So this past Sunday my Dexcom transmitter (yeah the gray thing you clip into your sensor) decided to just die while grocery shopping. Of course I was low, as that is always the case when I grocery shop. It just kept saying out of range and the battery status said ---. I was not a happy camper! So I called Dexcom when we were on the way home from shopping and they said they could overnight me one ( for an additional $13 because my ins only pay for 3 day shipping) on Monday. I was out of the 6 mo warranty by far, I think mine made it 8 months maybe. It was a horrible 2.5 day wait. I felt so very lost without my Dexcom, I actually had Diabetes anxiey like I was just diagnosed or something. It was a crazy experience to go without Dexcom. I couldn't believe I was actually going to have to poke my finger to know where my blood sugar was. Sunday night of course I went low, 55 low. An eat the fridge low followed that little fiasco. So after consuming a lot of carbs I finally stopped my shoving food into my face and decided, holy crap I just ate a TON of carbs! I literally have no control over myself when I am 55 or lower and if my husband tries to stop me he usually gets yelled at because my brain doesnt want me to stop eating. So I took a delayed bolus on my pump for 40 carbs in 40 minutes. I woke up later on at 250, took a correction and woke up at 200. Not so great but not terrible either, since I had no Dexcom. I don't know how anyone can do Diabetes with no CGM. I know I cannot go without it. I have had it for three years straight, not many breaks and those two days were torture!
So yesterday my new transmitter showed up and it was the new thinner profile one and I am SO HAPPY they brought out the thinner version! To me, it is much thinner and less noticeable. It actually took my Dexcom over an hour to realize I had a new transmitter because it kept showing out of range and the battery status said --- still. I was actually on hold with Dexcom tech support when it decided to start working. Go figure. :-)
Today is my first day wearing the new transmitter at work and it seems much thinner to me while I'm sitting in my office chair. I wear my sensors mostly on my lower sides above my waistband and I can typically feel it pushing into me, but today that sensation seems much less. It is thinner and also shaped a little differently. I will try to get a picture soon so you all can see it. Hopefully you all know by now that Dexcom did get the thinner transmitter approved and you will all get to enjoy it soon enough yourselves. Now we just wait for the G5 Dexcom release and hopefully when it is sent to a smartphone they make it Android compatible and not just iPhone (which is what I am hearing). I will not buy an iPhone (I refuse to pay their inflated phone prices), Ill just wait for the tslim/dexcom combo pump instead.
THANK YOU DEXCOM FOR THE THINNER PROFILE TRANSMITTER!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH I COULD HUG YOU!!!
Picture from another facebook user! Also these fit the current G4 sensor, so dont worry if you get a new transmitter your supply of sensors will still work. I was told it was made smaller by using one microchip instead of two, so the battery size is the same and still warranted for 6 months.
Here are some more pictures I took.
Please leave me your comments. It helps keep me motivated to keep blogging!
thank you for sharing this. can't wait for the thinner dexcom :) i would be LOST without my DEXCOM too...It SAVES my diabetic life every day :) does the thinner one last longer? work better? more accurate? :)
ReplyDeleteThe thinner transmitter is exactly the same as the thicker one, no changes in functionality is what I have been told. No upgrades or changes in the system itself until the G5 is what I am hearing. The thinner transmitter was approved so quickly because it is exactly the same thing but thinner and same functionality with just one microchip.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteAlso - thank you very much for supporting the #Vote4DM efforts! You rock. :-)
Testing, as my last comment isn't showing up
ReplyDeleteMark Im sorry I dont have any other pending comments from you....Sorry. Please recomment.
DeleteOdd, something didn't work when I tried to post through Google. Either way, the comment I tried to make initially was something like:
DeleteThanks for the post. I just started using Dexcom a few months ago and I'm wondering if I already have the thinner transmitter or not. It's kind of hard to tell just by comparing it to the picture.
Would you please be able to provide a measurement of the old vs new transmitter, or even just the new transmitter if you've already tossed the old one. Either measuring the depth or the weight (if you have an accurate scale) would work. Thanks!
I will try to get this done for you tonight when I go home. =D Im fairly certain I have my old transmitter.
DeleteThat would be awesome. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis is for the new thinner transmitter: the end that pops in with the little triangular shaped "legs" it is right about 8mm tall. I didn't get time to dig my old one out last night, my apologies, we have an almost 2 year old at home keeping us busy. From the long side of the transmitter when popped into the sensor it is 4mm above the plastic of the sensor. I am measuring this right now as its on my arm with a small ruler so my measurements are not 10000% accurate. I hope this helps, also your box it came in should have said something like new thinner transmitter I believe, unless they stopped doing that already.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if there are any savings available on the transmitters my husband needs to get a cgm but the cost of the transmitters is 60.00 per month even with our insurance.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
DeleteNo I am sorry I do not know of any savings programs for Dexcom. $60.00 per one box is really a great price after your insurance. You can stretch that box out to 2 months if he wears one sensor for 2 weeks. I know it is not FDA approved so you have to do so at your own risk. I personally wear mine more than just one week. So each month could potentially only cost you $30.00 per month and that is just a phenomenal price! I personally make cuts in other places in my life to afford my pump and Dexcom. We don't have internet access at our house, I figure sacrificing that luxury in life affords me the luxury of know what my Diabetes is doing 24/7 and to me and my family its an absolute must have.