Freestyle Libre Readings Innacurate by 17mmols from blood readings - Help?

Berx

Member
Messages
7
Dear Readers,

I was coming to the forum to see if this has happened to anyone else but I have been using Freestyle Libre 1 for the last year and a half with no issues and I’ve started on Libre 2 - all was fine until recently where my readings of my blood vs Freestyle has been so off, my blood was 21.6mmol and the Libre kept telling me I was on 6.4mmol ! The only reason I knew something was off was because I was having extreme ketoacidosis symptoms.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do? This could’ve been ended very badly had I not taken the initiative to check my bloods myself instead of trusting the libre furthermore, what does it say about all the other times it’s been telling me my BG was good when it potentially wasn’t ?

Could any potential action be taken up against the company Abbott at all?

Kind regards
 

Rokaab

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,159
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I was coming to the forum to see if this has happened to anyone else but I have been using Freestyle Libre 1 for the last year and a half with no issues and I’ve started on Libre 2 - all was fine until recently where my readings of my blood vs Freestyle has been so off, my blood was 21.6mmol and the Libre kept telling me I was on 6.4mmol ! The only reason I knew something was off was because I was having extreme ketoacidosis symptoms.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do? This could’ve been ended very badly had I not taken the initiative to check my bloods myself instead of trusting the libre furthermore, what does it say about all the other times it’s been telling me my BG was good when it potentially wasn’t ?

Not trying to sound blunt, but sometimes they do just fail, tech does fail, nothing is 100% working correctly all the time and you cannot expect it to for everyone - especially something like this, just change the sensor and phone Abbott and they will send you a replacement, I'm sorry you ended up feeling so rubbish, but if your symptoms don't match with the sensor, you need to do a blood test to check

Could any potential action be taken up against the company Abbott at all?
No, they do not claim it will be accurate 100% of the time and they say if you doubt it you should test
 
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DisFanJen

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144
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Insulin
I’m no expert but I trialled the Libre 2 for around a month and I found the numbers to be wildly inaccurate, and not in a way that could be put down to the infamous “lag”.

In the end I said forget that and went back to blood monitoring. It’s not fun but at least it’s pretty accurate.
 
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Berx

Member
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7
Not trying to sound blunt, but sometimes they do just fail, tech does fail, nothing is 100% working correctly all the time and you cannot expect it to for everyone - especially something like this, just change the sensor and phone Abbott and they will send you a replacement, I'm sorry you ended up feeling so rubbish, but if your symptoms don't match with the sensor, you need to do a blood test to check


No, they do not claim it will be accurate 100% of the time and they say if you doubt it you should test
[/QUOTE]

hey yeah of course you’re right and I did do the blood test, I was just thrown off by such an extreme innaccuracy! And yeah I’ll let them know. Thanks for your reply!
 

Berx

Member
Messages
7
I’m no expert but I trialled the Libre 2 for around a month and I found the numbers to be wildly inaccurate, and not in a way that could be put down to the infamous “lag”.

In the end I said forget that and went back to blood monitoring. It’s not fun but at least it’s pretty accurate.

Hey, thanks for your contribution ! Using freestyle libre 1 I only had that small infamous ‘lag’ as you said but this librestyle 2 lag is just ridiculous. The libre 2 was sayinf 6.4 and my BG monitor said 21.6, the difference is astonishingly alarming. It’s making me contemplate going back to bloods too at this point...
 

In Response

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3,375
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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In addition to failures and lags, I would add a couple of other things to bear in mind
- some of us find the sensors are inaccurate on their first couple of days as our body gets used to the alien object inserted into our arms. I "soak" my sensor by inserting it into my arm 2 days before I activate it
- the sensors are in accurate when high or low. Anything over 8 or 9 is unreliable in my experience and I always check a high or a low before correcting
- my DSN hammered home to me that if the readings on the Libre do reflect how you feel, always test with finger pricks
- I find the sensor accuracy drifts so I always test with a finger prick at least once a day.
 
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Berx

Member
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In addition to failures and lags, I would add a couple of other things to bear in mind
- some of us find the sensors are inaccurate on their first couple of days as our body gets used to the alien object inserted into our arms. I "soak" my sensor by inserting it into my arm 2 days before I activate it
- the sensors are in accurate when high or low. Anything over 8 or 9 is unreliable in my experience and I always check a high or a low before correcting
- my DSN hammered home to me that if the readings on the Libre do reflect how you feel, always test with finger pricks
- I find the sensor accuracy drifts so I always test with a finger prick at least once a day.

You’re totally correct and I agree with what you’re saying however one thing that didn’t match up was the fact that the sensor wasn’t a new but it was well into it’s usage with no issues till this issue arose - but yes I always check with BG monitor if I don’t feel right. Thanks for your reply
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,215
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Dear Readers,

I was coming to the forum to see if this has happened to anyone else but I have been using Freestyle Libre 1 for the last year and a half with no issues and I’ve started on Libre 2 - all was fine until recently where my readings of my blood vs Freestyle has been so off, my blood was 21.6mmol and the Libre kept telling me I was on 6.4mmol ! The only reason I knew something was off was because I was having extreme ketoacidosis symptoms.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do? This could’ve been ended very badly had I not taken the initiative to check my bloods myself instead of trusting the libre furthermore, what does it say about all the other times it’s been telling me my BG was good when it potentially wasn’t ?

