CGM & how to go about them..

[Sibyl]

Case in point: out gardening this morning. Suddenly felt a tad weary. Scanned and was 3.8 . Six jelly beans and was back in business quick as u like. No drama.

 

[Scott-C]

If you can afford CGM the bonus with that is that it will wake you up in the night if you're hypo

I've been keeping an eye on these guys:

https://www.ambrosiasys.com

It's an nfc reader with bluetooth called blucon which goes on top of libre and sends results to a phone.

If you rake back far enough in their twitter feed they said alerts can be set to alarm above and below certain levels, but then they backtracked a few posts later to say that wouldn't be introduced until later versions, so watch this space. Alerts are really the only thing missing from libre, so if they can make it do that, great.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ambrosia_sys?lang=en

However, proceed with caution. Most of the tweets are from people complaining about how the launch date has been pushed back from Feb to March to April to May. I've only seen one from someone who says they've actually received one, so they're either an elaborate scam or just shambolic.

If it turns out to be a dud, I might give the Sony Smartwatch hack a go, or ask one of our IT boys at work to do it as a homer.

https://github.com/pimpimmi/LibreAlarm/wiki

 

[SugarCyborg]

I've been on the libre for 8 months now and I wouldn't go back. It's unobtrusive, I don't find it hurts to put on and really I forget it's there most of the time. Initially I was self funded and could only afford one sensor a month, but I now use my work health insurance to cover the cost. Libre 24/7 now. I always take the result with a pinch of salt. Sometimes it's spot on. Other times it's 1.5-2.0 off my blood sugar level. I find that's not the point though. Seeing that upward or downward trend is the important bit. Before I would never have gone to sleep with a 5.0 blood test. But if I test at 5.0 before bed and see I'm on a nice level path I can go to sleep knowing I'll be ok. At the same time I'll be a 14 on the blood test but I'm crashing down so I know to either wait to correct or just a minimal adjustment will do. Now I test and scan intermittently throughout the day and am able to nudge the numbers in the right direction. Sorry I deal in old money, but I went from an HbA1c of 8.9 now at 7.2. Technically you can call yourself a cyborg too

 

[amylh1]

They are fantastic for dealing with hypos. Because they measure all the time, instead of the snapshots you get from strips, it's really easy to see when your levels are dropping (they even show a downward arrow when dropping rapidly) and then take 5 or 10g to even things out before the hypo even happens. It's like being able to change the future. I've avoided plenty of hypos because of it.

The cost is a hassle, £100 per month for the libre, but seeing as that works out per day at the cost of a newspaper and coffee or return bus trip, it's worth it for just how much easier it makes life.

Abbott, who make libre, have applied to have it available on the NHS,so it's a case of wait and see. It's still early days, but I'm pretty sure that one fine day in the next few years, these'll be as easy to get on the NHS as strips are.

To begin with, I was testing just as much as I used to while I got used to it, but in the last couple of months, after getting familiar with the quirks and differences, I've cut right down to 1 or 2 tests a day and am perfectly happy to bolus from it. It's technically not recommended for bolusing, but that's because doctors and manufacturers are paranoid about getting sued, but in practice, once you figure out how to read it properly and calibrate with a couple of tests a day to get an idea of how close it's running to actual levels, it is possible to bolus from it. It took me a few months to get to that stage, but I'm pretty confident with it now. I don't drive at the moment so there's no DVLA issues - I'd test if I was driving.

They don't hurt at all. I've attached a photo of a libre sensor. See the black filament coming out of the white bit in the middle? That's what goes inside you. It's flexible. About 5mm long.

View attachment 23003

Thanks so much Scott

 

[tim2000s]

And don't forget the other issue with the Ambrosia BlueCON. The one with replaceable batteries is not waterproof so required removal when showering, swimming, etc, and the one which is works out more expensive than just going and buying a Dexcom G5. And a G5 is a lot more consistently accurate than a Libre.

 

[philwoolfall]

Hi Scott, I received a nightrider from the states today after paying import duty of course! I've only just started a new libre sensor and was wondering if enabling the nightrider will stop the libre reader from working? Basically wondering if I should leave it towards end of the sensor life before giving the nightrider a first try.

Thanks, phil

I've been keeping an eye on these guys:

https://www.ambrosiasys.com

It's an nfc reader with bluetooth called blucon which goes on top of libre and sends results to a phone.

