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FREESTYLE LIBRE ON SALE!!!!

tim2000s said:
Back on the low carbs after a Christmas of gluttony and disregard, and this is what I like to see. Back to flat profiles...

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Mine shows flat at 5 too. In reality I started the morning at 9 and now on 7
 
Emmotha said:
Mine shows flat at 5 too. In reality I started the morning at 9 and now on 7
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That's the Libre problem. Reality is, sometimes it matters and sometimes it don't.

Now that I have NovoRapid, don't matter so much. Before - starving and basal to get my blood sugars down - mattered ahelluvalot.
 
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It's broadly following the trend, but after 2 days is it acceptable to be between 1.8mmol and 3.7mmol? Without finger pricking as normal, the scans are pretty useless like this. I would not have known about my 9 (which was a rise before insulin / breakfast).

How long is acceptable for settling in? It's been in 48 hours and still way off, when I bought it I thought it was a 14 day patch, 13 I can accept but 3-4 days is not cool.
 
Emmotha said:
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It's broadly following the trend, but after 2 days is it acceptable to be between 1.8mmol and 3.7mmol? Without finger pricking as normal, the scans are pretty useless like this. I would not have known about my 9 (which was a rise before insulin / breakfast).

How long is acceptable for settling in? It's been in 48 hours and still way off, when I bought it I thought it was a 14 day patch, 13 I can accept but 3-4 days is not cool.
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My 2nd sensor was a bit random like that, I rang Abbott and they replaced it. Worth a call I think.
 
I'd suggest you call the Abbott helpline today. I think 48 hours to settle is too long. Mine's running at 0.2 difference after less than 24 hours.
 
They're sending me a new one. They said it should be 24 hours max. Can't see them opening up to wider public until they've found all these dodgy sensors?
 
Just be aware, they send you the replacement and your 14 day stopped from reorder period starts from the moment that replacement is entered on the system.
 
Your sensor's behaving like my first two Emmotha. Shame because I thought the inaccuracy issues were confined to a bad batch early on. Trouble is, putting them on does cause trauma at the site, so we can't keep taking them off and putting a new one on even if Abbott does replace them.

Smidge
 
I've a theory that the age of the sensor might affect the results it provides as a result of breakdown in the glucose oxidase that the sensors use. If you have an older sensor it may not be as accurate as a newer one, but I hasten to add, this isn't a hard and fast rule.

Do you know what the use by date on the sensor was @Emmotha or the ones you had an issue with @smidge ?
 
The two I had the inaccuracy issue with were both expiry Feb 2015. They were the two from the starter pack. I was really peed off when they sent me two more with the same expiry date on my first order - but those two were OK.

Smidge
 
tim2000s said:
I've a theory that the age of the sensor might affect the results it provides as a result of breakdown in the glucose oxidase that the sensors use. If you have an older sensor it may not be as accurate as a newer one, but I hasten to add, this isn't a hard and fast rule.

Do you know what the use by date on the sensor was @Emmotha or the ones you had an issue with @smidge ?
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Feb 2015 so you may be on to something there!!

I didn't know about the 14 days restarting :-(
 
smidge said:
The two I had the inaccuracy issue with were both expiry Feb 2015. They were the two from the starter pack. I was really peed off when they sent me two more with the same expiry date on my first order - but those two were OK.

Smidge
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Oh!! So is this one!!!
 
The last one I had an issue with was a March 2015 one. This one and the last are October 2015 and seem to have worked well from the word go.
 
I have four sensors here waiting for my arms to heal. Just checked the expiry dates. Interesting that the two I ordered prior to Xmas have a date of Sept 2015, but the replacements that came last week are both March 2015. Would have thought these would have been longer as they came later.
 
Just reading this thread and I also had TERRIBLE contacty dermatitis from my (I think) fifth sensor... The first three were fine. Number four was itchy (and, coincidentally or not) not as accurate as the previous ones - I finished it three days early and was left with a mark on my arm, which is still a bit scabbby two weeks later. Number five was very itchy and didn't stick that well - also not v accurate with several periods of reading extended LO when I wasn't at all. When I took it off (again, a few days early), I could see (and smell - eeuw) why it was itchy - the dermatitis was pretty nasty - it was like it had eaten a hole in my arm. Itching etc stopped as soon as I took the sensor away and it's healing up ok now, though obviously still scabby/flakey.
I started sensor 6 (from a different batch) a couple of days ago and it's not boding terribly well - itchy already - so I suspect the same.
Looks a lot like an allergic reaction to the adhesive.
I've done a bit of reading/chat on similar problems with pumps and CGMs and it appears to be a fairly common issue. Some people seem to solve it with prep/barrier sprays, some with clever taping/second skin products underneath their pumps/sensors and some not at all.
I'm planning to experiment with some of those methods on the next sensor and am hoping to find a solution as I'm really reluctant to give up the Libre. None of them look like cheap solutions, though.
Ugh
 
I was going to ask if anyone had any experience of the adhesive used with pumps or other CGMs and the likelihood of reaction in those cases. Thanks for that feedback @misswhiplash Is there anyone else?
 
tim2000s said:
I was going to ask if anyone had any experience of the adhesive used with pumps or other CGMs and the likelihood of reaction in those cases. Thanks for that feedback @misswhiplash Is there anyone else?
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I googled it and talked to some people on Twitter earlier - quite a few people have a similar reaction with the Dexcoms and some reports with Omnipods too (as well as the Libre people).

Annoyingly, as with similar allergies, it tends to build gradually, so not surprising that it's hitting people on the fourth, fifth, sixth sensors.
It's a bit US-centric, but I found this guidance from the Omnipod people (assuming I can upload it successfully) and am going to try some of the stuff suggested.
 

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