Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Marketing Manager at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
like all so far, NO ,… But, I do mentally calibrate approx. the actual BG from what the CGM reading shows… Because I have found many times when I do a lab , finger stick and CGM test together, that the the Lab and FS are about the same, but the CGM shows way higher.. AAlso after 70 years T1D I can feel a low coming on even while sleeping .. I have used the CGM for only 2 years now..
I have the Tandem X2, Control IQ system with Dexcom G6 CGM. Usually, about 2 to 4 hours after a high or low blood glucose, my pump tells me to do a blood test. I usually ignore the pump in that regard. Otherwise, I do not calibrate my sensors.
Very frustrated with the CGM SYSTEM and Calibration Failures and Errors with the Sensors
My Dexcom G6 is not supposed to need calibrating, but I do calibrate it about 1 time per day. Usually, the finger stick and the CGM reading are close, but a couple of sensors have been off by more than 50 in the last year. The G6 has never told me it needed to be calibrated.
nother amount of time. Who has time for this?
“No required calibration” is a myth perpetrated by the manufacturer. The reality is far different.
Only get prompted to calibrate after I have calibrated on my own and the margin of error is too great.
I also use a G6/tslim combo and 2-3 days before the G6 needs changing have to recalibrate numerous times lately. A1C is < 5 very well controlled and notice highs are 50-100 pts higher.
Hi all, I have been using the Dexcom CGM 7 for about 6 months now after using the Libre one for almost three years which did need or ask for results to calibrated. The Dexcom g7 needs calibration as recommended by the Doctor’s and nurses, there is no prompt on the monitor itself which I use to keep tabs on my readings but I would do on average two finger pricks reads a day especially one before bedtime the last thing which I feel is important because any differences in the reads I will recalibrate wth the monitor and this leaves me at ease during my sleeping night. Overall I find the Dexcom g7 works well for me with this management process.
I calibrate fairly often the Dexcom G6. At least ten times during the day cycle of the sensor. I have not found it to be too accurate in the 10 months I have used it with the Omnipod5.
Remember that the reading can be +/-20%, also that it tends to lag behind a bit.
I use “no code” mode on my G6 so a daily calibration is required. But it’s more accurate for me this way.
I have not been prompted to calibrate, but about every 2 months or so, I have a sensor that reads way off and has to be calibrated a couple times and then reads fine.
I just changed to G7. The first sensor was good right after the warm up time. The second one was way low, I calibrate it a couple of times. It was good after that. The third one was low right after the warm up period last night, but I didn’t calibrate. As the evening went on, it got closer to the finger sticks. By the morning, it was right on. I’ll probably finger stick one more time today. If it’s good, I won’t check again unless something seems wrong. I used to have G6, it was usually always pretty accurate.
Great review…I’m about to upgrade to the G7 from the 6. Good to know they constantly improving it’s accuracy.
I use the Dexcom G6 and I think it says to calibrate after the warm up. I do a fingerstick every morning and eyeball the results with my G6. Rarely have to calibrate because it is close. I don’t think the G6 app has ever requested a calibration.
As others have mentioned….I calibrate the G6 frequently because when I have a question it’s often 60 or more points different than the finger stick. I’m sure there is individual body variation in just how the system is located in the interstitial fluid in different ares of the body—some sites better than others—even in the same general area. It’s great when a sensor is amazingly close to the finger stick measurement for the entire 10 days but I’m always checking. When in doubt…check!!
On the pther hand, it is important to be sure the meter is accurate – especially if you have issues like chronic anemia. The meter covered by my health plan (One Touch) has been shown to read higher than actual on people with chronic anemia. I learned about this issue at a Endo CME. Prior to the G6, I was a 15-20 fingersticks a day, continuing to do many after starting Dexcom (since 2008). If my Dexcom gave me an alert that I was trending low, I wold do the obligatory fingerstick, and the meter read 150+, meaning time for a correction. Turns out the CGM was right. The last thing I needed was a correction bolus and I would crash.
