We fell in love with Dexie...

I've always hear other D-families rave about their Dexcom CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor), but didn't really consider making the switch ourselves.  We had the Medtronic CGM which integrated with EA's Medtronic Revel pump.  However, at a Family Diabetes Event, we heard Dr. Gary Scheiner speak about the latest Diabetes technology, including the Dexcom.  Hearing others' stories and hearing Dr. Scheiner talk about the increased accuracy and decreased pain, caused me to consider Dexcom for the first time.  We got started and several months later, we have fallen in love with "Dexie".


Here are some of my favorite things about Dexie:

• It's a smaller site that doesn’t need extra adhesive tape (savings: $115/box for 55 large Tagaderms)
• The insertion needle is MUCH less painful, and I can change the site now while she is awake.  The whole insertion process is much less stressful for me, and I only have to change it once a week, which relieves me of a lot of stress.
• EA has almost NO irritation/itchiness at the sensor site.  This was a big motivator for me in considering Dexie, since EA complained of itchiness quite often and seemed very uncomfortable with the Medtronic.  
• I’ve almost never lost a sensor connection with the Dexcom, while the Medtronic did this to us quite often, even if the pump & sensor were inches apart.  This caused us to loose data and be without the sensor readings for several hours while it re-booted.
• The receiver is easy to read.  EA herself reads the receiver to me, and presses the OK button to clear the alarm.  This is much easier than the integrated system of Medtronic, because the button process is a bit more complicated.  She seems much more confident with the Dexcom and loves to enter info herself.

There are 3 things that I do miss from the Medtronic Sensor: 

• One can NOT program the alarms like you can on Medtronic.  EA almost always has a large post-breakfast BG spike.  With Medtronic, I would turn off the high alarm during the after breakfast hours so it wouldn't beep incessantly during her class while I worked to get those spikes down.  With Dexie, I have no control over this and she just beeps away in class, but has learned how to turn it off.  She knows to alert the teacher if it says she's low.

• EA cannot take ibuprofen, so she must take Tylenol for any high temperatures.  We had our first bout of sickness with strep shortly after receiving the Dexcom.  I rely on the CGM to help me through sick days when EA's BGs are more volatile, so I was disappointed to learn Dexie is not accurate when someone is taking Tylenol.  I did find that Tylenol suppositories do NOT affect the Dexcom.

• We now have to carry an extra device, the receiver.  However, with the new pump pouch EA has, she doesn't seem to mind.   I hope Dexcom can address the alarm & Tylenol issues in future versions.

Otherwise, we are very thankful for Dexcom and how it has made wearing a CGM more comfortable for EA and giving us more peace of mind with it's increased accuracy.