some feedback on using the FreeStyle Libre sensor

banjobongo

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7
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Other
I have Type 1 diabetes, I was diagnosed last summer.

I was lucky enough to be offered a few weeks free trial of the FreeStyle Libre sensor in late Dec/early Jan, which has recently come to an end, so in case its helpful for anybody else here is some feedback on it:


· Its fantastic to be able to take a reading whenever and wherever you are, so quick and easy;

· You get see where your patterns are and if your blood sugar levels are steady or going up or down, now Im without it I almost feel blind without it! You see on a realtime basis what impact exercise, food and drink have on your blood sugar levels. Prior to getting it I just took readings before my 3 daily meals and once again before going to bed, now Im trying to prick my finger more often to get more readings, especially before exercise (as I have discovered that exercise lowers by blood sugar readings, which is an important finding!)

· It does not hurt to get the sensor into your arm, there is a slight discomfort wearing it at first but soon you wont be aware of it at all;

· The device is delicate, I had 3 free trial samples and lost two of them, once when taking off my tshirt it dislodged the sensor, and once when swimming, it caught against a lane rope, so be careful, as they are very expensive – I see on their Irish website that just one sensor costs €59.90 so as one sensor lasts around 14 days that would be 120 Euros per month and if you lose/damage a sensor that could be 30e down the drain! – once a sensor is damaged, even slightly, that’s it, its gone, its broken and needs to be thrown away!

· If you are a swimmer like I am, yes, you can swim with it! I did a fair number of pool based swims, each session lasting around 55 mins or so, followed by a shower, no problems (apart from when I hit a lane rope and damaged a sensor!) I have also done karate and cycling and gym with it, with no problems.

· My 3 free sensors are all used up now, I still have the reader, which I am now using as my main reader.

· I cant wait until the Irish government supplies it free to diabetes patients. Unfortunately I cant afford to pay 120E per month for the sensors.

· It’s a real pity that you cant buy more than one sensor off their website and get a discount, I checked, one sensor costs 59.90 and 10 sensors costs 599!

Hope this proves helpful to somebody out there!
 

Juicyj

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Great post @banjobongo

The libre is an incredibly useful piece of kit - I wore mine last week whilst skiing so it would be easier to scan my arm than finger prick on the slopes and it was useful however if high or even low it is a delayed reading so can be out by up to 3 mmol/l compared to my normal meter.

As I swam most days I picked up some 3M large waterproof plasters from the chemist to keep my sensor under cover - I would suggest this to anyone who is active and wishes to wear one as it's a good shield from damage.

For overnight trends it's also brilliant so you can see what your fasting basal rate looks like too.

My personal thought as it's not approved by the DVLA for driving is that it would be great if the NHS could offer to parents of type 1 kids who want to monitor their children's levels without the intrusion of testing lots, also great for when kids are asleep to give mums and dad's peace of mind that their little ones are ok.
 

AndyS

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784
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Another nice feature is that if you are using the LibreLink app on a smart phone you can configure it to share your results with someone else.
So parent could use that as a means to keep an eye on childs BG.

Not quite to the same level as Nighscout but given it is a lot easier to set that kind of thing up I thought it was a cute feature, even if I have no use for it myself.

/A
 

SnackoJ

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
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Hi. A couple of things to add here. I have had my Libre for just 2 weeks now. You have 15mins to input data into the reader post a scan. After this point you can't add in data such as insulin injected, carbs, exercise etc. The meter is set to 1mmol increments, if you inject .5 then your Diabetes Nurse needs to access your reader to change this. Abbott cannot do this. Finally, if ordering replacement sensors, only order 6 (if one person in the house is using). You can order 10 at a time, but you will receive sensors which may have a "use by date" which will run out before you use the sensor. I have just sent 3 back as they will be out of life before I can use them. Abbott, pick up the bill here.

Finally, for me having this system has been brilliant. I'm in training to Hike 26 miles (for Macmillan) The Peak District Bike Hike. Constant pricking during a training walk is both difficult, inconvenient and the information is limited. The ability to forward predict BG levels for the next 15mins means my food intake has reduced, my levels are stable. This is just my personal experience and I fully accept that Libre is not for everyone and is expensive. For now it serves my needs very well.
 
