FREESTYLE LIBRE ON SALE!!!!

[winephil]

I have just got my system in France after waiting over a year. Put on the sensor this morning but so far the reader refuses to recognise the sensor and tells me there is a problem. Will call French or UK helpline in the morning (Monday) but not sure what they will suggest?? Does anyone recognise this problem???????

 

[zx1289aq]

GO GO GO!

I just placed my order

Is it come in English and MG/DL

 

[tim2000s]

Is it come in English and MG/DL

Dependent on the country you order from it comes in the units appropriate for that country. UK is mmol/l.

 

[phil1966]

I finally caved in and ordered one of these on Monday (my blood sugar seems to be well controlled but I'm interested in what it does between my finger prick readings). It turned up about 1/2 hour ago and I got the first sensor installed pretty easily (although I was quite surprised by the length of the bit that goes in your arm!)

Now waiting for the sensor to activate so I can start my readings

 

[tim2000s]

Does anyone have any idea when the official Android app is due for release.
last year it was imminent, due start of the new year.
Tried contacting the main site a few times, but no reply.

It has been released in Sweden...

 

[phil1966]

I've been getting some readings now and I'm actually surprised by how accurate it seems to be (I read all the complaints about under / over-reading and lack of accuracy in the first day and was a bit concerned).

The readings from the Libre are within 0.1 of the readings taken 10 minutes previously with my blood meter (which is down to the nature of the Libre reading interstitial fluid rather than blood). If it keeps on like this, I'll be delighted

 

[Lorraineagain]

Will wait till the "live" guinea pigs come with some feedback before I rush in.

Hi, I've just been reading the reviews online and people have experienced problems with security sensors going off 'beep' when entering libraries and some shops. I would worry about airport security! I think, like you, I will wait a while.

 

[tim2000s]

Hi, I've just been reading the reviews online and people have experienced problems with security sensors going off 'beep' when entering libraries and some shops. I would worry about airport security! I think, like you, I will wait a while.

The post you quoted was nearly 18 months ago. Many of us have travelled with it since then with no issues.

 

[zx1289aq]

Dependent on the country you order from it comes in the units appropriate for that country. UK is mmol/l.

thanks ,finally i get one Free style libre which i want , but i face one problem i cant download the software its closed in my region

 

[phil1966]

Unfortunately, my first impression appears to have been overly optimistic: after 10 days, my first sensor started reading wildly under (1.5 - 2 under a finger prick reading after 15 minutes)
.
Having read about needing corroborating evidence from finger prick readings using the Libre reader, I had bought some (extortionately expensive!) optium strips so had the data to hand to back this up. I took the sensor off and put a new one one, but this second one didn't activate properly.
I rang up the care line and to be fair to them they are sending me two new sensors
However, that's not the end of my issues: the newest sensor I am wearing has now been on nearly 2 days and this one is reading 1.5 over a finger prick test!

This thing costs an absolute fortune but appears to be completely unreliable and I don't think I will continue to use it. I am tempted to ask for a refund of the £250 (plus £20 for 50 optium test strips) I spent on the starter kit and 2 extra sensors as I am on my third one now and have had about 4 days worth of reliable readings.

 

[tim2000s]

Unfortunately, my first impression appears to have been overly optimistic: after 10 days, my first sensor started reading wildly under (1.5 - 2 under a finger prick reading after 15 minutes)
.
Having read about needing corroborating evidence from finger prick readings using the Libre reader, I had bought some (extortionately expensive!) optium strips so had the data to hand to back this up. I took the sensor off and put a new one one, but this second one didn't activate properly.
I rang up the care line and to be fair to them they are sending me two new sensors
However, that's not the end of my issues: the newest sensor I am wearing has now been on nearly 2 days and this one is reading 1.5 over a finger prick test!

This thing costs an absolute fortune but appears to be completely unreliable and I don't think I will continue to use it. I am tempted to ask for a refund of the £250 (plus £20 for 50 optium test strips) I spent on the starter kit and 2 extra sensors as I am on my third one now and have had about 4 days worth of reliable readings.

What you find with it is that it tends to be consistently out when it is out. For those of us who use insulin, it's remarkably useful, in terms of tracking spikes, effects of insulin, understanding timing of insulin, pre-empting hypos, etc, and working out what you need to do to better manage yourself. In that sense, it is generally 100% reliable in that it faithfully represents the falls and rises in your blood glucose levels. That's far more beneficial to us than the spot reading at a point in time.

