Dexcom G6 Guide - My Top 10 Tips so You Can Get the Most out of Your CGM

Did you just receive your Dexcom (maybe you haven’t even put the first sensor on yet) or maybe you’re a Dexcom veteran, regardless this is the video for you if you want to get the scoop on my Top 10 Dexcom Tips for getting the most out of your Dexcom.
I’ve been using Dexcom for years, first Dexcom G5 and now Dexcom G6, and overall I really love it, BUT you need to know how to use it right to get the most out of it
So let’s go…
00:00 Introduction
0:43 Should you rely 100% on your Dexcom?
1:26 How to use Dexcom arrows
4:09 Stop chasing high or low blood sugars
6:12 What to do about faulty Dexcom sensor
7:12 Where can you wear your Dexcom
8:27 What’s a Dexcom compression low
9:24 How to adjust your Dexcom alerts and alarms
10:37 Using Clarity or Glooko to download your Dexcom data
12:01 How to restart your Dexcom sensor
13:37 How to get Dexcom without insurance
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DISCLAIMER: I’m not a medical professional, never stop your current treatment without consulting with your doctor

[@luisa.davila1021]

I wish someone start A Congressional Investigation on Dexcom clinical studies.

[@jenniferfarley3858]

Thank you for your wonderful advice

[@eduardocusteau7947]

Great tips. Thanks

[@clarkrichards1907]

Awesome video.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Yay, thank you 😊

[@fredirle7173]

Great Tips! I have been using a Dexcom several months now and have learned a lot from watching your videos. I found your #1 tip to be one I really use now after fighting my blood sugars when I first put a new sensor in. The Dexcom G6 is better than sugar free apple pie. I do wish that Dexcom would put a insulin on board calculator on the app. Thanks for all your videos, they are a great help.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Thank you. And YES! being able to see IOB or have a calculator included in the Dexcom app would be amazing. I couldn’t agree more

[@bobrossi1185]

Thank you for you tips

[@DiabetesStrong]

Thank you for watching 🙂

[@lindasmith9072]

Thanks💛

[@DiabetesStrong]

Thank you 😊

[@javadhashtroudian5740]

Thank you. Great tips. I'm a 76 year old Biohacker and get my dexcom g6 through Signos. Currently sensor is going wild. I asked them for replacement.

[@dwightl5863]

I agree with your tips. Note when restarting the sensor: I reinsert the transmitter into the sensor after 15 minutes and have not had any issues. I have done it in less time but a few times I got the "Can't reuse sensor" message. Also use the calibration code (the 4 digit number on the sensor tab) for that sensor. That code is calibrated for that sensor at the factory for more accurate readings.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Yes, great additions. Thanks

[@robin31165]

@@DiabetesStrong hi there, regarding compression lows - do you suggest calibrating after discovering that a low glucose alarm is false, or do you think it’s better to just let the pump & sensor straighten themselves out? I’m specifically thinking of when I’m sleeping and would like to shut it up. BTW, LOVE your videos. You have been. very very helpful to me as I’ve been on a pump and/or sensor for many many years, but just started back on Dexcom wthe T slim/Tandem system & there are many different differences between Dexcom & Medtronic - which I discovered in the past when I had been on Dexcom many years ago, but when the 670 G came out & the closed loop system was available I thought I had to jump at the chance to use it, as I have always treated my diabetes in an ‘aggressive’ fashion. Take care, and thank you again. 😊

[@DiabetesStrong]

@@robin31165 I find that the sensor corrects itself very fast after a compression low so I don’t calibrate. But if your experience is that they mess up the readings you might want to. And I hear you on wanting to shut up the alarms! Thank you for watching

[@robin31165]

@@DiabetesStrong thanks so much, that’s a great tip! Love your videos. 😊

[@alliemay6076]

My advice (if you have access) is to work with an educator that specializes in cgm and pump education. They can show you how to adjust your setting for alarms and target range, how to read the reports and which reports give the best insight. At my clinic I’m also able to directly send them my reports from my clarity app, so if I feel like I need some insulin adjustments I can send that in for them to look at. Both my doctor and my educator like being able to see my data before appointments

[@dwightl5863]

My Endo, or I should say, one of his tech's takes my device (Tandem pump) and downloads the data into their system when I get to their office for my appointment.

