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Confused by results from Freestyle Libre 2 v Vivachek Ino X….Help!

F

Fishingscotland

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
UK, and Newly diagnosed with Type 2, and so a friend (with long-term Type 2) suggested a Vivachek Ino X which she uses, and the readings were encouraging.

Before then, I had applied for a 14 day trial of the Freestyle Libre 2. However, when it arrived a few days ago, their results were wildly different from the Vivachek!

Help!

Testing every day, each device is producing a result which tallies with (its) previous readings, but the two are so far apart, when compared one with the other.

Has anyone had the same issue? Does Freestyle (perhaps) work on a different scale?

Any help or suggestions would really be appreciated. Thank you, Ross
 
When you say wildly different, how wildly?
As in something like 6 on one and 10 or the other or something like 6 on one and 108 on the other?

If the number on either are in the 100+ range its using mg/dl with is the US scale, numbers less than 30 (mmol/L) its the UK range

If its just something like 6 and 10 it may just be the libre is reading higher/lower than it should be, sometimes they can just fail, though note even blood test test meters only have accuracy to within 15% so 6 and 7 at the same time would be considered accurate if you're actual number was 6.5
 
Rokaab said:
When you say wildly different, how wildly?
As in something like 6 on one and 10 or the other or something like 6 on one and 108 on the other?

If the number on either are in the 100+ range its using mg/dl with is the US scale, numbers less than 30 (mmol/L) its the UK range

If its just something like 6 and 10 it may just be the libre is reading higher/lower than it should be, sometimes they can just fail, though note even blood test test meters only have accuracy to within 15% so 6 and 7 at the same time would be considered accurate if you're actual number was 6.5
Click to expand...
Thanks, Rokaab. The Vivachek is averaging 6.6 - first thing in the morning. Testing at the same time, the Freestyle is averaging 8.5.
 
Thanks, Rokaab. The Vivachek is averaging 6.6 - first thing in the morning. Testing at the same time, the Freestyle is averaging 8.5.
 
Fishingscotland said:
Thanks, Rokaab. The Vivachek is averaging 6.6 - first thing in the morning. Testing at the same time, the Freestyle is averaging 8.5.
Click to expand...
I have a Freestyle Libre3, and i too have some concerns with it. Sometimes the alarm goes off, but on looking back it shows no alarm. Looking back over data is difficult as the scale is ridiculously small.

As for it's comparison with a blood strips, I have VivaChek kit and they claim to be around 5% accurate and so higher than the industry standard ( at the moment). I am pretty pleased with the VivaChek kit, but I am concerned it is turning my finger tip into a tea strainer, hence the Libra3. On comparing the two, sometimes they are quite close, other times, like this morning, the Libre3 said 3.8 and the VivaChek said 6.4.... The Libra3 had also just set off a low carb alarm! That is a pretty big difference in that range!
I am not sure why exactly, but i trust the VivaChek more than the Libre3, so whenever i get high or low readings on the Libre3 I double check with the VivaChek. A benefit with the Libre3 is that you can see how your body reacts to certain carbs with a trend line which sort of shows the time period. You need to instal Librelinkup on your phone to get better ( certainly not great) data.
I hope that was helpful, and good luck! :)
 
Stephen Bond said:
I have a Freestyle Libre3, and i too have some concerns with it. Sometimes the alarm goes off, but on looking back it shows no alarm. Looking back over data is difficult as the scale is ridiculously small.

As for it's comparison with a blood strips, I have VivaChek kit and they claim to be around 5% accurate and so higher than the industry standard ( at the moment). I am pretty pleased with the VivaChek kit, but I am concerned it is turning my finger tip into a tea strainer, hence the Libra3. On comparing the two, sometimes they are quite close, other times, like this morning, the Libre3 said 3.8 and the VivaChek said 6.4.... The Libra3 had also just set off a low carb alarm! That is a pretty big difference in that range!
I am not sure why exactly, but i trust the VivaChek more than the Libre3, so whenever i get high or low readings on the Libre3 I double check with the VivaChek. A benefit with the Libre3 is that you can see how your body reacts to certain carbs with a trend line which sort of shows the time period. You need to instal Librelinkup on your phone to get better ( certainly not great) data.
I hope that was helpful, and good luck! :)
Click to expand...
Thank you Stephen! That insight was very helpful. I agree that the Freestyle shows the trends but the disparity is so marked, with one showing ‘hope’ and the other ‘despair’.
 
Apologies, as a Newbie, if I am replying twice.

Thank you Stephen! That insight was very helpful. I agree that the Freestyle shows the trends but the disparity is so marked, with one showing ‘hope’ and the other ‘despair’. They cannot be both ‘right’ and the difference is perhaps outwith any tolerance for error, in their own separate systems?
if I hadn’t asked for the Freestyle Libre 2 then I would have been content that Vivachek showed a lower target to aim for, through a low carbohydrate diet.
some while back, not knowing, I had started intermittent fasting - nothing before Noon - but had fallen off that wagon.
Guess what, it’s hitched up again now!
Thanks
 
Fishingscotland said:
Apologies, as a Newbie, if I am replying twice.

