FREESTYLE LIBRE ON SALE!!!!

[Eglinton71]

Thanks everyone for the info. The cost of self funding along with the reliability probs does raise issues for me but am having problems overnight and need to know what's happening so I suppose £160 isn't too much set against the potential health benefits.

 

[Emmotha]

Thanks everyone for the info. The cost of self funding along with the reliability probs does raise issues for me but am having problems overnight and need to know what's happening so I suppose £160 isn't too much set against the potential health benefits.

It's really useful for overnight patterns. Even if you don't use it long term and just for 2 or 4 weeks, you will get a lot of insight. I always thought my basal was ok overnight as was waking up roughly the same BG as I went to bed. However, what I didn't know is that my BG dropped overnight then in the morning I had dawn phenomenon.

 

[happier than you]

Never heard of this. I also have trouble at night. I can never get it right, mostly it's too high when i get up but sometimes i wake up all sweaty and it's too low. I'd love to know exactly what is happening when i'm asleep. It's a lot of money, but does it work?

 

[tim2000s]

Never heard of this. I also have trouble at night. I can never get it right, mostly it's too high when i get up but sometimes i wake up all sweaty and it's too low. I'd love to know exactly what is happening when i'm asleep. It's a lot of money, but does it work?

There are an awful lot of happy punters. Even with the issues that people have reported in this topic and elsewhere, most would not give it up now they have it. I am one of these.

 

[Emmotha]

Never heard of this. I also have trouble at night. I can never get it right, mostly it's too high when i get up but sometimes i wake up all sweaty and it's too low. I'd love to know exactly what is happening when i'm asleep. It's a lot of money, but does it work?

Sounds like you would really benefit from it then

I've also experienced a few issues with dodgy sensors etc, but on the whole it has really really helped me

 

[robert72]

Never heard of this. I also have trouble at night. I can never get it right, mostly it's too high when i get up but sometimes i wake up all sweaty and it's too low. I'd love to know exactly what is happening when i'm asleep. It's a lot of money, but does it work?

Same as @Emmotha and @tim2000s - I've had a few erratic sensors but Abbott have replaced them - but most of them are quite acceptable to the point where I'm happy to not do fingersticks. But the trend data is invaluable, especially overnight.

 

[happier than you]

Thank you for the replies, i take it there is no viable alternative to this for overnight readings? I see the pack is unavailable, so i would have to get them separately at a higher cost. It's a shame the sensors are so expensive and hard to buy by the looks of it. They're going for around £140 (just one sensor!) on ebay, so i'm guessing they must take an age to arrive from the official site? Otherwise people would have just bought 100 of em and be making a fortune re-selling them! If they take longer than 14 days to arrive and they only last 14 days, that's not overly ideal. Do i just register on the site, buy the stuff and then wait or is it a bit more complicated than that??

 

[tim2000s]

Thank you for the replies, i take it there is no viable alternative to this for overnight readings? I see the pack is unavailable, so i would have to get them separately at a higher cost. It's a shame the sensors are so expensive and hard to buy by the looks of it. They're going for around £140 (just one sensor!) on ebay, so i'm guessing they must take an age to arrive from the official site? Otherwise people would have just bought 100 of em and be making a fortune re-selling them! If they take longer than 14 days to arrive and they only last 14 days, that's not overly ideal. Do i just register on the site, buy the stuff and then wait or is it a bit more complicated than that??

You register on the site and wait 3 months before you get to a point on the wait list where you can order. Once you can order, you are restricted to purchasing a max of two sensors every 14 days.

If you want a CGM now, then your only real alternative is the Dexcom, which you will get within three days but will cost you some £1300 at start up.

 

[misswhiplash]

Yes there are. If your sensor is rubbish and you call Abbot, they will ask you which meter you are comparing the readings to. If you admit you are comparing to blood readings done by a different meter, they will not give you a new sensor, but will send you test strips for the build in meter.

As if the build in meter would be better than a contour next or Onetouch. In fact the build in meter is rubbish, but Abbot insists that you compare libre readings to readings of the build in blood glucose meter.

However except for this, everything will work the same with or without libre teststrips.

I've not had this - the only time I had bad readings, they were fine with my OneTouch.

 

[happier than you]

You register on the site and wait 3 months before you get to a point on the wait list where you can order. Once you can order, you are restricted to purchasing a max of two sensors every 14 days.

If you want a CGM now, then your only real alternative is the Dexcom, which you will get within three days but will cost you some £1300 at start up.