[@deanpaul8493]

I have found that using a thin guitar pick I can quickly and easily remove the transmitter from the sensor prior to a sensor restart.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Oh yeah, I should have added that approach. I forgot about that. Thank you for mentioning it

[@rebeccabrown5014]

I learned so much with your tips! How could your insurance refuse to pay for a Dexcom for you when you have Type 1? That is shocking! I received a sample Dexcom from my medical provider but my 10 days wore out while my insurance was refusing to pay. My husband helped me hack it to get another 10 days. The diabetes educator had thrown away my 4 digit code so I had to calibrate. It kept asking me to calibrate every 15 minutes over and over until I went to sleep and ignored it. The next afternoon, when I had given up on it working, it suddenly started giving me numbers. It still took another 1-2 calibrations but it is now reading closely with my meter! 🙂

[@DiabetesStrong]

Oh, I’m glad it “got in line”. I’ve received a Dexcom sample from my doctor's office before as well. They’re great at supporting their patients. It comes down to money, and my insurance company must have an agreement with Libre because they’ve mid-year decided I can only get Libre 2. I chose this plan specifically because I was promised Dexcom was converted, so it’s frustrating and I'm not interested in Libre 2. That being said, if all fail I’ll take a Libre 2 over nothing

[@italianredneckgirl]

Totally love your g6 series. My Dexi is a pathological liar. Lol 😂

[@DiabetesStrong]

🤣

[@garyboyce6186]

I use a Costco card to release the transmitter works easily every time and if wreck the card easy to get a new one

[@danbev8542]

Great video! I just discovered you. Finally T1 discussion! My a1c went from 7.6 to 6.4 after getting my Dexcom. Their analogy of a couple of snapshots vs a continuous movie is a good one. I always check a new sensor’s accuracy. Sometimes I have to calibrate several times before it straightens up. You have my sympathy over your insurance company. I’ve had the same experience with mine over and over for various things. It’s probably a matter of time before I have to do battle to keep getting Dexcoms. It is infuriating the way they withhold vital medical supplies! Mine will only deliver one month at a time, so naturally when I had to go out of town, I couldn’t get my next month’s sensors on time. So I had to do without for 2 weeks. What do they think we are going to do with a years supply? Get high? Sell to a non-diabetic for kicks? Jeeez! I just want to get the stuff I need to live without enormous aggravation! Same with insulin, of course.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Ha! I know what you mean. My current insurance has turned out to be nothing but trouble. I can only get a month of insulin at a time (and have to use a mail order company) and now they won't cover Dexcom. They've decided they are ok with LIbre though. Let's see, but I'll find new insurance next year and will document that process. Thanks for tuning in 😀

[@jackschitt6235]

Have you written this up and sent it to someone at the American Diabetes Association because it sure seems to me like they should be aware/interested/determined to address this ridiculous obstacle for diabetics getting what they need without delays and complications etc.

[@user-oe5kz4zc9i]

Hey there. I have a question for you. I will be using the Dexcom G6 soon. Have you ever had an instance of the sensor not restarting once re-inserting the transmitter with the code? Like yourself, my insurance doesn’t cover and it’s expensive, however if I can get at least 20 days per sensor that certainly helps. By the way, love the videos. Thank you for those. Keep em coming.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Yes, not all of them will successfully restart :-( And some will restart but be too inaccurate to actually use.

[@donnamaas4909]

That’s great how you can extend the time of the sensor, is there a way you can do it with the the transmitter? As you could with the G5? 😊🇦🇺

[@DiabetesStrong]

Yes, this is how to restart it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gV7MgnefaZmIfrc

[@sheilamills1722]

My stomach is so sore and broken out from deacon and omni that I have open sores. Can I put it on my arm and omni on same side abdomen or both on my are.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Omnipod can be placed on your back, abdomen, and buttocks, so you have a few options. It's recommended that you have them on the same side of the body, and you can have your Dexcom and Omnipod on the same arm, however, they should be at least 3 inches apart.

[@rodbizzell2334]

I've only worn the sensor on my abdomen on either side of my belly button. However, twice a week I workout on a rowing machine for thirty minutes. The last two sessions I lost connection with my iPhone. It did return approximately five minutes after finishing.

[@DiabetesStrong]

That’s annoying. You’re not the first to mention that they lose signal when exercising. It’s not something I’ve experienced but one explanation was that it could be due to rapidly changing blood sugars. You could try and see if you have better readings if you wear it on your arm

[@pM-sh4ep]

Can you go over the standard deviation numbers on Dexcom in a future video? I’m curious what we should aim for with those. I’ve read that for non-diabetics it’s less than 20, but not sure what diabetics should aim for.

[@DiabetesStrong]

Not sure if I can do a whole video about that, but I’ll consider how to include it. Based on data from EASD non-diabetic std. is usually below 20. I believe the general recommendation is to just keep it as low as possible

[@pM-sh4ep]

Thanks so much for the reply. I’m trying to understand all the data available with Dexcom. I’ve been using Dexcom since June and just now feel like I’ve figured most things out. Your videos are extremely helpful.

