This is all my opinion based on personal experience, not a recommendation to use or change the devices you use. Obviously talk to your medical professional before making decisions about what medical device is best for you or how to use them.
If you want to skip my rambling, the news here is that the Dexcom G7's direct to watch feature is now available in Australia! It appears to have been turned on very recently, but hey it's finally here!
The UI in the Dexcom G7 iOS app once you've set up direct to watch
Years ago I wrote extensively about my experience with the Dexcom G5. Since then I've switched to the G6, which took everything I liked about the G5 and made it slightly better. The sensors last longer, insert easier and hurt less thanks to an automatic inserter, and require fewer calibrations (often none!)
Recently the G7 model launched in Australia. Always excited for new tech, I was cautiously optimistic about trying it. The new feature I was most excited for was direct to watch - something that's been discussed for years and allows the Dexcom sensor to send new readings to your watch. Meaning you don't have to have a phone nearby to check your glucose. Phenomenal stuff. Though when I first tried the G7 in April, this feature wasn't yet available in Australia.
Shortly after this realisation, I learnt that the adhesive the G7 uses really doesn't agree with my skin. I tried two sensors for only a few days each and they both left rashes that took over a month to clear. Since this was never a problem with the G6, and the direct to watch support wasn't available, it was an easy decision to switch back to the G6 since It Just Works.
About a month ago, after a few comments from pharmacists about how it's getting harder to find stock of the G6, I decided I needed to find a way to use the G7 to be prepared for the inevitable day when it's just too hard to find G6 supplies. Applying an under patch on the skin before inserting the sensor is a solution that seems to help a lot of people, so after a bit of research I found one which I thought would work best for me and decided to give it a try.
After waiting for the under patches to arrive from Germany, and the current G6 sensor to expire, a couple of days ago I inserted the G7 again. This is unremarkable in and of itself, but I will say that 48 hours in, the under patch seems to be doing its job preventing irritation. But what is remarkable is that only the day after inserting the G7, Dexcom appears to have enabled direct to watch in Australia. The killer feature, it's here!
So, last night, I paired my G7 to my Apple Watch, and this morning I was able to see my live glucose reading while at the gym, despite being out of Bluetooth range of my phone. I'm lucky enough to almost always be within Bluetooth range of my phone, but the last hurdles here are when out on a run, or at the gym. No longer!
It's still early days, but as you can probably tell from this post, I'm excited! If the next couple of G7 sensors work this well I'm pretty sure I've found a good reason to switch to the G7 full-time.
Screenshot taken this morning on my watch showing live glucose data while at the gym and out of Bluetooth range of my phone