Samantha Walsh
Samantha Walsh has lived with type 1 diabetes for over five years since 2017. After her T1D diagnosis, she was eager to give back to the diabetes community. She is the Community and Partner Manager for T1D Exchange and helps to manage the Online Community and recruit for the T1D Exchange Registry. Prior to T1D Exchange, Samantha fundraised at Joslin Diabetes Center. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelors degree in sociology and early childhood education.
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If you use a CGM, have you ever extended your sensor past its approved session duration? Cancel reply
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I extend every G6 sensor. Many will last another 10 days, some less. My very first one I wore for 30 days, and it worked great the whole time. I used to extend the original Medtronic Sof-Sensors, which were only supposed to last 3 days, and had very good results with them most of the time. I wore one of those for 56 days once. The Medtronic Guardian sensors (3) always lasted a full week for me but I could never extend them longer than 2-5 days, so I usually didn’t bother trying.
Needless to say, I dislike the all-in-one sensors that they are all moving toward. First, no more extending them. Second, I hate throwing all those batteries and electronics in the landfills multiple times a month.
Back before the G6 I extended it all the time. Now there is a hard shut off.
Looking forward to G7 and integration with OmniPod. If it does not happen soon I may change to the MOBI.
I spoke with Insulet and they claim that the Omnipod 5 will be compatible with the Dexcom G7 by the summer of 2024.
How is this possible? When it’s time to expire, 10 days, it stops working. Are you guys just entering the same sensor number you are wearing into the app as if you replaced it? And that worked?!
I pop out the transmitter, leave it off for 30 minutes, and restart it. There are videos on YouTube showing how to do it. Don’t get discouraged getting the transmitter out. It takes a while. I use any sensor code and I’ve never had any issues.
If I can’t get new sensors in time, what are the alternatives? This is one reason why I’m dreading the Dexcom G7.
I use the Libre2 and now Libre3. As far as I know, they can’t be extended. Does anyone know differently?
All the time with the G6. Just because I could. Don’t think possible with G7.
I used to get up to 14 days from the Dexcom G5 but I do not know how to get more than 10 days from my G6.
I think it is easier to extend the CGM with Medtronic than with Dexcom. I use Medtronic sensors and I extend them all the time. The original sensors were approved for 3 days and I extended them to 6 and 9 days. The latest is approved for 7 day use. I can generally get 3 to 7 days extension. For Medtronic, when the sensor comes to an end, remove the transmitter but leave the sensor inserted. Recharge the transmitter and the reattach it to the sensor. Then just treat it like a new sensor. I replaced a sensor yesterday after using it for 14 days total.
How do you get the tapes off, unplug the transmitter and replug it in w/o pulling out the sensor?
Yes! I must add that I insert the Guardian 4 in my thigh and abdomen. I don’t use any of the tape that Medtronic supplies. I just slap an overpatch over the whole thing. Works well for me; no issues and easy to carefully remove overpatch, disconnect and charge transmitter, and insert transmitter back into original sensor. Pump will ask if new sensor, I confirm, and the warm-up will start.
@ mojoseje. It’s a little bit tricky, ma’am, but if you’re careful, or you can get someone else to assist you, it can be done. You might also like to try cutting around the original tape to remove the transmitter, charge it up, then use a new sticky tape and tape it over the original tape. When your pump ‘picks up the signal’, indicate that you’ve inserted a new sensor. 😉
I am lucky if my Dexcom sensor lasts the full ten days without failing. I start getting the no readings alert usually on day 6.
I use the Medtronic 780G system with the Guardian 4 sensors. I usually extend a sensor for another 7 days (14 days total) with no problems. I find them easier to extend than the Dexcom G6 I used to use with the Tandem T-Slim pump. These companies seem to be moving towards all-in-one sensor/transmitters so that extended their use in future models may become impossible. Corporate profit will always eventually trump consumer attempts at frugality.
So the “overpatch” you use doesn’t pull out the sensor when you peel it off? I use the tape that comes with the sensors, and even though it looks ratty and is peeling at the edges, I can’t remove it and the transmitter w/o the sensor coming out. I’ll look for this Overpatch product!
I’ve tried but I get error messages after Tslim warm up
What is the secret of how to extend a G6??
You remove the transmitter from the sensor (it’s tricky, Google it), put it out of range of your phone/receiver and pump for 20 minutes (you can put it in the microwave (don’t turn it on). Then start sensor. Some say without a code, but I always use the original code for the sensor.
As Jim said, you can remove the transmitter or if you stick a test strip between the transmitter and sensor at the smaller end for 15-20min, that also works and can be easier to do
Instead of just googling it, you to YouTube and search for it. There are several videos which I watched and one person had a technique I had success with.
Idk that was possible
Medicare is very strict about the timing of supplies. By re-starting cgm sensors you can get ahead in case of supply issues.
Would love someone to give me a tutorial on how to extend my Medtronic Guardian sensor, lucky if it lasts the full week.
Medtronic or and their training team, do not seem to offer this service. What is the secret?