[@barbr.1531]

Have you ever experienced a massive high blood sugar that just won’t come down. I am currently in the hospital because my blood sugars went totally out of control. When my blood sugars get this high (between 500 & 800) which almost never happens, I always get chest pain which is very scary. That I s what put me in the hospital. I was taken off my Dexcom and Tandem pump and put on Lantus and regular.it took about 24 hours for the sugars to get back to normal. The chest pain however took longer to fade away. My catheterization was about the same as it was 5 years ago. So my cardiologist is happy about that. I have no explanation as to why the sugars would go so high. I recently put a new cartridge in the pump. I was blaming the pump except I gave myself about 15 units of Novolog in my arm with no resolve. My Thanksgiving dinner was relatively light. Any advice you could offer would be appreciated. I’ve been doing so good on the Tandem with an A1C last month of 6.5.

[@DiabetesStrong]

I don't think I've had blood sugars that high since I was diagnosed and put on insulin. It does sound like a pump failure or that your insulin somehow had gone bad. I"m sorry you ended up in that situation, that sounds scary. You did the right thing by giving yourself a manual injection, it might not have been enough. Glad to hear you're on the mend

[@garyboyce6186]

I have always worn my DEXCOM on my thigh. It gets knocked off my upper arm too many times. Don’t like the stomach at all. Thigh is discrete and so far very accurate compared to BG readings on my meter

[@Gary3075Channel]

❤my dexcom is always 20 off ? Should I keep trying to calibrate it. I contacted dexcom and they sent me a sensor . Same issue . What do you think . Gary

[@DiabetesStrong]

Up to 20 mg/dl is generally considered accurate. As the sensor measures in the fluid under your skin and not in your bloodstream there will be times when they’re not the same. Check out my full video on accuracy here kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6GulaGKmsaCgq8

[@psychozen7169]

Best advice dexcom is garbage use to be awesome. I am so ready to go back to finger sticks. Tired of fighting with tech support even when you can point to the code mistakes in the app because you can actually code.

[@joegallo6447]

I just started G6 and its ok if there is a little blood around it?

[@DiabetesStrong]

It can be. Keep an eye on how accurate it is. Some bleeders are ok, but some will be painful and give you an inaccurate reading. If it's not ok, take it off and request a replacement. "Senor bleed" is one of the listed reasons for requesting a replacement

[@joegallo6447]

Thc

[@joegallo6447]

Thx

[@amygarcia8654]

So what’s the use of dexcom, if i still need to do fingersticks,..i just got my dexcom bec no fingersticks always then now it’s kinda discouragement vlog....

[@DiabetesStrong]

I went from doing 10-12 finger sticks a day to doing a few a week. From my perspective, that's still a huge upgrade

[@garyboyce6186]

My question is why is the DEXCOM 7 so delayed?

[@DiabetesStrong]

Good question. That I don’t know

[@cut--]

-Great tips thanks. I still get freaked out at 4 am when my low alarm goes off at 4am (aka you're going to die in 5 minutes if you don't eat a bag of sugar). It's common sense to drag yourself out of bed an do a stick. It's usually sleeping on one of my arms. -Do have any new info on new android software (v12) not working with Dexcom 6? I bought a Zfold4 and there was no dexcom app on the play store. MY "hack" was to use smartswitch app and rip it from my old phone. It works and it seems accurate. -Any tips on bolusing for meals? I always seem to underbolus because I don't really know how many carbs are in lobster roll or chicken wings. Also, if I eat out, I wait until my meal is delivered. I had a case where I bolused and 20 minutes later the waitress said they didn' have what I ordered so I panicked and had her bring so juice from the bar. thanks again so much for you videos! (you know more than my doc and Dex rep) 😉

[@DiabetesStrong]

I don’t have any insight into current Android comparability, you might have to stick with your workaround. For some reason, Android doesn’t seem to be a Dexcom priority. As for dosing, my next video just happens to be “How to succeed with insulin injections”, your timing is amazing. It will be published next Saturday at 3 PM ET. I think that will answer your questions in all the detail you need

[@kevinh995]

Da#n, I hope you win your fight against the insurance company!

[@DiabetesStrong]

Me too!! And pretty sure I’ll change insurance company when I can in January because this plan is ridiculous

[@ALeaud]

Wow. 3 sensors are over $370 in the US? They're only $299 Canadian for 3 (around $250US).

[@DiabetesStrong]

I know, it’s painful 💸

[@jeffasquith7708]

I'm confused. Why do you do pump and Dexcom reviews when you clearly state you hate them?

[@DiabetesStrong]

Haven’t done a pump review yet and actually wouldn’t be without my CGM. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t things I’d like to see improved though. If you watch my videos I hope that clearly shines through

[@amygarcia8654]

bottomline...it’s confusing, i dont know what to believe now...