I have to say I am personally extremely disappointed with Abbott, although their customer support is great when you can get hold of them. They have so far replaced two sensors for me without issues and for that I can't fault them.
However, a product needs to be fit for purpose. I have applied three sensors so far and each and every one of them has been defective - the first one gave wildly inaccurate results for the fist week, but did last the full 14 days. The second one stopped working after three days and this latest one fell off after 20 hours of use.
I am begining to feel like I'm being used as a guinea pig for a product that has not been adequately tested. A product that has been properly tested would not fall off after 20 hours (and yes, I read and followed the instructions to the letter). I'm reasonably certain the clinical side of the device has been tested and is (faulty sensors excepted) accurate and fit for purpose. What I think has not been adequately tested is the physical and logistical aspects of the device - i.e. getting it to stay on for 14 days regardless of whether the user has a bath every day or swims every day. I appreciate that the sensor is waterproof to a degree - but it would appear that the adhesive is just not up to the task of getting wet.
I will have to bob out of work Monday morning to call them to get this replacement replaced (and wait several days for it to be delivered). Of course, if they had a helpline that was actually open at times when things really went wrong, I'd have called them already and it would have been considerably more convenient for me.
I really hope I've been unlucky and the replacements will start working as designed, but if things don't improve I'll be giving the Abbott Libre a miss altogether as I can do without having to call them on a regular basis to have sensors replaced.
At the end of the day, every system for glucose measurement I have used has had it's issues. (don't even get me started on the BG Star iPhone connected meter!) The Libre is no different in that respect. The main difference to me is the cost. I can get Freestyle Optium glucose test strips on prescription and additional ones are (mostly) affordable. The Libre of course is only available by self funding and requires rather more funds than the test strip route.
The thing is, I like the concept of the Libre. I like the ability to see a CGM-like set of results for much less than any CGM on the market. Even with wildly inaccurate results, I've still learned things (the numbers were hopeless but the trends appeared to be spot on) about how I react to certain foods - something finger pricking alone would not have shown. I like not having to conduct finger prick tests and I like not having to worry about whether the finger-prick has stopped bleeding. (I still have vivid memories of one incident at work where a finger prick site started bleeding again and by the time I realised it was still bleeding, my desk looked like a crime scene.)
Sorry about the rather long winded comments but
@AndBreathe I do agree with you - each individual has to make their choice whether to stick with the Libre and its imperfections or move onto another system with it's own imperections. Personally, if I can get the failure rate down to 10-15% from 100%, I'll be rather more inclined to carry on with the Libre.