Anyone having big reliability issues with Freestyle Libre 2 Plus sensors?

[Is Vic There ?]

Hello . I have only this week started using Insulin and am wearing a Freestyle Libre 2 Plus which I had as a free sample. I have added a patch to keep it in place and had no problems so far. I do not qualify for it on prescription so need to buy one in readiness for when this one runs out. Where is the best place to obtain one from at a reasonable price please? Thank you.

Good Morning, As you can see this thread is primarily about the reliability of the Libre 2 Plus given they are around £50 for 15 days usage!. Perhaps it would be worth you trying the Dexcom product which is also available on a free trial. This would then enable you to determine which is better and of course I beleive the Dexcom retails around £35 .
My personal view based on my several years of experience is that they are very expensive and really over priced.
Are you sure you cannot get these on prescription ?

 

[Lakeslover]

You can buy them directly from Abbott. https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/products/freestyle-libre-2.html

Don’t forget to tick the box for a vat exemption.

 

[dogslife]

Good Morning, As you can see this thread is primarily about the reliability of the Libre 2 Plus given they are around £50 for 15 days usage!. Perhaps it would be worth you trying the Dexcom product which is also available on a free trial. This would then enable you to determine which is better and of course I beleive the Dexcom retails around £35 .
My personal view based on my several years of experience is that they are very expensive and really over priced.
Are you sure you cannot get these on prescription ?

Thank you for your advice/ suggestion @Is Vic There?. The price quoted on the site I got my free sample from was £62.20 so Your £50 sounds much better. I do not qualify for it on prescription, sadly. At the moment my Freestyle Libre 2+is connected to the system at the diabetes service where I am being monitored but perhaps later I could try the Dexcom as you suggested. Best wishes.

 

[Daxsmith9]

I had one of the Libra but I found they hurted as much as needles. I have Hyperalgesia but I just stopped using it.

 

[SteveO68]

I've had maybe 4 or 5 sensors over the last 2 years that have gone 'readings paused wait 10 mins' and have never recovered, one worked for about 30 mins and threw up an error code, I contacted Abbott and they sent me a new one and I sent the faulty back for analysis, they are quite good at replacing failed sensors but beyond this I have an honor 200 lite and sometimes get no alarms, the past few weeks I've been as low as 2.1 in the night and through the night and not woken up despite the volume set to maximum on the phone, if you touch the reading it should read out your glucose level and this has been silent too, restart the phone and it works again, highly frustrating and dangerous too, another frustrating thing is the arrow, I can be in the green at let's say 6.0 with the arrow horizontal, 20 seconds later 5.7 still level, another 20 seconds later 5.4 and obviously heading lower but still the arrow indicates level, if I get to 5.0 and still showing level I could make the mistake of trying to drive not realising I'm still dropping which is downright dangerous and against NHS/DVLA guidelines

 

[lessci]

Hello . I have only this week started using Insulin and am wearing a Freestyle Libre 2 Plus which I had as a free sample. I have added a patch to keep it in place and had no problems so far. I do not qualify for it on prescription so need to buy one in readiness for when this one runs out. Where is the best place to obtain one from at a reasonable price please? Thank you.

Direct from freestyle is usually the most inexpensive. Have you had the dexcom trial too?

 

[Hakkeirs]

Hi I have been using Libre 2+ for 2/3 months and have recently moved to Omnipod 5 Closed loop.

I find it consistently reads between 1 - 2 mmol lower than a finger prick. Hence it alarms with supposed lows but in reality I am not. For example libre alarmed at 05.00 this morning saying 3.5 when a finger prick was 7.7.

I have also found that my readings are lower that finger prick results. My recent HbA1c 6 monthly blood test result was a disappointing 7.5% (58 mmol/mol) but my 90 day result on the freestyle Libre app was 6.3% (45 mmol/mol). That’s the difference between a poor result and a good one. So is the Libre app under reading on purpose? That way it alarms earlier and you are constantly at a higher number than you think you are at.

 

[dogslife]

Direct from freestyle is usually the most inexpensive. Have you had the dexcom trial too?

Thank you for your reply@lessci. I have recently ordered one from Freestyle-Abbot and it arrived this morning, just in time as my present one runs out tomorrow. I have not had the Dexcom trial but will bear that in mind if needed. Best wishes.

