Freestyle Libre Sensor and Scuba diving

[ganna10]

Hi there everyone,

I've been using the Freestyle Libre for about 6 weeks now and I'm really happy with the flexibility it provides during my (many) sporty outings. I will be going scuba diving in Malta in 2 weeks time and I was wondering whether anyone has any experience with the sensor and scuba diving? I'm a certified open water diver so I won't be going too deep but I wonder if the water pressures might affect the sensor in any way?

Thanks!

 

[catherinecherub]

Can anyone help?

 

[SunnyExpat]

Sensor is water-resistant in up to 1 metre (3 feet) of water for a maximum of 30 minutes.

From their website

http://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/

So I would guess swimming is ok, but not much beyond that.
I would guess you will be diving deeper than that.

 

[ganna10]

I have actually swum for longer than 30 mins with the sensor and it worked fine afterwards. It was really the glue that was the issue. I shall try scuba diving with the sensor (as long as the diving school allows it) and see how that works. It'll be a good test I guess

 

[AndBreathe]

I have actually swum for longer than 30 mins with the sensor and it worked fine afterwards. It was really the glue that was the issue. I shall try scuba diving with the sensor (as long as the diving school allows it) and see how that works. It'll be a good test I guess

I can't see how the dive school could know you are wearing a sensor, as I'm assuming you will be wearing a wetsuit, even if a shorty. My shorty would certainly cover my sensor site.

I suggest you have a look at the reader manual, because I seem to recall (mine isn't to hand) mention there of both depths and time in water for the sensor. At the time, I reckoned it would only be advisable in the death throws of a sensor due to it's likely watery/pressurised demise. So, if you do give it a go, make sure you download all your data as close to your dive as you can.

The other thing you may want to just look over are the temperature limits for the sensor, as at this time of year, Malta can be a bit toasty. Of course, that's probably why you're going!

I'll be interested to hear how you get along.

 

[ganna10]

Luckily the sensor will be at the end of its use by the time I'll be diving, so that worked out well and will definitely download the data closer to diving time.

Thanks for the tip about the upper limits of the sensor, I guess that I was just looking forward to the warmer weather that I didn't really think about that.

I shall report back how the scuba diving went.

 

[AndBreathe]

Luckily the sensor will be at the end of its use by the time I'll be diving, so that worked out well and will definitely download the data closer to diving time.

Thanks for the tip about the upper limits of the sensor, I guess that I was just looking forward to the warmer weather that I didn't really think about that.

I shall report back how the scuba diving went.

From memory, I think it's about 30c, but I would think there would be a decent margin of error built into that warning.

At the outset I read all these areas where most wouldn't bother as I spend a decent percentage of the year in Tropical climes.

 

[SunnyExpat]

No problem with temperature, it's rated to 45C. Malta may be warm, but it's not that warm.

However,

The 'Sensor is water-resistant in up to 1 metre (3 feet) of water for a maximum of 30 minutes.' is the wording of the IP27 spec.

The time is mostly irrelevant, but the wording of the spec is

'Protected from immersion between 15 centimeters and 1 meter in depth.'

The sensor is only rated to -381m altitude as well, the 1m water depth from IP27 is about -800m altitude, or about 1.1atm.

As you know, more depth means more hydrostatic pressure, so while it may be fine at 1m, every 10m down doubles the pressure.

I've never actually seen one in real life, I would assume you think it's substantial enough not to simply crush at pressure either?
I've quite often managed to 'implode' pop bottles simply by washing with hot water, then putting the top on and letting them cool, and that has to be a difference of less than 1 atm by definition.

I would say, if you try it at 20m, take a spare just in case.

Having said all that, I've often fancied giving scuba diving a go, just not keen on water!

 

[ganna10]

I would imagine that the sensor is robust enough not to be crushed. Famous last words maybe?

Scuba diving is wonderful - so relaxing and the feeling of weightlessness is awesome. But water does have to be involved

 

[SunnyExpat]

I would imagine that the sensor is robust enough not to be crushed. Famous last words maybe?

Scuba diving is wonderful - so relaxing and the feeling of weightlessness is awesome. But water does have to be involved

I googled 'open water' so I reckon 18m, so up to about 3 atm, but maybe 30m, so 4 atm maybe?
I assume the sensor is sealed, and air filled?

You will have to report back.

 

[ganna10]

Not sure of the depths on the individual dives as yet, but I shall include this in my dive log book so that I can report back with what happened.

Thanks a lot for everyone's input!

 

[jrussell88]

The sensor won't be crushed, but water will get into the electronics.

You could try taping it over before you dive - I think there's a pretty good chance that duck tape could keep the water out!

 

[ganna10]

Hi everyone, I'm back from the scuba diving holiday in Malta (which was awesome) and I'm gonna report back.

I was wearing a Freestyle Libre Sensor on the first day of diving which involved 2 dives. I had the sensor attached for about 10 days before the dive so I wasn't that worried if something went wrong with it. I had also covered the sensor with Kinesio tape for some added security.

Before the first dive I scanned as close to the dive as I could so that just in case the sensor wasn't working afterwards I still had as much data as possible. Maximum depth of the first dive was 16m and total dive time was about 45 mins, afterwards the sensor was working as before. A pleasant surprise so I did the same before the second dive and again after the second dive (max depth 17m, total dive time 50 mins) the sensor was working fine!

The main thing I noticed was that the glue on both the kinesio tape and the sensor was noticibly less than before the dives. I wanted to get home and shower before changing the kinesio tape and unfortunately right after my shower I managed to pull off the sensor and the tape.

