It was time to insert a new Dexcom sensor yesterday, so I decided to use one of the sensors that expired in November. I was a little weary of using a sensor with that long of an expiration date, but I figured that I better use it now before it gets even further past the expiration date.
Long story short, the first 24 hours have been pretty spot on. There was a little stretch of having a wacky BG reading, but that is no different than a sensor that isn’t expired. My main concern is that the sensor won’t give me a full 7 days, or even longer, but we shall see.
If you are reading this, please remember that I am not a doctor, I never wanted to be a doctor, and I never will be a doctor. I don’t give medical advice because I am not qualified to do so. What I do to manage my diabetes may not be things that you should do to manage your diabetes.
Let me know your past experiences with older sensors.
Not sure if the sensor technology is anything like that used in test strips, but if it is, then please consider updating your post … The expiry dates on test strips are important. That is because the ‘reagents’ in the strip, which are used to calculate the blood sugar, degrade over time. THE OLDER THEY ARE, THE LESS ACCURATE THEY ARE. And post-expiry date that can mean WAY-off. If anyone is relying on BGM readings from old sensors, this could be dangerous. Perhaps call Dexcom and ask if this is the same with their sensors?
James,
Thanks for commenting, and this is why I wrote at the end of the blog post, don’t do this just because I am doing it. With using these older sensors, I am still testing with a meter more frequently than I would with a sensor that’s expiration dates are within range. However, even with these older sensors my goal was this, to be able to catch an upward or downward trend. Meaning, even if the numbers are off, but it shows a double arrow down, then that’s something that will require my attention.
Once again, like I said, I am by no means telling others to do this. I know of some others that have done this, but I just wanted to try it out myself. Even when I wear a CGM, I don’t make large bolus decisions without testing with a meter anyway.