If you rake back far enough in their twitter feed they said alerts can be set to alarm above and below certain levels, but then they backtracked a few posts later to say that wouldn't be introduced until later versions, so watch this space. Alerts are really the only thing missing from libre, so if they can make it do that, great.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ambrosia_sys?lang=en

However, proceed with caution. Most of the tweets are from people complaining about how the launch date has been pushed back from Feb to March to April to May. I've only seen one from someone who says they've actually received one, so they're either an elaborate scam or just shambolic.

If it turns out to be a dud, I might give the Sony Smartwatch hack a go, or ask one of our IT boys at work to do it as a homer.

https://github.com/pimpimmi/LibreAlarm/wiki

Hi

 

[Scott-C]

was wondering if enabling the nightrider will stop the libre reader from working?

Hi, Phil, you can still scan with the reader while the blucon is running.

One thing to watch out for, though, is that the reader and the linkblucon app use different algorithms to calculate bg from the raw data. So, you're practically guaranteed to get different readings from both.

I usually only meter test 2 or 3 times a day with libre to kind of "calibrate" it in my head, but because blucon is so new I've been testing a lot more recently to get a sense of what it's telling me. I've found that it is frequently much closer to meter than the reader is. Particularly, I've had a few situations where reader says I'm at 3.5 and dropping hard, whereas meter says I'm 4.5 and blucon 5 min readings is just showing a slow and manageable slide and is above 4. So, it seems the algos in the reader are a bit more "panicky" and aggressive in predicting lows.

There is one really frustrating thing about it. Recently, it was running fine for four days, very close to meter, then all of a sudden for no apparent reason it started showing readings of half of what bg was. That lasted for two days then it just went back to normal. ***!? It's done that a couple of times now. Who knows, maybe it's a programming or sensor glitch. But that randomness is enough for me to not be persuaded to bolus from it, which I've been doing quite happily with the reader for some time now.

The novelty of getting 5 min readings on my phone has worn off a bit now so I don't use it that much now. Although it's definitely a lot of fun just being able to slide down the notification window to see a reading!

The first app version had an alert if you tried to set it up without bluetooth switched on, but for some odd reason that isn't in rhe current version. There's been a couple if times when I've started it up and wondered why I'm getting nothing before realising I'd forgotten to switch bluetooth on - duh.

I think I'm probably just going to wait until they introduce the long promised low alerts and then just pop it on when I've been out for a few beers at the weekend as a little safeguard for those night beer/hypo situations.

Good luck with it!

 

[philwoolfall]

Thanks Scott, will let you know how I get on.

Phil

Hi, Phil, you can still scan with the reader while the blucon is running.

One thing to watch out for, though, is that the reader and the linkblucon app use different algorithms to calculate bg from the raw data. So, you're practically guaranteed to get different readings from both.

I usually only meter test 2 or 3 times a day with libre to kind of "calibrate" it in my head, but because blucon is so new I've been testing a lot more recently to get a sense of what it's telling me. I've found that it is frequently much closer to meter than the reader is. Particularly, I've had a few situations where reader says I'm at 3.5 and dropping hard, whereas meter says I'm 4.5 and blucon 5 min readings is just showing a slow and manageable slide and is above 4. So, it seems the algos in the reader are a bit more "panicky" and aggressive in predicting lows.

There is one really frustrating thing about it. Recently, it was running fine for four days, very close to meter, then all of a sudden for no apparent reason it started showing readings of half of what bg was. That lasted for two days then it just went back to normal. ***!? It's done that a couple of times now. Who knows, maybe it's a programming or sensor glitch. But that randomness is enough for me to not be persuaded to bolus from it, which I've been doing quite happily with the reader for some time now.

The novelty of getting 5 min readings on my phone has worn off a bit now so I don't use it that much now. Although it's definitely a lot of fun just being able to slide down the notification window to see a reading!

The first app version had an alert if you tried to set it up without bluetooth switched on, but for some odd reason that isn't in rhe current version. There's been a couple if times when I've started it up and wondered why I'm getting nothing before realising I'd forgotten to switch bluetooth on - duh.

I think I'm probably just going to wait until they introduce the long promised low alerts and then just pop it on when I've been out for a few beers at the weekend as a little safeguard for those night beer/hypo situations.

Good luck with it!

 

[philwoolfall]

Thanks Scott, will let you know how I get on.

Phil

Hi Scott. I've only had it on for two hours and already it seems to be less 'sensitive' than the reader, so closer to my actual bloods. The notifications are a deal breaker for me though, even though I knew low notifications wasn't enabled I was hoping that you could set it up so that every 5 mins the phone would flag up the new reading. Whilst overkill in everyday life I do a fair bit of long distance running and if it did that then those notifications would come through onto smart watch so I'd be able to see bloods whilst running, which would be terrific. I'll play with it but I'm definitely looking for those notifications...

