Libre vs pump

[Charisma_1630]

Hi all,

Im on an omnipod and currently on a trial under my hospital with the Freestyle Libre. I was having a convo with my nurse and she said one of the criteria to keep the libre is that I need to do less blood tests. I questioned that I thought you weren't supposed to rely on the libre scan when giving insulin doses and before driving but she said this has all changed and you can rely on it for pretty much anything now and because of this my amount of blood tests should be reduced significantly....

Do you rely on the freestyle reading when dosing? Or do you also do a blood prick test? I had the freestyle for a brief time when it first come out and it was so inaccurate, obviously things have changed a bit since then but it just worries me to rely solely on that.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi,

Saw your topic though I don't pump.

Dosing to what the Libre says; To be frank, no. Not to the Librelink app.
But I self fund & use a Miaomiao CGM set up with XDrip app on my phone using daily calibration checks with my meter. On XDrip. Yes it's great! I've come to trust what I have.. (& this is where it comes into it's own for me..)
But, I still have my meter as back up & an unlimited access to cartridges. (My meter don't use strips.) more like a tiny cassette with 50 tests on a ribbon.

My nurse realy doesn't understand my set up.. "Oh, you're the first I've seen with one of those..!?"

But the "set up" how the NHS sees it? I feel they need more discussion with the people that actually use this stuff. & gain a better understanding.

You need those strips. What if something went wrong with the Libre???
By the way. You need a spare meter too.. What if something happened to that?

 

[sleepster]

I'm still fairly new to the libre (on my third sensor now) and I don't drive, but I do rely on just the libre for dosing.
That said, I guess how sensitive you are to insulin is important, if you're very sensitive and an extra unit (or half a unit) could be catastrophic to your BG level then I would be more cautious. I've gone from doing between 8 and 15 blood tests a day to just doing one if I don't trust what the libre says, like if it says I'm hypo and I don't feel hypo, just to be sure.

 

[ArtemisBow]

For me it depends on the sensor. I’d want to do a few blood tests first - if it’s within 0.5 fairly consistently, then happy to just scan. But I’ve had some that were way off, and then no chance.

I’d still probably do one or two tests a day just to check it was still in the right ball park.

 

[UK T1]

Hi, the thing is that the libre has to be cost effective for you to keep it on the NHS. That doesn't mean no testing with strips! But they expect you to reduce it from the eg. 10 time a day you might have been on in order to qualify for the libre in the first place.

There are times when you're told to do a finger prick test (under 4, over 10, symptoms don't match the scan) so you will maybe need to test lots still at first. The idea is that within 6 months your use of the libre helps avoid the low and high readings.

Having said that, I still test every 2-5 days to check the calibration, depending on what my bloods are doing. My HbA1c improved to the lowest ive ever had it tested, and even with testing strip use I had no problem having the libre extended past the 6 month trial.

I think I've been lucky in that they always seem very close to my blood readings! I do use it for dosing too, and get very acute hypo and hyper symptoms which also help me trust the sensor scans. It might not be as accurate for you in which case the miaomiao etc mentioned above might help? If your glucose values are a bit erratic I would suggest finger prick testing for the initial period until they are a bit more stable due to the delayed nature of the readings, with the sensor having to wait for your glucose to diffuse to the interstitial fluid from your capillaries. It provides invaluable trend info when you're in range, I find

Also, you can now use a scan for driving in the UK as long as the scan is above 5

 

[porl69]

The Libre alone I would not trust to dose! BUT as the same as @Jaylee, I use the Miaomiao along with Xdrip+ as a CGM set up. Calibrating Xdrip with a finger prick test every day I find the results super accurate and happily bolus off them. I am also a pump user

 

[ert]

Interestingly, DAFNE suggests 5 finger pricks a day - waking, bedtime and before each meal ie only dose insulin on finger prinks. Practically, I mostly rely on the X-Drip vis the Libre as I calibrate it on X-Drip and have an MM, except for waking and bedtime, and if it's low (under 4) or high (over 8).

8 or more fingerprints a day for 3 months qualifies you for Libre funding.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-1-diabetes/flash-monitoring-freestyle-libre/

 

[Sadjers]

Hi all,

Im on an omnipod and currently on a trial under my hospital with the Freestyle Libre. I was having a convo with my nurse and she said one of the criteria to keep the libre is that I need to do less blood tests. I questioned that I thought you weren't supposed to rely on the libre scan when giving insulin doses and before driving but she said this has all changed and you can rely on it for pretty much anything now and because of this my amount of blood tests should be reduced significantly....

Do you rely on the freestyle reading when dosing? Or do you also do a blood prick test? I had the freestyle for a brief time when it first come out and it was so inaccurate, obviously things have changed a bit since then but it just worries me to rely solely on that.

Hi, I use the omniod and libre for my control. I fully trust the libre and use it to control almost all my bolus calcs. There are many errors in the insulin management system such as seasonal circadian rythm fluctuations, pump settings errors, carb counting errors and your own subconscious bias. The ten minute delay in libre readings may only be a small part of the total error.