Life with Libre

[cott97]

So first sensor peeled off after 3 days and a shower.... Couldn't manage without it - how inconvenient to test BS at 3 am without it! Have ordered more but also let Abbott know and they have sent free of charge replacement. Their postage may be slow but their customer service is excellent.

 

[Scott-C]

Hopefully it is due to the tight band or something

If you've now got yours from the post office, I'd recommend maybe leaving a test run till the last four days or so of your sensor so that if it does start messing up like mine's has, it's a relatively small write off.

Maybe I've just had some random bad luck with it. It's so new that I'm still prepared to keep on giving it a try, but results today are pants and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Bg test 5, blucon 1.93!

It is sending regularly every five minutes on the dot, just don't know why (yet) it was right for two days, then all of a sudden out by 100% or more.

There's probably some completely trivial, solveable problem here as spot on readings two days followed by two days of rubbish doesn't make sense otherwise.

I'll persevere for a day or two, but I have the attention span of a goldfish, so if it's not working by then, it'll be going in the bin.

 

[Scott-C]

So first sensor peeled off after 3 days and a shower.... Couldn't manage without it - how inconvenient to test BS at 3 am without it! Have ordered more but also let Abbott know and they have sent free of charge replacement. Their postage may be slow but their customer service is excellent.

Before you apply the next sensor,

Edit: got that the wrong way round : shave the back of your arm first, then shower, alcohol wipe.

Even if a person doesn't have particularly hairy arms, most people do have a fine bristle of hair which is often difficult to see unless you take a really close look, and it will grow under the sensor. It can have a surprisingly large impact on stickiness, so best to shave it off.

I read a book called Wiley - In Vivo Glucose Sensing. It said that figuring out the right glue to use to make a sensor stick for X days without causing allergic reactions was a surprisingly difficult, non-trivial problem.

Can't recall if it was that book or some other place, but I certainly recall reading some technical piece which said that unshaven hair compromises stickiness a lot, so it's not just me saying that.

Abbot had problems in the early days with this. Looks like they've not entirely solved it yet.

All of mine have been fine. Apart from the shaving the arm business, when I shower, I make a point of washing the sensor arm last, keeping it generally out of the stream, and just washing around it.

Peeling off is probably as much to do with snagging on clothes, doorjambs, rucksacks as it is showers, so I do pay attention if I'm putting a rucksack etc. on. No point in tempting fate at 50 quid a shot.

A 7 by 8 cm plaster is pretty good for smoothing out the catchy bits.

Maybe this shaving business could be a good new line for barbers: dry cut £10, wet cut £20, libre attachment prep £7!

 

[cott97]

Will try it just in case and have bought some opsite for the future. Think I enjoyed the shower too much!

 

[Ledzeptt]

My Libre has just earned its keep again. I'm on holiday and went for a long walk today (by my measure) of 2 1/2 hours. I was able to keep my BG stable by testing every 10 minutes and sipping orange juice as I went along, if necessary. I'm not claiming it was a straight line, but just about "in the blue" and never below 5; so I'm very pleased with that.

Previously, I've upped my BG before starting and then stopped for perhaps one or two breaks and a finger prick test and snacks, unless I've felt a hypo. Consequently, I've not enjoyed the walk as much and probably been too high most of the time. I've definitely overdone it and hypo'd in the past (not badly, but I've felt pretty stupid).

This sensor's been very accurate, but it's on its final countdown

 

[Brunneria]

Will try it just in case and have bought some opsite for the future. Think I enjoyed the shower too much!

I always exfoliate too.
I mean, we are talking about skin that is going to stay there for 14 days, so it should be fresh skin, not a top layer of dead skin cells that have been hanging around a few days already.

So I bathe or shower, then give my arm a really good scrub with one of those shower scrubby things, till the skin is pink and fresh. Then let it dry completely and do as @Scott-C said.

 

[cott97]

My arm is already feeling sorry for itself and then I plunge a needle into it. However worth it if the sensor stays in

 

[maglil55]

My arm is already feeling sorry for itself and then I plunge a needle into it. However worth it if the sensor stays in

As Scott_c once said it ain't a needle - it's a harpoon!

 

[gavin86]

Agreed on shaving - I kind of assumed everyone did it. Hair will completely kill any glue. Even if it's just the fine soft type (which I had - could barely see it)

 

[gavin86]

I'm into my 2nd sensor now. That break for a few days (had to have MRI/etc)was rather inconvenient! Glad to be Libre'd up again .

New sensor is giving me similar readings to previous one which is great. Neither of them were left a couple days, I activated straight away.

*edit* - actually this one is a bit further out than previous (0.5-1.0 below blood/strip tests), whereas the last was often very close.
I'm wondering if one of the following affects it:
A) which arm you use (first sensor was left, this one is right)? Probably not, but who knows.

B) exercise - my arm have been getting a workout the past few days since I started this sensor.

C) position. This one I didn't put far enough back I think. It seems like there might only just be enough fat/looseness between it and the muscle. Whereas previously I'd used a much looser/wobblier part of the arm

It's probably just random due to sensor calibration, but it seems worth investigating if there's anything we can do to improve it.


One tip if you're new..
Make sure you've pressed the applicator all the way down when attaching it to the needle/sensor pre-insertion.
The applicator had picked up the sensor, but no amount of force would get it to click down on me.
Pushed it back into the sensor case and heard an extra click. Then it worked easy!