 

[philwoolfall]

Hi Scott. I've only had it on for two hours and already it seems to be less 'sensitive' than the reader, so closer to my actual bloods. The notifications are a deal breaker for me though, even though I knew low notifications wasn't enabled I was hoping that you could set it up so that every 5 mins the phone would flag up the new reading. Whilst overkill in everyday life I do a fair bit of long distance running and if it did that then those notifications would come through onto smart watch so I'd be able to see bloods whilst running, which would be terrific. I'll play with it but I'm definitely looking for those notifications...

Try www.freestylesticker.de, I've bought a nightrider holder from them to keep it on the arm and it seems to work really well.

 

[Kbarbaracollins_]

My libre was very accurate initially but at the time I was advised to use only 1 arm due to lymph node removal in the other. Great to start off with but after 5 months it was at least 2mmol out all the time...

For me, to have a sensor applied to my love handles and bum (too lean for stomach) the Guardian Connect offers me more scope to change sites and areas. I cannot use either arm now. I have had lymph nodes removed from bith.

This is probably unique to me... I doubt if theres many women in my situ.

I fully realise it is different fluid but except when in hosp 4 weeks ago and my electric signals in my body must have been really erractic the Connect has been far superior, especially in the first 24hours and no need to put in the sensor in advance.

I have found the Libre sensor works just as well, if not better, on the top of my leg. I find it less intrusive there and it gives my arms a rest

 

[philwoolfall]

Feedback from ambrosia on what I posted previously about being able to see blood sugars on smart watch. Ambrosia SAY they are working on this and expect to be ready 4-6 weeks.

 

[philwoolfall]

Feedback on first few days with the ambrosiasys nightrider. The readings are quite different from the meter, I always get a spike in the morning and this is underestimated significantly by the nightrider, I've been blood testing a bit more than usual and it definitely seems to be the nightrider that's incorrect. Also the holder bought from freestylesticker.de has needed some adaptation with a file to prevent hurting my arm but is still a decent purchase. I'll use the nightrider if they can make it push readings to iphone (and from there appear on smart watch) but aside from that will be sticking with the official meter for general use. Am comfortable setting bolus from the official meter but not sure the nightrider is quite there yet. Nightrider also drops signal now and again and resetting it is a pain needing a small tool to push the reset button.

 

[Scott-C]

Feedback on first few days with the ambrosiasys nightrider. The readings are quite different from the meter, I always get a spike in the morning and this is underestimated significantly by the nightrider, I've been blood testing a bit more than usual and it definitely seems to be the nightrider that's incorrect. Also the holder bought from freestylesticker.de has needed some adaptation with a file to prevent hurting my arm but is still a decent purchase. I'll use the nightrider if they can make it push readings to iphone (and from there appear on smart watch) but aside from that will be sticking with the official meter for general use. Am comfortable setting bolus from the official meter but not sure the nightrider is quite there yet. Nightrider also drops signal now and again and resetting it is a pain needing a small tool to push the reset button.

It turns out that xdrip+ now collects info from blucon. Thought you might be interested as the Settings menu in xdrip+ has an option for Pebble watches. Only been using it for an hour or so, so am not too familiar with it yet. But it definitely alerts for highs and lows and can be calibrated.

I used the 9 Sept nightly build from this page:

https://github.com/NightscoutFoundation/xDrip/releases?after=2017.09.13

 

[DunePlodder]

Interesting to hear that it can be calibrated with xDrip+.

 

[pinewood]

I've been on the libre for 8 months now and I wouldn't go back. It's unobtrusive, I don't find it hurts to put on and really I forget it's there most of the time. Initially I was self funded and could only afford one sensor a month, but I now use my work health insurance to cover the cost. Libre 24/7 now. I always take the result with a pinch of salt. Sometimes it's spot on. Other times it's 1.5-2.0 off my blood sugar level. I find that's not the point though. Seeing that upward or downward trend is the important bit. Before I would never have gone to sleep with a 5.0 blood test. But if I test at 5.0 before bed and see I'm on a nice level path I can go to sleep knowing I'll be ok. At the same time I'll be a 14 on the blood test but I'm crashing down so I know to either wait to correct or just a minimal adjustment will do. Now I test and scan intermittently throughout the day and am able to nudge the numbers in the right direction. Sorry I deal in old money, but I went from an HbA1c of 8.9 now at 7.2. Technically you can call yourself a cyborg too

Are you outside of the UK? I don't think any UK private health insurance policies cover CGM.

 

[SugarCyborg]

I’m in the uk but work for an international company. My work policy is with Allianze.