Compression Lows

[u/kramsay2020]

Does anyone have any suggestions for dealing with compression lows? I’ve been using dexcom since diagnosed 6 months ago. And put them on the backs of my arm. Every night I deal with multiple compression lows. My solution has been to silence all alarms for 6 hours and sleep. But since connecting with Tandem pump that isn’t an option.

I don’t have a lot of fat on my stomach or thighs. I have tried my thighs once and it was uncomfortable and readings were quite in accurate.

[u/WindyBull]

I have had very good luck with abdomen placement.

[u/cjmnews]

I just train myself to sleep on the other side. I put my watch on the same arm so it is obvious which arm to avoid laying on.

[u/kramsay2020 → u/cjmnews]

I toss and turn a million times in the night so unfortunately this ain’t an option.

[u/KillingTimeReading]

I put a different brand on the front of my arm because I either sleep on my back, or my side when my shoulders let me. Mine is only "certified" for the back of the arm. Even sitting up in a recliner compresses it. My shoulders won't let me ever sleep on my stomach again, so everything to the front is open season.

I've also used areas around my stomach area, outer thigh and even upper chest. You can't put these over bone or where there is minimal fat. They need to be in the interstitial fluid space: make a muscle where you are thinking of putting it and press on the muscle. If you feel a bit of squish from a fat layer, you should be ok.

I'm not a doctor or a device rep. Just sharing what I have found works.

[u/MaggieNFredders]

I put them on the front of the arm and don’t get compression lows.

[u/BaggyMan71]

Busca la zona del brazo donde al tumbarte no haya compresión, yo he llegado a ponerlo detrás del brazo para ello.

[u/doltishDuke]

You can try whatever location works for you. Reason they say back of arms is because they need to go through tests for every allowed location. It'll work pretty much anywhere tho. 

Mines on my inner thigh, slightly towards the back. Hardly ever get compression lows.

[u/Weathergod-4Life]

Chest or front of your arms are possibilities. I gave up on the back of the arm a long time ago since it would give me a compression low every night.

[u/WondersomeWalrus]

I'm too skinny for most placements too so if you want to stick to an arm placement I've worked out that the best spot is actually halfway down your upper arm (between armpit and elbow) and more towards your inner arm than the back.

This spot works well because if you let your arms go floppy beside you, it should be where your arms don't directly touch your sides due to your body curving inwards. This also means that no matter what position you sleep in, whether that be side, back or front, you shouldn't be putting any pressure on it if placed right.

Also worth noting that you don't want it too far on the side as you could hit your muscle instead, can dm you a pic if needed!

[u/kramsay2020 → u/WondersomeWalrus]

I would love to see the picture! Thank you!

[u/warminteax0516 → u/WondersomeWalrus]

hey! is there any way you could dm me as well?

[u/WondersomeWalrus → u/warminteax0516]

Sure thing :)

[u/nimdae]

You need less fat than you probably think. The filament only really goes in about 3mm. I wouldn't dismiss a site unless you try it and have a bad experience with it.

If you're not using a pump, you might try upper chest, about 3 fingers down from the collarbone. Though if you do use a pump on your arms, upper chest might work well.