FREESTYLE LIBRE ON SALE!!!!

Just purchased the freestyle libre here in the UK.

24 hours after starting, been really disappointed with the accuracy of the readings. Currently it shows my level at 4 but I know from my existing test kit I am 6.2. Overnight it showed me below 3 when I never went below 5.

Worrying if you can't rely on it. Really want it to work, but that's a huge variance.

 

Give it a bit longer to settle, my current sensor took 48hrs to really sort itself out. It's now +/- about 0.5mmol/L

If it's still way out give Abbott a call as they will replace faulty sensors. It's best if you can use Abbott's meters and strips to compare them to as they can be a bit persnickety about other brands!

 

Thank you, will see where it is by the end of tomorrow. Worth trying the other sensor and comparing if different arms report differently?

 

It will be an expensive experiment to use both sensors at the same time. I do find that my right arm tends to read closer than my left. Maybe try with your other arm when your current sensor expires in 13 days?

 

I've had 6 sensors now. With all of them (3 different batches) I've been at least 2 mol more than the sensor, and up to 4 mol. Normal reading for me is LO when I'm about 5, so useless for detecting lies (which is my main interest).

They seem very hit and miss - work for some people and not others. My Dad is the other way - he always reads about 2 mol higher than finger prick!

 

Thats a shame i am on the fence about ordering but i really want them as theybwould make it easier but if they are inaccurate thats disappointing

 

Worth trying - you may be one of the lucky ones!

If nothing else it's a worthwhile experiment to see how you are really reacting to food - you can see all those dips and troughs for appropriate finger pricking instead of the 2 hour guesstimate.

You are hereby authorised to have a pizza or curry with the trimmings just to view the stunning BG rollercoaster on a Libre!

 

I do like a rollercoaster! Are you paying though as i will be broke after purchasing!

Usually with a takeaway i have an overnight hypo or im really high in the morning so if it solves that then im in!

 

Hi, we are retired to France now & I bought my kit over here. Get consistent next day delivery. Given that the reading is 15 minutes behind the 'now' blood-sugar I find them pretty accurate. My Accu-Chek Mobile gives mmol readings, but the readings from the French meter gives the 'continental' readings that I have to convert.

However, I've switched to a Samsung Android system so I can use the LibreLink App that I adjust to give mmol readings. I am committed to using the system until something better comes along. Find it most useful to look for patterns & adjust food and insulin accordingly. Readings have been crazily high due to having a bad cold & not going out much BUT still found close-monitoring a lot easier without all the finger-pricking. Still blood-test before each of my 4 injections (NovoRaid & Glargine) to be on the safe side. As a matter of interest my 3 year licence expired early November & my new French Licence will be for life-good!

 

Yup paying

Everyone has been told to give me fish for Christmas so I can get one in for dealing with first diabetic cold/flu and one just to play with for food testing!

It's a bit of a sad world where you use all your Christmas pressies for learning to control your diabetes and save the NHS a fortune preventing complications.

Even with the awful accuracy I've had it's been a worthwhile education tool. IMO NHS should fund a years worth post diagnosis and they'd save a fortune long term. It's what I'd really like - and need - but can't afford.

 

Libre currently doing a competition so one person only (!!!) can win a year of sensors. Wonder if the winner has to agree to advertising positively?

Hope the winner will benefit!

 

Thought i should provide an update on the FreeStyle Libre. I fitted it last Friday and that night and all of saturday it was hugely out from my real readings. ( approx 3 mmol below). By Sunday it was getting close and by Sunday night it was close or matching allowing for a 15-30min delay.

What i have found is that if i am busy and active it is very close and within 10 minutes of a finger prick score, if i am inactive then it is further behind. I have also seen ( not totally proven it yet) then when i was a bit dehydrated yesterday it was out, then after some water it got back in line.

It's not perfect, but is actually now proving to be fairly consistent and close to my finger prick test and i am starting to develop confidence in the results being shown.