 

[BeccyB]

If you've now got yours from the post office, I'd recommend maybe leaving a test run till the last four days or so of your sensor so that if it does start messing up like mine's has, it's a relatively small write off.

Maybe I've just had some random bad luck with it. It's so new that I'm still prepared to keep on giving it a try, but results today are pants and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Bg test 5, blucon 1.93!

It is sending regularly every five minutes on the dot, just don't know why (yet) it was right for two days, then all of a sudden out by 100% or more.

There's probably some completely trivial, solveable problem here as spot on readings two days followed by two days of rubbish doesn't make sense otherwise.

I'll persevere for a day or two, but I have the attention span of a goldfish, so if it's not working by then, it'll be going in the bin.

Well I've got it on and have to say I'm not impressed! It's been up to 3.5 mmol different to my scanner, but with no consistency at all - if it was always 3 under then I could easily adjust in my head but not like this. It also went completely bananas for quite a while last night as shown in the picture!

Even though I don't trust the actual results I love seeing the figure/graph update automatically on my phone - I think I may be moving to Dexcom...

Edited to add: My scanner has been consistently closer to my actual blood result, performing really well

 

[Scott-C]

Well I've got it on and have to say I'm not impressed! It's been up to 3.5 mmol different to my scanner, but with no consistency at all - if it was always 3 under then I could easily adjust in my head but not like this. It also went completely bananas for quite a while last night as shown in the picture!

Even though I don't trust the actual results I love seeing the figure/graph update automatically on my phone - I think I may be moving to Dexcom...

Edited to add: My scanner has been consistently closer to my actual blood result, performing really well

Well, neither of us seem to be having much luck with it. It's a shame as it seemed such a promising thing. Was worth a try!

 

[maglil55]

Well, neither of us seem to be having much luck with it. It's a shame as it seemed such a promising thing. Was worth a try!

That's disappointing as I must admit I thought it would be a good addition. Would they refund?

 

[Scott-C]

That's disappointing as I must admit I thought it would be a good addition. Would they refund?

I'll keep a hold of it. Just had a look at google play where the linkblucon app is downloaded and there's some notes about updated versions of the app every few days, now up to v2.1.4 mentioning bug fixes. So, they're maybe just now finding out about problems since it went live in the real world which weren't apparent in testing. It's maybe just teething problems

I'm a relative late comer to libre, but a quick browse through the 200 page long sticky post shows a few people from a couple of years ago mentioning software errors in it's early days, for example, http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/freestyle-libre-on-sale.65900/page-50#post-673167

So, if a huge company like Abbott was having problems early days, it's no surprise that a minnow like Ambrosia will do to.

I'm just wondering if there'll be posts in a couple of years time from people recalling the trouble those poor early adopters had with it and how it took a while for it become reliable!

 

[Scott-C]

Well I've got it on and have to say I'm not impressed! It's been up to 3.5 mmol different to my scanner, but with no consistency at all - if it was always 3 under then I could easily adjust in my head but not like this. It also went completely bananas for quite a while last night as shown in the picture!

Even though I don't trust the actual results I love seeing the figure/graph update automatically on my phone - I think I may be moving to Dexcom...

Edited to add: My scanner has been consistently closer to my actual blood result, performing really well

Just out of interest, although the graph is doing crazy stuff, are those crazy numbers also showing up in the history tab, the one which just lists the number every five minutes? If they're crazy as well, then not good, but if they're different, might just be a software error with the graph?

 

[Fleegle]

My perfect sensor ended today In random checks it was always within .1-.2mmol.
Replaced it - new sensor just says low - BG numbers from prick test say 6.4.

I seem to have a lot of bad sensors - is there any more tips people would add - or any gotchas or advice?
Shave the area.
Exfoliate.
Use wipe - wait 10mins.
Don't push when you apply sensor let the spring do the work.

Anything else to help me have better luck with new sensors.

 

[maglil55]

My perfect sensor ended today In random checks it was always within .1-.2mmol.
Replaced it - new sensor just says low - BG numbers from prick test say 6.4.

I seem to have a lot of bad sensors - is there any more tips people would add - or any gotchas or advice?
Shave the area.
Exfoliate.
Use wipe - wait 10mins.
Don't push when you apply sensor let the spring do the work.

Anything else to help me have better luck with new sensors.

Are you activating as soon as you apply it? I found it was better to give it a couple of days to settle before I activate. I have a couple of days to go on my current sensor but I have already applied the new sensor, covered it with Tegaderm (I swim a lot) and it is patiently waiting to be activated. I have found applying in advance did make a difference.

 

[Bluetit1802]

My perfect sensor ended today In random checks it was always within .1-.2mmol.
Replaced it - new sensor just says low - BG numbers from prick test say 6.4.

I seem to have a lot of bad sensors - is there any more tips people would add - or any gotchas or advice?
Shave the area.
Exfoliate.
Use wipe - wait 10mins.
Don't push when you apply sensor let the spring do the work.

Anything else to help me have better luck with new sensors.

Are you waiting for 10 to 15 minutes after finger pricking and before scanning when you do your comparisons?
Which finger prick meter are you using?

 

[cott97]

Ok so second sensor fell off in bed last night after 3 days which appears to be my limit. So either there is a faulty adhesive batch out there (unlikely) or I have a special adhesive proof skin....3rd sensor on and covered in tegaderm. Fingers crossed this one gets to 14 days.

 

[cott97]

Just to say I shaved, exfoliated, alcohol wiped, dried and waited on the 2nd sensor.