Could any potential action be taken up against the company Abbott at all?

Kind regards

Hi,
That is a pretty alarming discrepancy.

The readings taken from your sensor. Wher you using the Abbot reader or app on a phone?
Or had you used a 3rd party app with a calibration function?
 
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Berx

Member
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7
Hi,
That is a pretty alarming discrepancy.

The readings taken from your sensor. Wher you using the Abbot reader or app on a phone?
Or had you used a 3rd party app with a calibration function?

Hey Jaylee,

That was exactly my concern! The discrepancy was very unheard of and I was never warned in regards to it I was only told about the infamous ‘lag’ that flash glucose monitors have but this really rang some alarm bells and is making me think if it’s safe for diabetics to use? I don’t want it to be the cause of my HbA1c messing up and any retinopathy returning because of the false results caused by the libre 2. As per your question - I was using the reader provided by Abbott to check my BG levels.

Thanks
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,215
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
Hey Jaylee,

That was exactly my concern! The discrepancy was very unheard of and I was never warned in regards to it I was only told about the infamous ‘lag’ that flash glucose monitors have but this really rang some alarm bells and is making me think if it’s safe for diabetics to use? I don’t want it to be the cause of my HbA1c messing up and any retinopathy returning because of the false results caused by the libre 2. As per your question - I was using the reader provided by Abbott to check my BG levels.

Thanks

I can appreciate your concern, these devices are designed to take the weight off the load when it come to BG managment.
I find the lag consistency slow on the climb from a hypo, (for me.) but not on a drop?
Since switch to the L2 earlier this year I get a warning hitting a low 5/10 minutes prior? Lol, at first I thought, "the hell I am." Then I felt it & the meter (I always still carry too.) confirmed.
Not wishing to undermine your recent experience.

Sorry for the questions. Had you intially corrected a "propper" high reading?
With the recent hot weather, had your sensor been subjected to direct exposure to the sun? (Working or spending the day out.)

Just exploring some possibilities..
 
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Hertfordshiremum

Well-Known Member
Messages
385
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I can appreciate your concern, these devices are designed to take the weight off the load when it come to BG managment.
I find the lag consistency slow on the climb from a hypo, (for me.) but not on a drop?
Since switch to the L2 earlier this year I get a warning hitting a low 5/10 minutes prior? Lol, at first I thought, "the hell I am." Then I felt it & the meter (I always still carry too.) confirmed.
Not wishing to undermine your recent experience.

Sorry for the questions. Had you intially corrected a "propper" high reading?
With the recent hot weather, had your sensor been subjected to direct exposure to the sun? (Working or spending the day out.)

Just exploring some possibilities..
Hi

I have a question, any ideas would be appreciated. I have been very ill recently and had to reduce my Levemir by about a third and my Fiasp has been inconsistent too. When I am ill I go high very easily with ketones and also easily have hypos, some caused by too much basal hence the Levemir drop as the hypos take a long time to go. If I am sick I drop rapidly, if feeling ill and have a temperature I go high and often suffer with all of this in the same day. I follow the sick day rules but often have to do a lot of other adjustments as well.
So now am feeling better, antibiotics finished my Libre yesterday, which I normally find very accurate (I have only in the last year and a half had one go wrong and one fall off) said 10, my contour next said 14.5. I have a glucomen ketone metre and a very small pot of BG strips with this, so decided to use one and this said 12.2
I have checked again today and am having the same differences the contour next is the highest 4mmol above the Libre and the Glucomen about 2 mmol above the Libre. I can’t get my BG below 8, today I had 100g of plain yogurt 3.7g carbs yet I am again now either at 8.5 or 10.5 or 13 I have just changed my Fiasp, I always leave my Libre in 24hrs before turning on. Could it be the basal? I have been building it back up by 1mmol a day and am almost back at previous levels. I don’t feel like I am at 14.5 but may have got used to being high while ill. My diabetic nurse is on holiday, any suggestions please? I am slightly concerned that I left my contour next in the pouch but in the sun for an hour yesterday, would this effect it?
 

Berx

Member
Messages
7
I can appreciate your concern, these devices are designed to take the weight off the load when it come to BG managment.
I find the lag consistency slow on the climb from a hypo, (for me.) but not on a drop?
Since switch to the L2 earlier this year I get a warning hitting a low 5/10 minutes prior? Lol, at first I thought, "the hell I am." Then I felt it & the meter (I always still carry too.) confirmed.
Not wishing to undermine your recent experience.

Sorry for the questions. Had you intially corrected a "propper" high reading?
With the recent hot weather, had your sensor been subjected to direct exposure to the sun? (Working or spending the day out.)

Just exploring some possibilities..

