The content in this article should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider regarding your individual health needs and Dexcom alert settings.
Are you getting way too many CGM alerts overnight from your Dexcom G7? Learn how to create a second alert profile to customize how you get your alerts overnight.
In the previous Alert Series article, we looked at how acknowledging your CGM alerts can help cut down on “alert fatigue”. But there is so much more you can do with Dexcom G7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) alerts that can help personalize how you experience alerts from you Dexcom G7 system.
For example, you may notice that you are getting a lot of alerts overnight that are interrupting your sleep. Nobody likes that!
That’s why you can set up a second alert profile that allows you to turn off all alerts that are not essential for you and will hopefully help you to sleep uninterrupted through the night.
Remember, you can't tun off the Urgent Low Alert as this is a mandatory safety feature. However, by creating a second alert profile and turning off any alerts that aren't “critical” for you overnight you can cut down on unneeded alerts and ensure you are only getting the ones that are truly critical to you.
Adding a second alert profile in your Dexcom G7 app
You can create a second, separate alert profile to use when needed in Profile > Alerts > Add Second Alert Profile.
Display device screens lead you through naming the second profile, in the example shown, Night. Then, you can customize each alert in the Night profile to work as you want it to.
You can use the profiles two ways,
- Switch between them manually when you want
- Set up a schedule for them to switch automatically
For example, if you want to only get an alert when your glucose goes to 55 mg/dL, turn off all alerts in your Night alert profile and make Technical Alerts (alerts about situations that prevent, or will prevent, your current glucose information from displaying) vibrate. (The Urgent Low alert will still sound.)
Note: Signal Loss alert settings stay the same in both profiles.
Some more tips:
- When you create a second alert profile, the G7 app will automatically rename your original alert profile as Primary.
- At the bottom of the second profile, you can set up a schedule for when it's used. The next scheduled time displays in Profile > Alerts.
- You can also turn the second alert profile on and off from Profile > Alerts.
- You cannot add a second alert profile to your receiver. Use the app for this feature.
For detailed instructions on how to set up a second alert profile, go to the Adding a second alert profile in the your app section of the Alerts chapter in the user guide.
Get started on Dexcom G7
If you are living with diabetes and not using CGM, talk to your doctor about Dexcom G7. We can help you get started with a free benefits check. Click the button below to send us some basic information.
BRIEF SAFETY STATEMENT: Failure to use the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and its components according to the instructions for use provided with your device and available at https://www.dexcom.com/safety-information and to properly consider all indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and cautions in those instructions for use may result in you missing a severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) occurrence and/or making a treatment decision that may result in injury. If your glucose alerts and readings from the Dexcom CGM do not match symptoms, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. Seek medical advice and attention when appropriate, including for any medical emergency.
Dexcom, Dexcom Clarity, Dexcom Follow, Dexcom One, Dexcom Share, and any related logos and design marks are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Dexcom, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.