I live in France where blood test strips are provided free on the health care system. But the Freestyle has to be purchased on the intenet as in UK . I have tried it five times but each time given up because results never equal my Contour Next USB sometimes 20% below or above. I would like to know if Abbott have the intention of producing improved versions. My consultant is positive about using it but I have to pay.
My experience, having only used it just over a week - unlike you, I find it marvellous!! Libre = having freedom, and that is just what its use gives!
It is the graphs and patterns that are the most marvellous thing about the Libre - and the ability to do numerous scans in order for the machine to build up the graphs.
Within a just over a week i have seen patterns i never knew existed even though i used 10 Contour tests a day! I feel better, not tired and exhausted by constant rises and fall in blood glucose. Yes, i was supposed to be 'reasonably well controlled', the graphs show i was not at all.
Now, we can have this valuable resource, showing things we may never have been aware of, and it is up to us to tweak things, esp pump base rates, if we are lucky enough to have one, and also meal times and bolus times - each tweak done slowly for safety - and each tweak produces more graphs! Within a week, from swings up to 13-15 mmol/l up to twice a day, and a couple of minor lows i would not have recognised, i have had one whole day flatlining within my target.
If only i could have it on our NHS, i could use it and drastically cut my strip use. I am using it short term for other health reasons.
Worry is reduced - worry re hypos I do not recognise, and worry about the sudden highs which made me feel so unwell - As long as I work with the fact that it does not measure blood.
I have had access, over the years, to a number of different blood test strips/monitors, and have discovered none give results the same as the others. But each machine is consistent with itself. Yes, for me, the Libre reads approx 0.4 mmol/l to 1.5 mmol/l less than the Contour Next, BUT the Contour Next consistently reads approx 1.0 mmol/l more than the Compact blood tester i use occasionally, and also the One Touch. I have learnt to work with each blood tester i have used, over nearly 40 years. Within 3 days i had learnt to work with the Libre - My targets are set about 1.0 mmol/l less than the Contour Next USB ones - having never used Libre before i was very careful , using 12- 14 Contour tests a day for 2 days at the same time as i did scans to check. I now have cut my strip use by half, and still going for less, as i become more confident.
I am not sure i could use it all the time due to arm soreness, but as a learning tool i have found it faultless