I am Type 2 and have been for 20 years. Significant allergic reaction after 8 sensors but never had a sensor failure. Tried Torbot Skintac wipes from MG Healthcare.co.uk which add a sticky surface to the skin. Worked well for 4 days at approved sensor site on back of arm until sensor came off after slight catch on shirt sleeve. Decided problem could be curvature of arm which makes sides of sensor part company. Needed a flat surface so am now wearing sensor on chest area. Too embarrassed to say precisely where BUT after 4 days is still attached with no sign of irritation. Big advantage of this position is you can see the sensor. Readings are accurate when compared with Bayer Contour Next USB meter between 4.5 and 10. Above that the sensor starts to read high reaching +2 at 15. And another thing, for skiing users, it is largely useless at altitude. Spent 3 weeks at 7500ft and readings were up to 5 units high and very random.
With 2 days left started to itch despite using Skin Tac as advised by Abbot after a phone call. Regrettably no change - the irritation circle was slightly 'less bad' than before but still not acceptable. I am astonished that Abbot have the bald faced gall to continue seling a product that produces a significant allergic reaction in what appears to be about half of users. Intend to speak to my GP and make sure he and my diabetic nurse person are fully aware of what happens when you use this 'product'. So disappointing - the system is a revolution monitoring glucosel levels.
My final experiment was to try and isolate the sensor from skin. So, next to skin was Opsite Film. On top of that was a 2" square patch of heavy duty weatherproof cellotape then the sensor which easily perforates the two layers when applied. It also sticks exceptionally well to the cellotape and the entire setup was very stable with only a very small hole for the sensor 'wire'. After 3 days it started to itch, 1 day longer than usual but it still had to be removed. I have tested the Opsite + cellotape without a sensor and there is no reaction at all after 4 days, so the sensor must be the culprit.
Then, after a little more browsing one website (sorry, forgot which one) mentioned that the sensor could cause a reaction in people allergic to the plastic or nickel content. I am allergic to nickel (can't wear my wedding ring) and so that may be the cause - somehow either nickel or plastic is managing to progress down the sensor wire and cause the problem. And Abbot do not know this? Really???
The solution. Buy Dexcom 5G mobile. Zero allergic reaction after 5 days and counting. The Dexcom is fiddly to apply (only done it once though) and the sensor does not store readings like the Abbot unit, so if the bluetooth signal between sensor and iphone is lost, so is the data. Oh, and it has an absolutely excellent User Manual.
Hope my comments help other users and save them time trying to solve the reaction problem. My belief is that if you get a reaction with the Abbot Freestyle, there is very little you can do to stop it.
!!! Epilogue !!! Just changed first Dexcom 5G sensor after 20 days use. Absolutely no skin reaction at all on test site. Only 'issues', becos they are not really problems, have been:
1. Paractamol (2x500G) consistently increases reading by about four points from 6 to 10. reading drops back after about 3 hours.
2. Recalibrating a few times a day seems to help.
3. The sticky patch that holds the sensor on becomes 'non white' after 20 days. Will try adding a layer of Opsite fim.
The good news is that the unit was still firmly attached. The patch had lifted round the edges a little and I stuck that back with SkinTac.
Only other comment is that I bought the dedicated receiver unit which is very expensive. BUT it does save me having to open mobile fone, select the app etc etc. And it is very robust as in drop proof BUT does not seem to have the same bluetoth range as my mobile fone.
