An Epic CGM Sensor

Just don't smell it. Trust me.

What do you call a one-month anniversary? A monthiversary? Mensaversary?

I ask because a couple of days ago I had the pleasure of celebrating a very special one-month anniversary– that of my CGM sensor. That’s right; I had hit a new sensor-longevity record: that sucker worked for a solid month. August 22nd to the day it died, September 22nd.

I didn’t make it easy on the little guy, either. That sensor went rock climbing with me. Flew in a plane. Swam. And I suppose I took at least sixty showers.

I consider this a victory. For Medtronic manufacturing, for 3M Tegaderm tape, and for my non-biofouled insertion site.

Take that, diabetes.

Karmel Allison
Karmel Allison

Karmel was born in Southern California, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of nine, and educated at UC Berkeley. Karmel now lives in San Diego with her husband, where she is loving the sunshine, working in computational biology at the University of California, San Diego, and learning to use the active voice when talking about her diabetes.

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Dr. Margaret A. Morris
12 years ago

@Kymberly– Abdomen– I’m too much of a wimp to try to put it anywhere else. My back is too hard to get to with the Medtronic launcher, and doing it in my thighs seems like it would be frighteningly painful…

Kymberly
Kymberly
12 years ago

I’m curious where your sensor site was when it lasted 1 month.

Dr. Margaret A. Morris
13 years ago

It does get red and inflamed– but so do all my CGM sites, regardless of time-in-body. I would say it’s worth trying, but if the site bothers you at all or starts getting more inflamed than normal, take it out; for some reason, my body seems very accepting of the sites for extended periods, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing (come on immune system, shouldn’t you be rejecting that foreign invader?), and I imagine it’s different for each individual. Also, to be clear, I’m not a medical professional by any means, and can only say what’s worked… Read more »

Beth @ Shug in Boots
13 years ago

Wow! This sounds terrible, but I’ve always automatically changed it after 6 days. Does it not get infected/red? Maybe I will try it longer and see what happens. What an inspiration! Duh! :) It’s also super interesting that accuracy IMPROVES with age?! Really? I feel enlightened.

June S.
June S.
13 years ago

I’m not sure how safe it was for you to have worn your MM sensor for such a long time. One needs to think about the possibility of infection, of course. I, too, wear MM sensors, and find that, like a fine wine, their accuracy improves with age. Anyway, I’m afraid to leave one in for more than 10 days at a time.

Bernard Farrell
Bernard Farrell
13 years ago

That’s impressive. Best I’ve done with a Dexcom is about 20 days and I usually get 12. After that the adhesive really goes away, swimming and showering don’t help!

Vivian
Vivian
13 years ago

THAT REALLY CUT THE COST DOWN A BUNDLE.  BEST I HAVE DONE IS 9 DAYS.

colleen
colleen
13 years ago

Nope, won’t do any sniff tests.

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