But if you aren't taking any notice of that aspect, then I'd agree, you might as well stick with finger pricking. It's not as though Finger pricking is accurate either though...

 

[phil1966]

What you find with it is that it tends to be consistently out when it is out. For those of us who use insulin, it's remarkably useful, in terms of tracking spikes, effects of insulin, understanding timing of insulin, pre-empting hypos, etc, and working out what you need to do to better manage yourself. In that sense, it is generally 100% reliable in that it faithfully represents the falls and rises in your blood glucose levels. That's far more beneficial to us than the spot reading at a point in time.

But if you aren't taking any notice of that aspect, then I'd agree, you might as well stick with finger pricking. It's not as though Finger pricking is accurate either though...

Unfortunately, it doesn't even seem to be consistently out! Take this morning's readings:

6:17am - 3.7 finger prick
6:32am - 5.8 scan

So that means the scan is reading 2.1 above the finger prick (allowing 15 minutes as it's interstitial on the scanner - I took readings between and they were all the same too)

6:59am - 4.3 finger prick
7:14am - 9.0 scan

So it's now 4.7 out and a 0.6 increase on finger prick has translated to a 3.2 increase on the scan

About the only thing I can derive from the graph is that my blood sugar increases when I eat and then drops, but I knew that already - it's completely useless to indicate exactly how much the food affects me because it's reading an inconsistent amount above

I actually bought this so I could get some graphs to show my Dr and hopefully reduce my meds, but it's certainly not going be any use for that!

 

[tim2000s]

Unfortunately, it doesn't even seem to be consistently out! Take this morning's readings:

6:17am - 3.7 finger prick
6:32am - 5.8 scan

So that means the scan is reading 2.1 above the finger prick (allowing 15 minutes as it's interstitial on the scanner - I took readings between and they were all the same too)

6:59am - 4.3 finger prick
7:14am - 9.0 scan

So it's now 4.7 out and a 0.6 increase on finger prick has translated to a 3.2 increase on the scan

About the only thing I can derive from the graph is that my blood sugar increases when I eat and then drops, but I knew that already - it's completely useless to indicate exactly how much the food affects me because it's reading an inconsistent amount above

I actually bought this so I could get some graphs to show my Dr and hopefully reduce my meds, but it's certainly not going be any use for that!

Certainly sounds as though you've ended up with a host of dodgy sensors. That happens sometimes. I went through a period last year where I replaced about 6 on the trot.

 

[AndBreathe]

Unfortunately, it doesn't even seem to be consistently out! Take this morning's readings:

6:17am - 3.7 finger prick
6:32am - 5.8 scan

So that means the scan is reading 2.1 above the finger prick (allowing 15 minutes as it's interstitial on the scanner - I took readings between and they were all the same too)

6:59am - 4.3 finger prick
7:14am - 9.0 scan

So it's now 4.7 out and a 0.6 increase on finger prick has translated to a 3.2 increase on the scan

About the only thing I can derive from the graph is that my blood sugar increases when I eat and then drops, but I knew that already - it's completely useless to indicate exactly how much the food affects me because it's reading an inconsistent amount above

I actually bought this so I could get some graphs to show my Dr and hopefully reduce my meds, but it's certainly not going be any use for that!

Have you contacted Abbott about these issues? I'm very much a part-time user, but when I have had issues, I've always found Abbott to be open to listening and rectifying the issues I've had. The only time I got really frustrated was when overseas and I tried to use their support system by email. I didn't find that satisfactory, but got there in the end. Again, once I had established contact with an appropriate person, I was well looked after.

 

[AndBreathe]

thanks ,finally i get one Free style libre which i want , but i face one problem i cant download the software its closed in my region

I know when I was overseas for a time, if I wanted to look in my Abbott account, I had to use a VPN connection. That worked perfectly. I can't envisage why that wouldn't work to download the software.

 

[AndBreathe]

Most very, very odd!

My Libre reader appears too be working fine, BUT, I've just connected it to my laptop to see where my post-dinner peak came in, and on the graphs, there's no line after 7am this morning! The line is complete on the screen on the reader, but not in the reports or data.

