ISIG/Calib. factor - LONG Rating Options

[Dewet]

Thanks alot for the tips. i am sure i will master the sensor soon. what fustrated me is the fact that it feels, for the price we pay for the sensor, it should have been more accurate. but i guess this is only my third sensor that i have used, so you could still call me a unexperienced. lol

I also noticed that the copper wire wasnt straight when i took it out last night, it almost look like a (S). so i guess that also affected the accuracy.
I will keep you all posted on how it is going. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[Liz]

I also noticed that the copper wire wasnt straight when i took it out last night, it almost look like a (S). so i guess that also affected the accuracy.
I will keep you all posted on how it is going. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

I've found that when the sensor is really bent out of shape, such as an S shape like you described, it doesn't work well. I guess maybe it hits something during insertion and bends it. I now use my legs for most of my sensors and find that they never bend there. In my arms they do sometimes get bent. A slight curve doesn't affect it, but when it bends at sharp angles they're usually sensors that never worked that great.

[JohnG]

I've found that when the sensor is really bent out of shape, such as an S shape like you described, it doesn't work well. I guess maybe it hits something during insertion and bends it. I now use my legs for most of my sensors and find that they never bend there. In my arms they do sometimes get bent. A slight curve doesn't affect it, but when it bends at sharp angles they're usually sensors that never worked that great.

I think the sensor wire escapes out the side of the needle during insertion and gets bent into different odd
shapes and sometimes this will damage one of the three very tiny electrodes.

The sensors that have the slight downward curve probably stayed in the groove during insertion and have a
tendency to curve because the gel softens up on the exposed side of the plastic tube.

I think the soft sensor has is a design flaw and the new smaller 90° sensor will be more consistent during insertion...JMHO

[Dewet]

Okey, i took out the last sensor yesterday and the sight i used, worked much beter this time. the wire wasnt bent and the results were much better. i also found that for the calibration to work the best for me, i had to get my BG at 6.5-6.8 and the ISIG at roughly 40. i hope the sensor that i started today, wil work even better.. Thanks for all the help. i will keep everyone posted on what works for me, and what doesnt work.

i do have one other qustion, how do i control the ISIG readings?

[Linda B]

i do have one other qustion, how do i control the ISIG readings?

You cannot control the ISIG Readings. They are the raw data the sensor sends to the system. They will vary with different sites, and even within the same site over a periiod of time. They usually start out higher and gradually decrease until they are too low for a calibration to be effective.

It is not important for the ISIG to be the same number all the time. You said yours was 40 - when my BG is normal, mine is never more than 20! That is why calibration is necessary. An ISIG number means NOTHING without the correlation to YOUR BG at that moment in time.

Linda B.

[Marty]

I'm not sure that bending is always a bad thing. My longest lasting sensor ever (34 days) was shaped like a fish hook when it came out. My theory was that the bent shape helped it stay firmly in place. Of course, breaking part of the sensor during insertion would be bad, as John says, but virtually all of my sensors are bent and I have very good luck with accuracy and longevity.

Marty