactus 
This has happened to me with every G6 sensor so far (four of them)! The first three died at six days; the fourth at nine days. They were all on my abdomen. The last tech support guy I talked to said he thinks it’s the transmitter. So I started a new transmitter, but since it’s only been one day with the new one, the jury’s still out on that as being the solution. Someone else told me their sensors keep going out on day six, too. I’ve been using my abdomen because I think they won’t replace the sensors if they go out while on an alternative site. But it would be worth asking if they would replace the ones you’ve had go out–they’re so expensive. Please update us with anything you learn! This has been so frustrating. Also, they are having supply issues, so even when they promise to replace sensors (and now a transmitter), it takes longer than usual to get them.
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Wow! That sounds beyond annoying. I know what you mean by the supply issue – they told me that they would overnight a replacement sensor, but it took about a week for it to arrive. I’m hoping more people share their G6 experiences so we can learn more about how to prevent these kinds of issues. Thanks for your comment!
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I’ve only had the g6 about 3 weeks however they also disconnect, doesn’t seem to be on a certain day and sometimes only for 15/20 mins but others I can be disconnected for a couple of hours, all sensors have been on my abdomen too
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