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Scott-C

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2,474
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you inject .5 then your Diabetes Nurse needs to access your reader to change this.

Hi, @SnackoJ , the access code for the professional options is CAA1C, which allows the user to change dose increments.

You can also set up parameters for the insulin calculator there so it'll show an Active Insulin Symbol on screen, a little "gingerbread man" which I've found useful for getting a rough idea of insulin on board.

Glad to read you're liking it! I've found it a real game changer.
 

joanne75

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Messages
122
Hi All very interesting post, I started my trial yesterday and whilst on the course we were shown how to to scan our bloods etc but were told that it would be unlikely that our gp would prescribe the test strips to use with the device as they are way too expensive, but were told that if we could prove that it was more cost effective we might be able to get them, we were never told that we could log insulin or food etc, how would you go about doing this all it says on my screen is test glucose or review history, sorry if im being a bit thick ;)
thanks
 

Scott-C

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2,474
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we were never told that we could log insulin or food etc, how would you go about doing this all it says on my screen is test glucose or review history, s

When you scan, and the result appears, click the pencil icon at top right, it brings up an add notes page, tick the box you're interested in, then the + box which appears to enter the amount.

You can also go to review history, then logbook, then click the last entry to add or edit notes. You can't edit earlier entries, only the last one.


There's a bit more scope for adding details in librelink phone app compared to the reader.
 

Shine311

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I have just purchased the Libre and I love it. The accuracy for me is minimal within 1 mmol. I do have a query though, When I go back into review history the amount of basal insulin I have taken does not show up It just states long acting insulin, it does however show the amount of bolus insulin. Anyone got any ideas about this, am I doing something wrong? Thanks :)
 

Scott-C

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Messages
2,474
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I have just purchased the Libre and I love it. The accuracy for me is minimal within 1 mmol. I do have a query though, When I go back into review history the amount of basal insulin I have taken does not show up It just states long acting insulin, it does however show the amount of bolus insulin. Anyone got any ideas about this, am I doing something wrong? Thanks :)


Yes, I've noticed that too. If you get the software for a computer, it shows the amount of basal on the reports it creates.
 

Bon83

Well-Known Member
Messages
292
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. A couple of things to add here. I have had my Libre for just 2 weeks now. You have 15mins to input data into the reader post a scan. After this point you can't add in data such as insulin injected, carbs, exercise etc. The meter is set to 1mmol increments, if you inject .5 then your Diabetes Nurse needs to access your reader to change this. Abbott cannot do this. Finally, if ordering replacement sensors, only order 6 (if one person in the house is using). You can order 10 at a time, but you will receive sensors which may have a "use by date" which will run out before you use the sensor. I have just sent 3 back as they will be out of life before I can use them. Abbott, pick up the bill here.

Finally, for me having this system has been brilliant. I'm in training to Hike 26 miles (for Macmillan) The Peak District Bike Hike. Constant pricking during a training walk is both difficult, inconvenient and the information is limited. The ability to forward predict BG levels for the next 15mins means my food intake has reduced, my levels are stable. This is just my personal experience and I fully accept that Libre is not for everyone and is expensive. For now it serves my needs very well.
I have also purchased this for the purpose of training - to do trail runs and run more in general. I was relying on doing test runs and getting a system in place that I had to follow to the letter at each run. Eating the same and running at the same time etc. I was concerned about inaccuracies others have mentioned and the time delay. But I have taken the plunge as finger pricking on the move is very inconvenient and thought this might help
 
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I'm in the lucky position of being able to afford to buy the sensors, so have been using for 6 months now. Please do not rely on the figures, I have a feeling (confirmed by my consultant) that they are not as accurate as a finger test. I have found that, particularly when LO is shown on the free style meter, a finger test is at 3.0+. It is very good for showing a trend. I am using it to adjust the amount of food I eat and adjust my insulin dosage. In case you're wondering I have had type 1 for over 41 years. I still fondly remember the Carbohydrate Countdown books, which were invaluable before packaging had to show carbohydrate values of the products.
 