I agree with you - they should help take the pressure off testing and managing diabetes not causing more anxiety! And no all of my bloods and such were ‘fine’ if the machine was accurate as I was going on what it was telling me and it was telling me my bloods were good so I didn’t correct ! And then I woke up to 21.6 feeling horrible - this happened in the night so it wasn’t during sunny times.
 

Berx

Member
Messages
7
Hi

I have a question, any ideas would be appreciated. I have been very ill recently and had to reduce my Levemir by about a third and my Fiasp has been inconsistent too. When I am ill I go high very easily with ketones and also easily have hypos, some caused by too much basal hence the Levemir drop as the hypos take a long time to go. If I am sick I drop rapidly, if feeling ill and have a temperature I go high and often suffer with all of this in the same day. I follow the sick day rules but often have to do a lot of other adjustments as well.
So now am feeling better, antibiotics finished my Libre yesterday, which I normally find very accurate (I have only in the last year and a half had one go wrong and one fall off) said 10, my contour next said 14.5. I have a glucomen ketone metre and a very small pot of BG strips with this, so decided to use one and this said 12.2
I have checked again today and am having the same differences the contour next is the highest 4mmol above the Libre and the Glucomen about 2 mmol above the Libre. I can’t get my BG below 8, today I had 100g of plain yogurt 3.7g carbs yet I am again now either at 8.5 or 10.5 or 13 I have just changed my Fiasp, I always leave my Libre in 24hrs before turning on. Could it be the basal? I have been building it back up by 1mmol a day and am almost back at previous levels. I don’t feel like I am at 14.5 but may have got used to being high while ill. My diabetic nurse is on holiday, any suggestions please? I am slightly concerned that I left my contour next in the pouch but in the sun for an hour yesterday, would this effect it?

Hey! Sorry to hear you’ve been poorly, hope you feel better soon! I’ve been on a pump for 4-5 years now but from what you’ve been telling me it does sound like your nasal may need adjustments ! I don’t want to give any wrong advice so I do feel it’s best to discuss with your time but it sounds like a Levemir dosage issue where you might have to adjust it depending on days you’re feeling good and others when you’re poorly.
 

PhilipLa

Member
Messages
10
I have also seen large discrepencies. I was also shocked and close to ditching it. I've resolved these issues by taking a blood test each morning and correcting the downloded data over the previous 24 hours using Excel. For me, the Libre is a good comapritor. It has helped me enormously to identify what it is that triggers my highs and lows.
 

Hertfordshiremum

Well-Known Member
Messages
385
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hey! Sorry to hear you’ve been poorly, hope you feel better soon! I’ve been on a pump for 4-5 years now but from what you’ve been telling me it does sound like your nasal may need adjustments ! I don’t want to give any wrong advice so I do feel it’s best to discuss with your time but it sounds like a Levemir dosage issue where you might have to adjust it depending on days you’re feeling good and others when you’re poorly.
Hey! Sorry to hear you’ve been poorly, hope you feel better soon! I’ve been on a pump for 4-5 years now but from what you’ve been telling me it does sound like your nasal may need adjustments ! I don’t want to give any wrong advice so I do feel it’s best to discuss with your time but it sounds like a Levemir dosage issue where you might have to adjust it depending on days you’re feeling good and others when you’re poorly.
Thanks for your quick reply, I am thinking the same, the basal is still wrong. Difficult with varying readings, I might believe the Glucomen meter, as it’s the middle number and the more expensive meter.
 

Hertfordshiremum

Well-Known Member
Messages
385
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I have also seen large discrepencies. I was also shocked and close to ditching it. I've resolved these issues by taking a blood test each morning and correcting the downloded data over the previous 24 hours using Excel. For me, the Libre is a good comapritor. It has helped me enormously to identify what it is that triggers my highs and lows.
Hello

I have found putting the Libre on and waiting 24 hrs has worked for me, usually they are at most 0.5 mmol out, I might ring Abbott’s about it. They were very good the one time one fell off. I am wondering if this one just could not keep up when I was ill and seems to have lost track?
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,215
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I agree with you - they should help take the pressure off testing and managing diabetes not causing more anxiety! And no all of my bloods and such were ‘fine’ if the machine was accurate as I was going on what it was telling me and it was telling me my bloods were good so I didn’t correct ! And then I woke up to 21.6 feeling horrible - this happened in the night so it wasn’t during sunny times.

I feel yer pain. The early 20s ain't the best place to wake. Sounds like your sensor is a dudd..

Abbott should exchange it for you.
 

jenfoolery

Well-Known Member
Messages
60
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Definitely sounds like a bad sensor. Mine is always inaccurate, but is consistent in its inaccuracy if that makes sense. At the lower end it's always about 20 points below reality (I use US mg/dL units), but at the higher end it's much closer to accurate. In the US we can't use the app for the Libre2 and there's no way to calibrate it, so if I see something that seems way out of bounds I will definitely do a finger-stick to double-check. Fortunately I'm not on insulin so I never really get true lows to worry about, because with the inaccuracy at the lower end, the hypo alarms are useless and I turned them off.