All in all I was pleased that the sensor was still working after the dives but the main issue was that the sensor wasn't really attached properly afterwards.

 

[Topher]

Hi everyone, I'm back from the scuba diving holiday in Malta (which was awesome) and I'm gonna report back.

I was wearing a Freestyle Libre Sensor on the first day of diving which involved 2 dives. I had the sensor attached for about 10 days before the dive so I wasn't that worried if something went wrong with it. I had also covered the sensor with Kinesio tape for some added security.

Before the first dive I scanned as close to the dive as I could so that just in case the sensor wasn't working afterwards I still had as much data as possible. Maximum depth of the first dive was 16m and total dive time was about 45 mins, afterwards the sensor was working as before. A pleasant surprise so I did the same before the second dive and again after the second dive (max depth 17m, total dive time 50 mins) the sensor was working fine!

The main thing I noticed was that the glue on both the kinesio tape and the sensor was noticibly less than before the dives. I wanted to get home and shower before changing the kinesio tape and unfortunately right after my shower I managed to pull off the sensor and the tape.

All in all I was pleased that the sensor was still working after the dives but the main issue was that the sensor wasn't really attached properly afterwards.

Hi, just wondering what were your bloods before and after the dive, and did you eat anything different before. I would like to know as I am a type 1 for 2 years, and would like to do some diving again

 

[ganna10]

Hi, just wondering what were your bloods before and after the dive, and did you eat anything different before. I would like to know as I am a type 1 for 2 years, and would like to do some diving again

Hi Topher, my sugar before the dive was at alway at around 200 mg/mol and afterwards it didn't go down too much, normally to about 160 mg/mol after 50 mins of diving. I was told to go into the water with at least 180 mg/mol and to preferably have as little fast-acting insulin (I take Novo Rapid) in my body as possible before the dive. Other than making sure my blood sugar was in a good state I didn't eat anything special. But I did drink a lot, as dehydration is quite common when diving too.

The main cause of a hypo during a dive might be that the body is using up a lot of energy to stay warm. The water temperature was quite nice so I guess I wasn't affected by that. Also, you should be aware of how your body reacts when it goes to lower depths, as it could be similar to the signs of a hypo.

Had you done some diving before your diagnosis? That was the case with me, I've been type 1 for a year now and got my open water license 3 years ago.

 

[Topher]

Hi ganna 10 - thanks a mil for the info, yep have my open water 7 years now, so happy enough just to go down 20m . Thanks again for the tip about not having my any fast acting insulin on board etc, will have to give it a try again, dived in Malta before, it was great esp around and the blue lagoon and grotto. What company did you do the diving with, and did you tell them about being type 1 etc

 

[ganna10]

Hi Topher,

We went diving with the Aquatica company and I would recommend them, they were very helpful and were quite flexible so that we could get the most out of our dives. I did tell them beforehand about being type 1, they sent me the medical clearance form which I then got signed by my doctor and that was it. I think it would've been more of an issue if I hadn't told them beforehand as then I would've had to wait to get a doctor's approval from Malta. So it was much easier to get that sorted before going and then just enjoy the diving!

Unforunately, we didn't dive at the blue lagoon or grotto but we went to a nice wreck from WW2 in Valletta and the Blue hole in gozo which was fantastic! We did go snorkling in the blue lagoon which was also fantastic :-D

 

[Topher]

Hi ganna 10, thanks for that, must check that out, and at 20m there was no problem in seeing ww2 wreck ?

 

[ganna10]

No issues at all. Visibility was great, sea was warm too. We did two dives at the HMS Maori site in Valletta, including a night-dive. Totally recommend it. It's also not that deep - only at 14 m.

 

[Diver1975]

Hi everyone, I'm back from the scuba diving holiday in Malta (which was awesome) and I'm gonna report back.

I was wearing a Freestyle Libre Sensor on the first day of diving which involved 2 dives. I had the sensor attached for about 10 days before the dive so I wasn't that worried if something went wrong with it. I had also covered the sensor with Kinesio tape for some added security.

Before the first dive I scanned as close to the dive as I could so that just in case the sensor wasn't working afterwards I still had as much data as possible. Maximum depth of the first dive was 16m and total dive time was about 45 mins, afterwards the sensor was working as before. A pleasant surprise so I did the same before the second dive and again after the second dive (max depth 17m, total dive time 50 mins) the sensor was working fine!

The main thing I noticed was that the glue on both the kinesio tape and the sensor was noticibly less than before the dives. I wanted to get home and shower before changing the kinesio tape and unfortunately right after my shower I managed to pull off the sensor and the tape.

All in all I was pleased that the sensor was still working after the dives but the main issue was that the sensor wasn't really attached properly afterwards.

I tried my brand new Abbott freestyle libre sensor in Nemo33 which was until some year(s) ago the deepest pool in the world, and the sensor still worked fine afterwards. I went to 33m for a few minutes, and a total duration of 50 minutes. Water temperature was a comfortable 30°C. To be sure I taped a large patch of Suprasorb film dressing on the sensor that appeared to keep the sensor dry even at those pressures. I compared the scanning test with an actual blood sample test and the readings agreed quite well.

These preliminary results are very promising. More tests in colder water (in Belgium as low as 5° Celsius) and salt water are needed, and with older sensors, but at some time I hope to take the scanner itself in an underwater house for underwater blood sugar testing, for extended and safer dives. To be continued...

It appears that the depth ratings of the sensor are very conservative, which is to be expected for this kind of 'life supporting' equipment. Abbott surely won't take the risk of guaranteeing extreme operating depths, especially for the small customer base of scuba diving type 1 diabetics, even if their sensors appear to handle the pressure.