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Bon83

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I'm in the lucky position of being able to afford to buy the sensors, so have been using for 6 months now. Please do not rely on the figures, I have a feeling (confirmed by my consultant) that they are not as accurate as a finger test. I have found that, particularly when LO is shown on the free style meter, a finger test is at 3.0+. It is very good for showing a trend. I am using it to adjust the amount of food I eat and adjust my insulin dosage. In case you're wondering I have had type 1 for over 41 years. I still fondly remember the Carbohydrate Countdown books, which were invaluable before packaging had to show carbohydrate values of the products.
I empathise with people who are in no position to be able to buy the sensors. Personally I have things I can go without to be able to budget for them - should I choose to keep using the freestyle. I also purchased the reader (as a starter pack) for more accuracy as I have mixed success with my phone and apps. I would rather it underestimate blood sugar and prompt a finger prick rather than say higher and have me thinking I'm ok when I'm not. I do get lots of feelings with falling blood sugar - I can feel low when I'm actually not that low and I think it is possibly because my bg is falling more quickly so I'm hoping that the libre will help me with that.
 
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TheBigNewt

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1,167
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How much do they cost there? What's the up front cost to get started? Just curious, Libre is not sold in the US and I'm not sure why that is.
 

Sibyl

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Hi BigNewt! The starter pack (reader plus 2 sensors) was £133.29 excluding VAT which T1s don't pay, plus £4.12 shipping. Just bought another 2 sensors at £48.29 each plus the £4.12 shipping.
 
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David1963

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Great post @banjobongo

The libre is an incredibly useful piece of kit - I wore mine last week whilst skiing so it would be easier to scan my arm than finger prick on the slopes and it was useful however if high or even low it is a delayed reading so can be out by up to 3 mmol/l compared to my normal meter.

As I swam most days I picked up some 3M large waterproof plasters from the chemist to keep my sensor under cover - I would suggest this to anyone who is active and wishes to wear one as it's a good shield from damage.

For overnight trends it's also brilliant so you can see what your fasting basal rate looks like too.

My personal thought as it's not approved by the DVLA for driving is that it would be great if the NHS could offer to parents of type 1 kids who want to monitor their children's levels without the intrusion of testing lots, also great for when kids are asleep to give mums and dad's peace of mind that their little ones are ok.
 

David1963

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Hi I agree about the sensor. Fantastic piece of kit! I have been Type 1 for 54 years and the technology has certainly improved no end in all those years. But this one takes the biscuit! No more furtive testing, needle pricks or complicated juggling with the pump in awkward situations whilst the sensor is on. Makes it easier in meetings, during conversations, in the pub etc.Also saves lots on blood testing sticks. Would certainly recommend it. The sligbht downside is it can make you a little obsessive - keeping within the target range for instance. My wife tells me Ia'm becoming obsessed with controlling the machine rather than the sensor helping me, but a small quibble!
 

Bon83

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292
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Type 1
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Insulin
Mine has arrived today so will be attaching the sensor this evening. I am really hoping that the arrows help with management when exercising etc. As a finger prick of six is ok if you're on the way up but not so much if it's dropping and you've got more exercises to do! When I get agitated at diabetes being inconvenient I try to remind myself that in the past those like my dad would have loved technology like this to take the worry and guess work out of life! I am also discovering that nutrition management is necessary for everyone not just diabetics so blood sugars are just another factor in training.
 

Sibyl

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Messages
176
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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I'm on my second sensor. I found some sound advice on here after having haywire readings initially with the first one. Someone said she always attaches a sensor 2 days before she wakes it up. It certainly worked for me. 2 days before the first sensor ran out I attached the second one to my other arm but left that dormant until number one finished. I scanned the second one and then waited the 60 mins to get a reading. It was very close to my finger prick test and has remained pretty constant ever since. Apparently they need some time to settle in!
 

videoman

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Messages
191
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
The system is great,the only problem is the cost of the ongoing sensers;I trialed the meter system in Jan of this year and was elated with the meter,I am just waiting for the NHS to supply the meter