 

[IanA123]

I was on the libre 2, was nowhere near in range at anytime. Never fell off. Spoke to endo who agreed they aren't the best and got the god tier or sensors, the Dexcom g6, that thing would connect to an omnipod if it was in a different county . Then dexcom decided to end the g6 and I have the g7 now, still reliable and like you say can be calibrated for more accuracy, but as it is BLE the connectivity to a pump is awful

 

[Teuchterabroad]

I've posted elsewhere that I've generally found them to be ok, and my Libre A1C estimate is +/- 0.1% of blood results typically BUT a few days ago I had a shocker. I was on day 12 or 13 of the sensor and my typical breakfast remained in range (I would usually overshoot for and hour or so in the 200mg/dl range (11) as LADA my pancreas still works when stimulated so it's asleep in teh morning!).. and I had a "I'm cured moment" (yes, I know it's not realistic) followed by a lot of lows and difficulty maintaining anything above 70.. after getting tired of eatinng jelly beans and chcocolate 40mins after eating 80grams of pasta, I did a finger prick test and the delta was staggering and explained a lot.. actual 163 vs libre 65 (6 vs 3.6).. even if I still had 2days left on the sensor I changed it and after the new one warmed up it correctly read 130.

 

[Jodes 7]

So I have been using Libre 2 for a while now and haven't had 1 sensor last 15 days. They have lasted between 8 hours and 11 days at best. I have found them very unreliable. Has anyone else had this issue? Does anyone know why these sensors are so unreliable?

I use Libre 2 and mine keeps losing signal even when my phone is within the specified range

 

[jaywak]

I would say that would be more likely to be a problem with your phone rather than the libra sensor .

 

[JudiP]

I find exactly the same thing. I have recently lost confidence in the Libre 2+ because the readings are always around two points lower than the fingerpick test shows and one sensor recently was completely erratic and incorrect. I am frequently woken when the low alarm goes off during the early morning only to find that I am not actually having a low. I also find, as someone else has said, that the overnight readings are erratic when I sleep on that arm. I have difficulty in changing sensor positions due to having very small upper arms so there is only one area where the sensor is most likely to stay on. They frequently come off 3 or 4 days before the finish date. I thought the problem was just mine, but it’s enlightening to find so many others are having problems. Abbott are very ready to replace sensors but I don’t think that should happen as frequently as it does. I do change arms when renewing a sensor. I have tried putting everyday adhesive dressings over the sensors but most just fall off. I have however only recently found an Elastoplast Flexible XL fabric plaster size 5 x 7.2 cm , 10 plaster pack which seems to do the trick. They are not always easy to obtain though. I looked online for the recommended Libre covers but I felt they were very expensive. I’m surprised that Abbott have not produced their own.

 

[JudiP]

Good Morning, As you can see this thread is primarily about the reliability of the Libre 2 Plus given they are around £50 for 15 days usage!. Perhaps it would be worth you trying the Dexcom product which is also available on a free trial. This would then enable you to determine which is better and of course I beleive the Dexcom retails around £35 .
My personal view based on my several years of experience is that they are very expensive and really over priced.
Are you sure you cannot get these on prescription ?

Good Morning, As you can see this thread is primarily about the reliability of the Libre 2 Plus given they are around £50 for 15 days usage!. Perhaps it would be worth you trying the Dexcom product which is also available on a free trial. This would then enable you to determine which is better and of course I beleive the Dexcom retails around £35 .
My personal view based on my several years of experience is that they are very expensive and really over priced.
Are you sure you cannot get these on prescription ?

I think it is worth re-applying for a free sensor via your surgery. The rules are more relaxed now. My diabetic clinic nurses applied to my GP due to the fact that I have small fingers which were being damaged by frequent fingerpicking.

 

[JudiP]

Thank you for your advice/ suggestion @Is Vic There?. The price quoted on the site I got my free sample from was £62.20 so Your £50 sounds much better. I do not qualify for it on prescription, sadly. At the moment my Freestyle Libre 2+is connected to the system at the diabetes service where I am being monitored but perhaps later I could try the Dexcom as you suggested. Best wishes.

I’ve replied elsewhere suggesting you try again to obtain the sensors on prescription. I too am linked to the diabetes service at my hospital and it was the nurses there who applied to my GP due to my fingers being damaged by constant finger pricking. I think the rules are more lax now.