So, I restarted the software, it's still the same, but the software is telling me the reader time differs from the laptop time, and wants me change it. Changing it won't affect the data, so I go ahead. I re-run the reports; no change. As I had had the same message a couple of weeks ago, after coming back to the UK, and I didn't lose anything, I just went ahead.

I did a data dump this morning, around 8am (judging by document properties), and sure enough the capture ends at 7am. I hadn't noticed this morning, as I tend not to get too excited about what was effectively the last hour. I was looking further back.

I've disconnected the reader and scanned to ensure it didn't need any sort of "waking" up, after updating the time, but the software is telling me I need to update the time again, and the lack of data in the software is unchanged.

Abbott here I come!

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

[AndBreathe]

Stand by your beds.

Having plugged the reader in again this morning, prior to calling Abbott, the issue has resolved itself.

The laptop software is no longer telling me laptop and reader times are misaligned, yesterday's data is there, both on the line traces and graphs and in the exported data. I now conclude this was a software, as opposed to hardware issue.

And finally, it just goes to show that the usual turn it off/turn it on (laptop) routine also works with this gizmo.

 

[1abRat]

I was talking to Abbott earlier this week as I'd gotten a duff sensor and apparently they're going to overhaul the software soon thank goodness.

My main complaint at the time was that my sensor had been underestimating by 50-100%, any time I was under 5 it just said "LO". I'd worn it for 5 days in the vain hope it would sort itself out but it didn't of course.

Now when I look on the software it has totally ruined my estimated HbA1c, the charts that show 90th and 95th percentile readings and of course red lights across the board on the traffic light bit and the software doesn't allow any way to exclude that data without binning all the data prior to the dodgy sensor too. Grrrr!

Of course they've designed it this was to stop "cheating" but I can't understand why you can't just exclude data and the software would then just flag up the fact that you've done that on the report. Besides, I'm an adult and if I cheat I'm only cheating myself, there should be an option to make the software restrictive using a password if you're a parent of a child but this should be an option and not the default behaviour in my opinion.

 

[AndBreathe]

I was talking to Abbott earlier this week as I'd gotten a duff sensor and apparently they're going to overhaul the software soon thank goodness.

My main complaint at the time was that my sensor had been underestimating by 50-100%, any time I was under 5 it just said "LO". I'd worn it for 5 days in the vain hope it would sort itself out but it didn't of course.

Now when I look on the software it has totally ruined my estimated HbA1c, the charts that show 90th and 95th percentile readings and of course red lights across the board on the traffic light bit and the software doesn't allow any way to exclude that data without binning all the data prior to the dodgy sensor too. Grrrr!

Of course they've designed it this was to stop "cheating" but I can't understand why you can't just exclude data and the software would then just flag up the fact that you've done that on the report. Besides, I'm an adult and if I cheat I'm only cheating myself, there should be an option to make the software restrictive using a password if you're a parent of a child but this should be an option and not the default behaviour in my opinion.

For some reason I can't fathom, I've had a few sensors that haven't performed in the way they were designed to. I've asked if there are any patterns showing to Abbott individuals have either cluster sensor issues, or repeated issues with x,y or z, but they appear to have nothing. Of course, it could just be that the agents on the phones don't have the information, rather than Abbott not having it.

I'm a part-time user, as my diabetes is in good shape, but I usually learn something new with each senor, in terms of fine tuning, or potential fine tuning. I certainly understand what I would do first if my HbA1c started to drift upwards.

As a T2, my bloods run within fairly tight train tracks, therefore I often know what I expect to see, so my expectations for variability are maybe tighter than others. I also do spend period of each day (and particularly overnight, in the very low numbers (verified by finger prick testing), and I'm wondering it if sometimes struggles a bit where the numbers are low.

In all of that, I'd agree it can make the estimated HbA1c look wonky, but to be honest, I'm more interested in the trends that the predictions.

 

[Robbity]

Most very, very odd!
...

So, I restarted the software, it's still the same, but the software is telling me the reader time differs from the laptop time, and wants me change it. Changing it won't affect the data, so I go ahead. I re-run the reports; no change. As I had had the same message a couple of weeks ago, after coming back to the UK, and I didn't lose anything, I just went ahead.
...
Has anyone else experienced this issue?

I had a similar message regarding time discrepancy on 28th May, but since there wasn't one, I ignored it. The software had actually sat for much longer than usual, with the little egg timer going - before acknowledging the reader was connected.

Robbity