Type 1 Freestyle libre or Dexcom

[Trace D]

Hi, been looking into getting a freestyle libre or a dexcom the cheapest I've seen is £160 is really worth the money or just stick with the finger pricking, how does everyone find theirs? I'm a carer and just thought it might be easier to monitor my readings whilst working but seems a lot of money.

 

[gardener612]

I have a Libre and love it. The only disadvantage is that it has no alarm to alert you to hypoglycemia. The advantage is that I believe it's a lot cheaper than the Dexcom both initially and in buying the sensors. Libre only needs to change every two weeks, Dexom weekly. The Libre makes you aware of trends and patterns, allowing you to begin to modify eating and activity to achieve optimal A1c. It creates reports and gives you averages, perhaps even allowing you to predict your A1c without the cost of the blood test (I'll keep you posted on this theory when I check it in July.) I haven't tried the Dexcom, but you wear the sensor on your stomach and I believe it's larger than the Libre. The Libre is about the size of a quarter and you wear it on your upper arm. I check my Libre close to 30 times per day and during the night. I certainly wouldn't do finger pricks that often or at 2 a.m!

 

[gavin86]

I have been using Libre for 4 days now, love it.
I was a little disappointed with the fact you can't zoom in/out on the graphs, but if your eyesight is OK you can see everything. (Measurements are taken every 15 mins). Also if you connect it to computer the graphs and reports are great.

If you're hypo unaware or forget to scan, dexcom might be more useful.

 

[New2T1D]

Hi there, I'm new to diabetes: my son was diagnosed 6 months ago. What with GCSEs and him getting his head around it, I am supporting him quite a lot (trying to). We had a trial of the Libre early on. Poor chap has eczema and all that hand washing was making it worse, as he was very diligent about finger pricking. We have found it to be amazing and we trust it as much as the blood meter now. When you have a dodgy sensor, it is obvious almost immediately, as the readings are (in our case) significantly higher than they normally are. A finger prick confirms this and we change the sensor. We found that most of the readings are either spot on the same or different to about 15 mins behind what the blood readings are. That's actually correct. The extremes are less accurate - outside of about low 3's to 9. The first day is inaccurate, so we now cross over and wear the new one for a day before activating and this has resolved the issue. My son wears his on his thigh. You're not supposed to, apparently, as it's only licensed for the arm or abdomen. But it works fine and is unobtrusive for him. You scan through clothes. It has made a huge difference in that you get to see the 24/7 picture which means we've been able to adjust things better towards very tight control. And his HbA1C has reduced significantly - I believe this is because of the Libre. I can't recommend it highly enough, personally. It's not cheap, but we would do anything we could to make sure our son has it, because it's so brilliant. I would like the alarm feature of the Dexcom, but it just looks so huge in comparison - I wouldn't fancy wearing that myself, but the Libre is small. One thing to watch - I ordered 10 and just realised yesterday that I have 5 left that expired end of April. They wouldn't allow me to return them as it was more than 28 days from purchase. I asked how they thought I was going to get through them all in time - i.e. within a couple of months only - and their view is that they don't know how a buyer is going to use them (?) So just watch for that one.

 

[DiabeticRuby10]

Hi!
I am 10 years old and I've had Type 1 Diabetes for nearly three months now. I have a Dexcom G5 and I think it's really worth the money. However you still have to finger prick sometimes for meals and calibrations.

If you DO decide to get either the Freestyle Libre or the Dexcom, get a Dexcom.
It alarms when you're hypo or hyper whereas the libre doesn't. I think it's worth it though.

 

[Trace D]

Thank you all, I'm just waiting to speak with my DN before I order x

 

[GrantGam]

Hi, been looking into getting a freestyle libre or a dexcom the cheapest I've seen is £160 is really worth the money or just stick with the finger pricking, how does everyone find theirs? I'm a carer and just thought it might be easier to monitor my readings whilst working but seems a lot of money.

If your phone is compatible, you can just buy one sensor for around £48 and then use the free LibreLink app (on your phone) with the sensor (without a reader).

The reader does generate better reports and more detailed info that the mobile app can, but you can always buy one separately at a later date if you find the Libre system works well for you.

The same can be said for the Dexcom, if you like the Libre, you'll almost definitely like the Dexcom too. I've not used the latter so cannot comment, but everything I've heard seems to suggest that it's a fantastic piece of kit and very accurate.

 

[Trace D]

If your phone is compatible, you can just buy one sensor for around £48 and then use the free LibreLink app (on your phone) with the sensor (without a reader).

The reader does generate better reports and more detailed info that the mobile app can, but you can always buy one separately at a later date if you find the Libre system works well for you.

The same can be said for the Dexcom, if you like the Libre, you'll almost definitely like the Dexcom too. I've not used the latter so cannot comment, but everything I've heard seems to suggest that it's a fantastic piece of kit and very accurate.

Thank you, I didn't think of that but will defo give it a go.

 

[tim2000s]

@DiabeticRuby10, the Dexcom G5 system is approved for bolusing from without needing a fingerprick, so if you use a G5 there is no need to fingerprick before meals.