Thank you Stephen! That insight was very helpful. I agree that the Freestyle shows the trends but the disparity is so marked, with one showing ‘hope’ and the other ‘despair’. They cannot be both ‘right’ and the difference is perhaps outwith any tolerance for error, in their own separate systems?
if I hadn’t asked for the Freestyle Libre 2 then I would have been content that Vivachek showed a lower target to aim for, through a low carbohydrate diet.
some while back, not knowing, I had started intermittent fasting - nothing before Noon - but had fallen off that wagon.
Guess what, it’s hitched up again now!
Thanks
Click to expand...
As I said i trust the VivaChek more... also you can adjust the levels on the Libre 3, not sure about the Libre 2, but as they seem to be so rubbish with their the consumer interface, who knows? I guess it is vague enough for most doctors who are barely interested in looking at the readings.
Just did a comparison check again.. libre3 said 4.27...Vivachek said 5.5. the Libre 3 was just above alarm level.
I have been doing a long IF and having 1 meal per day... Easy with Ozempic...However, Libre3 showed times of very low carbs and Doc suggested i go back to 3 meals per day with a little carb at each of them. I now travel with biscuits for emergencies!

By the way I am a Newbie too.. This sites and it's threads and foibles take a while to get your head around, but there are some truly great people on here, and they are so considerate and kind with the advice they offer. Take a good look around, it is worth it!
 
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Tha
Stephen Bond said:
As I said i trust the VivaChek more... also you can adjust the levels on the Libre 3, not sure about the Libre 2, but as they seem to be so rubbish with their the consumer interface, who knows? I guess it is vague enough for most doctors who are barely interested in looking at the readings.
I have been doing a long IF and having 1 meal per day... Easy with Ozempic...However, Libre3 showed times of very low carbs and Doc suggested i go back to 3 meals per day with a little carb at each of them. I now travel with biscuits for emergencies!
Click to expand...
Thanks Stephen. Good luck with the IF. I chose that instead of 5 : 2, as i thought I could cope with skipping breakfast. But, come Noon, I’m very keen to eat something. I have some authentic Ceylon cinnamon sticks and had read that ground cinnamon helps with insulin resistance, so a ‘gritty‘ coffee in the morning, with a teaspoon of freshly ground cinnamon…coffee grinder pressed into a new use!
 
Fishingscotland said:
Tha

Thanks Stephen. Good luck with the IF. I chose that instead of 5 : 2, as i thought I could cope with skipping breakfast. But, come Noon, I’m very keen to eat something. I have some authentic Ceylon cinnamon sticks and had read that ground cinnamon helps with insulin resistance, so a ‘gritty‘ coffee in the morning, with a teaspoon of freshly ground cinnamon…coffee grinder pressed into a new use!
Click to expand...
Careful with the cinnamon. Too much can cause problems too!
 
All CGMs, include Libre have limitations which have been discussed many times.
The one which may be relevant here is that they may be less accurate when our levels are changing quickly. Due to Dawn Phenomenon/ Foot on the Floor many of us find our levels rocketing when we get out of bed (or before).

I am surprised by the comment about fingers turning into tea strainers die to the number of finger pricks. Thos is something I have seen more in recent years since CGMs became more affordable. Some of us with insulin treated diabetes for more than 10 years, have had years of finger pricking 10 or more times a day. With warm fingers, appropriate depth set on the lancet and a good "finger rotation regime", my fingers were fine. I was able to continue typing for work, etc.
The value of a CGM for me is definitely not a replacement for finger pricks (although I do prick less), it is seeing what happens between the pricks.
 
With my FL2 my HBA1C is about 4 points Haggerston than it really is and about 1/2 points lower than a blood sugar needle finger prick test. Found these out when in hospital. That said I love my FL2 and get obsessed scanning
 
I took a break from the Freestyle Libre3 because the figures i was getting were too often wong. I then waited a few weeks and tried a new one.. After looking at what i ate and the results, it was clear that the 1st unit was about right and the 2nd unit was very wrong. I then took a break for a few weeks from the Libre3 and used only blood test strips. The 3rd unit was close enough when occasionally tested against by blood strip tester ( which i trust). When i started with the 4th Libre3 all looked good. This lulled me into a false sense of security...... After a few days i thought the readings looked too good, so i also blood tested occasionally for the next few days and found that the Libre 3 was again showing too low... between 0.7 and 1.1 too low!! That is a very big error and can easily put you into the low alarm zone during the night and wake you up. My conclusion is that some of these Libre3 units are defective and can cause a false sense of security and lead to eating too much sugar. They are very comfortable to rely on an so it is not easy to spot when they go wrong as you don't use the blood strips unless you are concerned. I am going to give them a few more tries as i know what to watch out for now, but if I keep getting these defective units i will give up, as they are more bad than good for you.
 
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