Dexcom, week 3.

You can tell that this is working far better for me than the MM system ever did. Here's how: as soon as the sensor expires/falls off (curse you, adhesive!), I'm raring to put on another.

It's a simple but important difference. My MM sensors would die and I would deliberately take a couple of days off, mostly to let my skin recover from the many band-aids required to keep the thing in place. I'm massively allergic to the adhesive, especially after a couple of days. I finally got a prescription-strength steroid cream to supplement my hydrocortisone usage, and I have to say, it really, really helps (thank you, CDE!), but still. The hassle and discomfort of the MM, the constant alerts, and the accuracy issues, coupled with the fact that you had to start over every 3 days, meant that, although I would draw it out as far as I could (up to 6 days, often, but again, accuracy!), I would always give myself at least 3 days off before putting in another. Sometimes I would go weeks, and dread it, a little; it just wasn't really worth it to me, something I didn't notice until I got a device where the trade-offs *are* worth it. The insertion was uncomfortable, the needle was uncomfortable, the band-aids were uncomfortable…

To be fair, I don't like the Dexcom receiver. It's needlessly huge. If they just made it rectangular and made the buttons a little smaller, they could shave at least an inch off of the length. And also, I keep losing it/leaving it places, dropping it (wtf with the really crappy clip it comes with?), forgetting it in the cup holder of my car…there's something to be said for a pump with tubing. At least you'll never lose it.

Despite that, though, I just started my third sensor. As soon as both previous sensors were kaput, I replaced them. Within a half-hour. It's so much more comfortable, the alarms can wake me (making it really genuinely useful in that respect), the alarms aren't continuous/annoying (maybe because it doesn't complain all the time if it's out of range/if you tell it to snooze). And, given that it has always taken 12 hours for any sensor of mine to start giving really sensible, trustworthy data, if you can only count on wearing it for 3 days, it's barely worth it. A half day startup for almost guaranteed 7 day wear is great.

Of course, after day 5 or so, the adhesive starts to go, and I'm back to tape, but there's still less of it than needed for the Minilink. And it doesn't move around.

And the software isn't miserable.

Moral? LOVE.