 

It is an old thread, nonetheless my reply might still be relevant to somebody.
Two points:
- do not swim on the same day you started the sensor (adhesive material takes some time to adhere properly, so it will hold much better the next day!)
- I use something called "microporous tape", that looks like paper (from Boots) on top of the sensor.
Sticks easy and stays for 2 weeks (sensor duration) withstanding regular exercises, intensive sweating, 6-8 swimming sessions (short though), shower, jacuzzi..

After two weeks it looks worn but still holds.
The only downside - it leave the glue residue when you peel it off and it is not easy to wash off. May need some scrubbing.

 

Thanks everyone I have updated my profile

 

I have now finished my personal review whether to carry on using the libre having now used my tenth sensor. I had one faulty sensors and one faulty reader at start, two sensors developed a fault within days of attaching and two ripped from my arm after mere days even after putting it in an almost inaccessible place. That is a 30% fail rate and a further 20% none use problem; not great..
The biggest up side is whilst at work where it is generally inconvenient to do a finger prick test I am well versed on what is happening during the day using the sensors. I also test five times as often to try to draw a picture of what my levels are during certain tasks. I have learnt certain foods I eat react faster than others and I have changed my insulin times for varying dinners. The knowledge gained of my levels is enough to say the initial outlay was worth it but I am still on the fence to carry on.
It is a very convenient machine but far from perfect. I worry that if it becomes more standard on the NHS what financial abuse the fund would suffer. When I had a problem I had to jump through hoops to get a new sensor, and the ripped off ones went in the bin and my loss of cash. If it was free would a user persevere with the company for a renewal?

 

In terms of finance - funding, I use 6-7 finger pricks tests, so 4 boxes of 50 of test strips a month.
The retail cost of those is roughly 4x £27= £108. I am not sure whether NHS gets them cheaper than the retail or not.
With sensors, I would still need to get test strips just in case (e.g. when driving), I would say one box will suffice.
So 2 sensors + 1 box of test strips a month = 2x £48.5 + £27 = £124.

I say £16 difference in costs is well worth it!

Although, I am not sure how to add the costs of failed sensors to this calculations..

 

I did get the sensors replaced that went wrong "eventually" (not the ones ripped off of course) Point being for the cost I was referring to earlier it took a lot of emails and massive delays as Abbott only answer ever 48 hours. Two weeks the first one took. I think if it was free to replace them from NHS perhaps many would just open another one and not bother to chase (communication is only by Email by the way) . Maybe a system of returning them to boots for a replacement would negate this downside and I am worrying about the NHS funding for nothing The two ripped off sensors did not even add up to a weeks use and perhaps I would have simply replaced them if they had been free, So whatever the cost of initial supply the replacement was a further 40% to 45% from 3 not working and 2 being ripped off without full use. A Small scale statistic I know but I only did it for my own benefit
As for comparison my local surgery changed readers lately to all patients and said the benefit was they would only pay 2.09p for a pack of 50 test strips when everyone is on the same tester instead of their current 2,85p average across 12 different testers, saving the surgery £8,000 a month. No idea how many diabetics they have on the books.

 

That doesn't sound right to me - £2.09 for 50 strips that would be a HUGE discount - I could understand it maybe working out at £2.09 per day but at that price the company would be making no profit!

 

I am type 2 diabetic but need insulin 3 times daily plus lantus dose. Recently my readings have been rising for no apparent reason but with the difficulty I experience with finger pricking I can only test about 3 times a day. I have decided to buy a 14 day sensor and use it with my NFC mobile phone just to monitor more accurately what is happening through the day and what I am re-acting to. Currently if I wake up with a 6.3 reading in the morning and have just a small bowl of cereal together with 22 units novarapid I would expect my lunchtime reading to be between 6 - 10 however lately some days it has risen to 17 or 18 with the same food. I am hoping the sensor will help me make some sense of it but am disappointed to see that NICE have rejected the online petition and that it will not be reviewed again for two years! This is worrying because this discourages companies from developing less invasive and less painful testing methods