It is virtually impossible. I need my husband to help me because there is no way to plug the transmitter into my arm one-handed. To extend the use of a sensor, you’d have to take off all of the tapes (Medtronic does not send extras) disconnect the transmitter w/o pulling the sensor out (ha!) recharge it, plug it back in, and retape (ask your doctor to prescribe more).
Do you want to do a phone call? I extend guardian 4s regularly. You may have seem my post from earlier in this thread.
Yes, but I’ve rarely gotten a full two sessions of accurate readings from the Dexcom G6 sensors. When I was still using Dexcom G4, I used to routinely get 25 – 40 days of accurate readings from my Dexcom sensors.
Last time I extended sensor use was last week to avoid having to remove a 3 day old sensor for an MRI, and with that sensor, by the time I pulled the sensor for the MRI on day 13, the sensor was already starting to give questionable to highly inaccurate readings.
I have extended but it only lasts another day or two and is erratic. Not worth it for me.
Used to do it fairly regularly as a way to build up my emergency reserve stash. Which you’re not supposed to have, apparently, but unlike the world the pharma’s, insurers and rule makers live in, in our world–mine at least–sh** sometimes happens.
I routinely extended the sensor time with the G5 but haven’t been able to so with the G6.
Did not know this was possible. Wish I had as CGM’s are often late as Medicare is very strict on delivery.
Freestyle Libre cannot be extended after its 14 days
How do you extend the time you can use it? The G7 allows for a 12 hour grace period, but that’s not the same as extending it past the allowed time. I heard a while back that G7 was approved for 14 days, but the current programming allows for 10 days.
True, from what I have heard, you can’t extend a G7. Currently the G7 only goes for 10 days. It may be extended in the future
Yes. As a matter of fact, the last sensor that I used it did. Somehow, I must have pushed a wrong button on my Tandem X2 pump, and accidentally ended my Dexcom G6 CGM sensor session (after only 2 days on that sensor). So, I removed the transmitter, leaving the sensor attached to me. I waited about 15 minutes. Then, reattached the transmitter. Reentered my code, and voila. I was able to use the sensor for the full 10 days.
I believe I tried once and it didn’t work for me so I have never tried again.
I also hate when you get two sensors with the same code as the warm up will fail and tell you that you can’t restart a sensor. The problem is that it is not the same sensor. It just has the same code.
If you use a different code, you can restart it. I happened to have one with a new code and was able to restart the first one after it failed to restart one time.
I’ve heard that you can, but I don’t know how. I do always make use the the G7 12-hour grace period. Also, I do a finger-sticking day between sensors. That limits the finger-sticks later if I have issues getting sensors.
A long time ago
My Libre 2 cannot be extended. It is only good for 14 days.
I said yes, but I should qualify my answer. I have not extended a CGM SENSOR since the Dexcom G3. It was a shorter duration product.
Yes, I have a G6 and I found a YouTube video that showed me how to get another session out of the sensor.
Using a G6 I’ve done it a few times. Don’t like to hear that you can’t with the G7!
Shelly, that’s what they said about the G6, too. I’ve tried to extend it but have never been able to get it to work. I wore my G4 and G5’s 3 to 4 weeks at a time.
I could pretty easily extend the duration of my CGM when I was using the Medtronic sensors, but I’ve been unsuccessful with the Dexcom G6.
Yes, however, I only got a free days extra and the numbers weren’t that accurate.
Yes, I restart my Dexcom G6 every time. I used to get a full additional 10 days of wear out of it, but now I usually get 5 to 7 before the readings start getting too erratic.
How do you restart the G6 and make it work? It has never worked for me.
Same for me.
G6
Since my G6 didn’t last until the 10 promised days without becoming erratic or just failing outright, I didn’t really have the opportunity. Not that I would trust the numbers if I did.
I am on the Eversense now and it should be good to go for another 4 or so months. *crossing my fingers!
I tried once but it only gave me one more day. Not worth it for me.
The manual insertion for the G4 and before was so dreadful that I wore each sensor for multiple weeks so I didn’t have to push the plunger on a new sensor. There were no alerts when you changed sensors then.
I did all the time with my G4 and G5. I’ve tried many times with my G6 but have never successfully been able to extend it.
Libre 2 stops working in exactly 14 days and cannot be extended.
I used to when I had G5 Dexcom but when G6 came my bag of tricks didn’t work. If anyone knows how I’d love to know.
Yes, but no longer. In their wisdom (greed) Dexcom prevented doing so with the G6. There may be a hack around their restriction, but I haven’t tried to find it.
look in youtube. there is one
I answered, no, but I did do this once at the direction of a company representative. My CGM was having issues so I called to see what I should do and the rep had me restart it. This led to one extra day of CGM use.
I have a G6. Considering how inaccurate they are on the 8th to 10th days, (yesterday (7th day) it showed bg falling through 50, actually was climbing through 180) the last thing I want is to extend it. I’d rather do the finger sticks that I can trust. Having said that, I still prefer having it over not having it.
To my knowledge the ability to do so is not possible. If it can be achieved, I would love to know how, and seek to possess the technical coding, technical information mandatory to achieve it!!!
only once….. removing the Dexcom transmitter is more effort than it’s worth to eke out a few more days. I would extend the sensor if I was out of supplies or had a good site and needed reliable data for event away from home.