At the end of the CME session, I grabbed hard copies of the reports (AACE, Diabetes Tech Society among others). I purchased the highest rated meter (Contour Next). Did my own comparison between the meters and the CGM. Since I have to pay out of pocket for the COntour Next supplies, I rely on my Dexcom G6. No crashes in years. Just a word to the wise. There isn’t a lot of accuracy follow up on meters once they are on the market.
When I approached this issue with tech support, they said the body goes thru a process of protecting itself from a foreign object until it sees that it is ok. It surrounds the wire with a protective layer until it sees things are okay. Take about a day and half. Explains it’s wonkiness first couple days.
When one calibrates a dexcom, does that mean one adjusts what the reading says so that it matches your fingerstick measure? Or does it simply men that you compare the two.
When you calibrate in DexCom 6, you enter the value from your fingerstick. DexCom will then show a number that is halfway between its number and the fingerstick number. I often will enter the fingerstick number a second time so that DexCom will adjust so that it and my fingerstick number are the same.
My Dexcom is sometimes off in the first 2-4 hours after warm up but always self corrects so I have stopped calibrating and I just let it figure itself out. Any time I stop check after waiting longer than 4 hours post warm up its within 10 mg/dl and I don’t feel the need to correct/calibrate when the reading is so close.
I am not promoted to calibrate my CGM. I do it out of necessity. It’s a nice tool but they still aren’t trustworthy. I haven’t used the G7 yet. I do like the G6 by Dexcom. The Libre system shouldn’t be on the market.. horribly inaccurate and compression lows at night. Average 20-30 points high which is dangerous. It’s days 70 but you could be 40 or 50 and get behind the wheel of a car. I did that. Scary.
I use Dexcom G6. While not being prompted by the system, I have had to calibrate many sensors as their readings were way outside the +/-20%.
I typically calibrate every time I change my sensor and if my blood is high just to make sure we’re on the right track. Sometimes my pump asked me to calibrate if I have a high blood sugar I don’t always follow through on that cause I know my calibration is good
Twice in the last year I have had my Dexcom G6 ask for calibrations as though it’s a G5. I called Dexcom and they confirmed that has been reported. What they told me is to be sure and wait at least 15 minutes between stopping the expired sensor and starting a new one. That has seemed to work. The only time it happened again was when I forgot to wait the 15 minutes. Other than that, like many other comments, I regularly do finger sticks on both the first couple of days on a new sensor and sometimes in the last couple of days at the end. Especially at the beginning of the 10 days, the G6 readings can be off quite a bit. I was glad to read one of the comments that told why that happens, so thanks for that.
After the warmup, I may calibrate when my pump suggests it after a high SG reeading. That only hapens every week or so…
Been on G7 for a few months. Tried the hack to avoid warmup time. Worked but numbers way off so i calibrated. Will just wait the half hour
I’m on Medtronic MiniMed 770 g. the CGM is a Guardian 3 and it required a calibration 3x every day.
I’ve been using the Dexcom G6 for a little under 3 months now. I’ve found that they read really high for me right after warmup (100+ points higher than meter). I calibrate always on Day 1 now. Sometimes I have to do it a couple of times, waiting 15 minutes or so in between, if the difference is a lot. Once I get it in line it’s usually good. I refuse to spend an entire day with false readings because “Dexcom doesn’t require calibrations!”.
My dexcom prompts me to callibarate mostly after I have put in my own calibrations cause I knew the dexcom was off. It tends to show lows that aren’t really there or do not last nearly as long as the dexcom indicates.
The system does not prompt me to calibrate but often on day 8 or 9 I start getting flase low reading and so must calibrate.
I will also calibrate if I feel low, but the alarm at 80 does not sound. A few times per year this is the case.,
Been on Dexcom since 2009, the G6 for over 4 years, using CIQ on my Tandem about 4 years and I stopped Calibrating over 2 years ago, very little change in Readings
My system rarely asks for calibration…that said I do have to calibrate to try and pull a sensor back in line…
When I first started using a CGM I did NOT typically delay starting a new sensor. I learned that failing to delay 15 to 30 minutes caused problems and subsequent calibration requests. Delaying the start of the new sensor eliminated calibration requirements.