Sorry what?!? £13... yeah i dont want a diamond encrusted one... holy mackerel... think i'll give that one a miss!

Wait 3 months to buy a product? Wow. Guess i will have to do that then. I wish i'd read this thread 3 months ago.

EDIT: Just put in my email address, not had anything back yet. Some kind of at least automated response to acknowledge my existence would be nice.

 

[Emmotha]

My sensor is 8 days old, and coming unstuck from my skin. Also, the sensor is coming unstuck from the plaster bit. Very odd. Second one not to stick as well lately

 

[Type1Bri]

My sensor is 8 days old, and coming unstuck from my skin. Also, the sensor is coming unstuck from the plaster bit. Very odd. Second one not to stick as well lately

Something has definatly changed at Abbotts me thinks

 

[robert72]

My sensor is 8 days old, and coming unstuck from my skin. Also, the sensor is coming unstuck from the plaster bit. Very odd. Second one not to stick as well lately

My previous one I had to secure with opsite after a week, but my current one (same batch) is still well stuck after 13 days

 

[thatgumulike]

I got my starter pack on Friday, just in time to use it on our holiday to Thailand, Oz and New Zealand. First impressions are basically, how did I ever get by without this thing?! It's painless so far, and accurate enough for me - the furthest out it has been is 1.5 under. I find its pretty accurate when the trend graph is flat, but the lag becomes evident when it's rising or falling, which I guess is to be expected.

I just cleaned with the alcohol wipe, let it dry then put the sensor straight on, no barrier. I've got micro-porous tape over it (just the cheap stuff from boots) and I'm wearing tubigrip in bed and on flights. It was massively helpful while I was fiddling around with extra boluses so I could skip a basal and get onto Thai local time. The last time I did this, I had to do a finger test every 2 hours. The only thing I've noticed is that changing the time on the reader confuses the trend graph for a while, not a big deal.

Now I'm just hoping I don't develop any reaction to the sensors and that they remain as accurate as this one! If they do, I imagine I'll run it full-time.

Thanks to everyone here for posting their thoughts and experiences, that has been a huge help! One question - has anyone started using the reader as their main blood tester? I don't have the strips but might buy some to try it out. I hear the strips are individually wrapped and like the idea of carrying a few in my wallet along with a lancet device, rather than carrying a full extra test kit (meter, test strips, lancet device).

 

[robert72]

I got my starter pack on Friday, just in time to use it on our holiday to Thailand, Oz and New Zealand. First impressions are basically, how did I ever get by without this thing?! It's painless so far, and accurate enough for me - the furthest out it has been is 1.5 under. I find its pretty accurate when the trend graph is flat, but the lag becomes evident when it's rising or falling, which I guess is to be expected.

I just cleaned with the alcohol wipe, let it dry then put the sensor straight on, no barrier. I've got micro-porous tape over it (just the cheap stuff from boots) and I'm wearing tubigrip in bed and on flights. It was massively helpful while I was fiddling around with extra boluses so I could skip a basal and get onto Thai local time. The last time I did this, I had to do a finger test every 2 hours. The only thing I've noticed is that changing the time on the reader confuses the trend graph for a while, not a big deal.

Now I'm just hoping I don't develop any reaction to the sensors and that they remain as accurate as this one! If they do, I imagine I'll run it full-time.

Thanks to everyone here for posting their thoughts and experiences, that has been a huge help! One question - has anyone started using the reader as their main blood tester? I don't have the strips but might buy some to try it out. I hear the strips are individually wrapped and like the idea of carrying a few in my wallet along with a lancet device, rather than carrying a full extra test kit (meter, test strips, lancet device).

Yes - the strips are foil-wrapped and you tear them off from sheets of 5, so could easily go in a wallet

 

[misswhiplash]

I got my starter pack on Friday, just in time to use it on our holiday to Thailand, Oz and New Zealand. First impressions are basically, how did I ever get by without this thing?! It's painless so far, and accurate enough for me - the furthest out it has been is 1.5 under. I find its pretty accurate when the trend graph is flat, but the lag becomes evident when it's rising or falling, which I guess is to be expected.

I just cleaned with the alcohol wipe, let it dry then put the sensor straight on, no barrier. I've got micro-porous tape over it (just the cheap stuff from boots) and I'm wearing tubigrip in bed and on flights. It was massively helpful while I was fiddling around with extra boluses so I could skip a basal and get onto Thai local time. The last time I did this, I had to do a finger test every 2 hours. The only thing I've noticed is that changing the time on the reader confuses the trend graph for a while, not a big deal.

