Date of Event
2025-07-11
Patient Gender
Female
Patient Age
24 YR
Device
DEXCOM G7 (INTEGRATED CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITORING SYSTEM, FACTORY CALIBRATED)
Closed-Loop System
Not mentioned
Pump Device
N/A
Event Description:
I HAVE BEEN USING THE DEXCOM G7 CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR (CGM) FOR ABOUT A YEAR AFTER UPGRADING FROM THE G6 MODEL, AND IN THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, HAVE HAD EXTREME ISSUES WITH IT BEING INACCURATE AND THE INACCURACIES CAUSING ME HARM. MY INSULIN PUMP DELIVERY SYSTEM RELIES ON THE READINGS FROM THE CGM TO INFORM AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING ON HOW MUCH INSULIN I RECEIVE AND, ON MANY INSTANCES, I HAVE RECEIVED TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE INSULIN BASED ON THE INACCURATE READINGS. AS PER MY DOCTOR, IF I HAVE A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE READING ON MY CGM AND A READING PROCURED MANUALLY FROM MY BLOOD GLUCOSE MONITOR, I AM TO TAKE THE MANUAL READING AS THE "CORRECT" VALUE. AS SUCH, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL TIMES IN WHICH I PHYSICALLY FELT UNWELL IN A WAY THAT PROMPTED ME TO MANUALLY CHECK MY BLOOD SUGAR AS INSTRUCTED BY MY CARE TEAM AND FOUND THE READING TO BE INCREDIBLY OFF FROM THE CGM READING. ON THE MOST SEVERE OCCASION, (B)(6) 2025, MY CGM WAS DISPLAYING A VALUE WITHIN RANGE FOR SEVERAL HOURS, WHICH CAUSED MY INSULIN PUMP TO NOT GIVE ANY CORRECTIVE INSULIN TO REGULATE MY BLOOD SUGAR. I STARTED FEELING SYMPTOMS OF A HYPERGLYCEMIC EPISODE WHICH PROMPTED ME TO CHECK MY BLOOD SUGAR MANUALLY. THE MANUAL READING WAS 336, WHICH IS A LEVEL THAT IS INCREDIBLY HIGH AND DANGEROUS FOR MY HEALTH. HIGH BLOOD SUGAR CAN QUICKLY BECOME SEVERE AND CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE EMERGENCY CARE, INCLUDING A DIABETIC COMA OR DEATH. HYPERGLYCEMIA, EVEN IF NOT SEVERE, CAN LEAD TO HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT CAN PERMANENTLY AFFECT THE EYES, KIDNEYS, NERVES, HEART, AND MORE. AS A RESULT OF THE CGM INACCURACIES, I HAD UNKNOWINGLY HAD HIGH BLOOD SUGAR FOR SEVERAL HOURS WITHOUT CORRECTION; I WAS LEFT FEELING SO UNWELL FROM THIS THAT I NEEDED TO LEAVE WORK. I AM ATTACHING PHOTOS BELOW OF THE INCIDENT, IN WHICH YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CGM READING AND THE GLUCOSE MONITOR READING ARE 3 MINUTES AND 237MG/DL APART. I HAVE ALSO HAD THE CONVERSE ISSUE SEVERAL TIMES, IN WHICH MY MONITOR READING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN MY CGM READING, WHICH IS EQUALLY DANGEROUS AND TAKES FAR LESS TIME TO BECOME DEADLY. WHEN BLOOD SUGAR FALLS BELOW NORMAL LEVELS, IT MUST BE QUICKLY CORRECTED WITH FAST-ACTING CARBOHYDRATES. IF LEFT UNTREATED, HYPOGLYCEMIA CAN RAPIDLY BECOME DANGEROUS, WITH MILDER SYMPTOMS INCLUDING SHAKINESS, SWEATING, DIZZINESS, AND DISORIENTATION AND MORE SEVERE SYMPTOMS INCLUDING LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, SEIZURES, AND DEATH. WHEN MY CGM WAS INDICATING A HIGHER-THAN-CORRECT BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL, NOT ONLY WAS I NOT ABLE TO PROPERLY TREAT THE HYPOGLYCEMIC EPISODE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE WHICH LED TO WORSE SYMPTOMS, MY INSULIN PUMP WAS ALSO GIVING ME MORE INSULIN TO CORRECT THE "HIGH" BLOOD SUGAR READING IT GOT FROM MY CGM, ONLY EXACERBATING THE ISSUE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS HAS NOT BEEN AN ISOLATED OR RARE ISSUE; IN THE PAST MONTHS, I HAVE EXPERIENCED COUNTLESS EXAMPLES OF THIS ERROR IN VARYING DEGREES OF SEVERITY IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. DESPITE REACHING OUT TO DEXCOM SUPPORT SEVERAL TIMES REGARDING THIS ISSUE, THE ONLY SOLUTION I HAVE BEEN OFFERED IS A REPLACEMENT SENSOR, WITH THE EXPLANATION THAT THE ONE I WAS USING MAY HAVE BEEN FAULTY. HOWEVER, THE REPLACEMENTS I RECEIVED WERE ALSO GIVING ME INCORRECT READINGS ON A REGULAR BASIS, THUS NOT SOLVING THE ISSUE.