Now I'm just hoping I don't develop any reaction to the sensors and that they remain as accurate as this one! If they do, I imagine I'll run it full-time.

Thanks to everyone here for posting their thoughts and experiences, that has been a huge help! One question - has anyone started using the reader as their main blood tester? I don't have the strips but might buy some to try it out. I hear the strips are individually wrapped and like the idea of carrying a few in my wallet along with a lancet device, rather than carrying a full extra test kit (meter, test strips, lancet device).

They are heinously expensive, though... I know they all are, but these ones are def on the upper end.
I buy them occasionally - just, as you say, for convenience.

 

[TimWJ]

One question - has anyone started using the reader as their main blood tester? I don't have the strips but might buy some to try it out. I hear the strips are individually wrapped and like the idea of carrying a few in my wallet along with a lancet device, rather than carrying a full extra test kit (meter, test strips, lancet device).

Like you I have only had the Libre since Thursday so these are just my first thoughts on using it as my main blood tester.

Until about a year ago I had an NHS supplied Optium Xceed meter and I had a part box of the correct stips that were still in date, so went straight onto the Libre for finger pricking.

Compared to the InsulinX that I have been using it requires a huge amount of blood, I have ruined a few strip with "not enough blood". The finger prick results appear on the device under logbook with a blood drop instead of the trend arrow, but do not appear on any graphs. They do appear on the daily graphs downloaded to the PC as a different coloured dots, which is good, but it is a pity they do not appear on the graphs on the device.

Like the InsulinX you cannot use the inbuilt Bolus calculator unless you do a finger test, and inputting your carb is almost unusable for me, each time it defaults to 15g and if you are having 100g you have to press the up arrow 85 times and the touch screen does not work very well for me. I very quickly went to an Android app for by bolus calculations.

It is a shame that Abbott did not incorporate the InsulinX tester into the Libre.

So it is not great, but for me the convenience of just carrying one device and having all BG results together outweigh the disadvantage. I have ordered some more strips and I when I next see the DSN I will try and get my prescription changed from the InsulinX strips.

As for accuracy until yesterday afternoon it was great, but after a 4 mile walk it was under-reading by over 3mmol/L. By the evening it was 2mmol/L low and this morning it is back to within 0.5mmol/L.

Tim.

 

[tim2000s]

I do wonder whether the introduction of the libre was really just a way for Abbott to gain a much greater share of the test strip market. In the conversation I had with the hospital last week, I suggested that if they are going to go ahead with the libre on prescription, they need to make sure they have a very clear UK wide approach to acquisition and that they bundle up the sensors with the testing strips and command a significant discount.

Who knows whether they will.

 

[Emmotha]

Like you I have only had the Libre since Thursday so these are just my first thoughts on using it as my main blood tester.

Until about a year ago I had an NHS supplied Optium Xceed meter and I had a part box of the correct stips that were still in date, so went straight onto the Libre for finger pricking.

Compared to the InsulinX that I have been using it requires a huge amount of blood, I have ruined a few strip with "not enough blood". The finger prick results appear on the device under logbook with a blood drop instead of the trend arrow, but do not appear on any graphs. They do appear on the daily graphs downloaded to the PC as a different coloured dots, which is good, but it is a pity they do not appear on the graphs on the device.

Like the InsulinX you cannot use the inbuilt Bolus calculator unless you do a finger test, and inputting your carb is almost unusable for me, each time it defaults to 15g and if you are having 100g you have to press the up arrow 85 times and the touch screen does not work very well for me. I very quickly went to an Android app for by bolus calculations.

It is a shame that Abbott did not incorporate the InsulinX tester into the Libre.

So it is not great, but for me the convenience of just carrying one device and having all BG results together outweigh the disadvantage. I have ordered some more strips and I when I next see the DSN I will try and get my prescription changed from the InsulinX strips.

As for accuracy until yesterday afternoon it was great, but after a 4 mile walk it was under-reading by over 3mmol/L. By the evening it was 2mmol/L low and this morning it is back to within 0.5mmol/L.

Tim.

You can press and hold the screen once rather than 85 times

 

[tim2000s]

You can press and hold the screen once rather than 85 times

You can, but it is still annoyingly clunky to enter anything into. As a user interface, I do find it very frustrating. Charge me £30 for a phone app and Dario like tester and I'd be much happier. Much better user interface!