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1st ever libre

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,675
Location
South of England
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I’m type 2 and diet controlled, diagnosed coming up to a year. I’ve treated myself to a libre as a means to identify trends and any occurrences I’m not aware of. My levels and hb1ac aren’t dropping anymore and they’re not where I’d ideally like them. So I’m looking for clues where I can improve. This will be a one off, or very irregular occurrence, having this so any tips on what I can do to make the most of the next 2 weeks information wise?

I’ve opened the box, downloaded librelink for my phone and libreview to store the data. I can’t find any info about how to activate the sensor. The website videos just talk about the reader that I don’t have.

How do I activate it with the phone?
Any application tips?
 
When you've downloaded librelink and assuming you've signed in, there will be a sensor icon on the top right corner, it'll pop up a ready to scan window. or when you first open up your librelink app, there will be a demonstration of a man > click next> scan new sensor.

you align the applicator device with the sensor, push down, then place where you want your sensor and then push down firmly so it sticks - there should be a step by step instructions in the box, along with wipes. Once it is firmly in place, you can scan to activate it.
 
Thanks. I have the man visible on the librelink so once I’ve applied the sensor I’ll keep going on the app and hopefully get there

I’ve read the leaflet and watched the video and the actual process seems simple. Just wanted to check for any pitfalls eg placement, how long to wait after sticking it on to activate it (sure I’ve read somewhere to wait a bit).

Does it just switch off after 14 days or get inaccurate? Is that after placement or activation?

Sorry for all the noob questions but want to make the most of it as I can’t afford them often.
 
I've seen a few diabetics applying it on their thigh and upper tummy, but I've mostly had it on my arms. Once you've activated it, you'll wait 60 mins before you can use it. Accuracy is so and so at the beginning, so i'd wait until tomorrow to scan it. Your librelink app will have a timer on the bottom going from green to red showing the remaining days, also notifies you to apply a new scan soon. by 14 days it'll automatically end. I heard some diabetics said it's inaccurate towards the end and it is good to finger prick from time to time.
 

I’ve heard that it’s best to leave it in place for 24-48 hours before activating to allow it to bed in. I didn’t (only ever used 1 sensor) and got extremely odd readings for the first couple of days.
 
Goonergal said:
I’ve heard that it’s best to leave it in place for 24-48 hours before activating to allow it to bed in. I didn’t (only ever used 1 sensor) and got extremely odd readings for the first couple of days.
Click to expand...
Ive heard similar but wasn’t sure how long and if this came off the 14 days or not
 
I always apply the new sensor 24 hrs before I intend to activate it (as long as I remember to apply it, of course) I apply the sensors on my thigh because of being advised not to have Blood pressure, bloods, IV canular etc since surgery for Breast Cancer several years back. Also, as sensor is not on the other arm, having blood pressure checked or needing blood tests etc won't affect the sensor.

I think it can take a little while to understand how to understand the resultant values but, without it to keep me motivated, I'd have really poor control

Wishing you well and hope you find benefit from the sensor
 
You get 14 days of sensor life from the date and time of your first scan.
It deactivates automatically.
 
Well it’s in! I choose to do it after a hot bath as I was relaxed and skin as ready for a needle as it ever is. I made the mistake of looking at the needle before attaching it, then got scared so did it quick before I had time to think too much about it. Didn’t feel a thing . Is it normal to get a few drips of blood coming from the centre? Now its in I’m very vaguely aware of it, like a very mild sting. Maybe the alcohol wipe hadn’t totally dried, oops.

Planning to leave it alone now til some time tomorrow before activating it.

This probably seems overly dramatic to those of you who do this all the time but it feels like a big thing to me today so please bear with me. Also thought it might be useful for anyone else about to try it to see my experiences.
 
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Alright! Welcome to the libre squad
Yes sometimes theres a small bleed, you might have hit a vein, oops. Hopefully it’s not too bad tomorrow. Let us all know about your trends, I’m interested in a T2’s control as well
 
Oh I’m expecting a bruise lol. I’ve only got to look at myself harshly and I get one. Good to know a bit of blood isn’t a worry. Didn’t think I had that good an aim.

I’m torn between doing as I have been doing or making superhuman efforts. Maybe a week of each for comparison.
 

I think you’d learn a lot more from doing what you have been doing.
 
I'm very excited to see your future updates and I hope you get on with your libre I'd like to know whether the libre would help you fine tune things even more, there's always room for improvement I suppose.
 
Wow. First morning readings. 8.2!!!! on the libre but 6.1on my accuchek mobile (taken 12 mins earlier to account for the time delay in interstitial). That’s a big discrepancy imo. It’s consistently since activation been higher, always by at least 1mmol often by 2mmol. It’s a bit scary. And no I don’t much like the 6.1 on the accuchek but it is typical or even fairly good for me first thing and I assumed was due to dp.

That said I even control checked my accuchek again this morning as it always puts my hb1ac in the high 30’s when it’s in the 40’s in reality. Part of the reason I’m doing the libre is to find out where the highs the accuchek misses are located, too early for estimates on the libre yet.

It jumped a bit after falling asleep (5.8 to low 7’s) , which I don’t understand, then was pretty steady all night with a slight rise from around 0400 from around 7.5 ish with no significant dips.

This is going to be interesting.
 
I have found the Libre to be incredibly useful for understanding what happens at night, DP, and spotting when my peaks were after food. It also nudged me into going gluten free, since the presence of gluten was causing such bizarrely dramatic swings in blood glucose, even when carbs were hardly present.

In each of those cases, prick tests were simply not showing extremely valuable info.

Nowadays, I probably only Libre 3 or 4 times a year, because I've been using it occasionally for years now, and most of the really important lessons came early. But it still teaches me something new every time - and shows me where I am going wrong on something, whether that is portion control, eating times, or negligently drifting towards hypo territory.
 

As with using different BG monitors to finger prick, I think it's the overall trends rather than the actual readings that matter. You'll still be able to see the size of spike, the timing and so on, so I think it's the learning about what's happening when that can help you to tweak your protocols.
 

Am I reading this right - you scanned then waited 12 muinutes to finger prick? You need to finger prick first, then wait to scan. Maybe it was just the way you wrote it.

I find I have better results if I wait 48 hours before activating my sensor. I have only ever had one sensor out of many that read high and was so inconsistent that I contacted Abbott and they replaced it. All the others have been lower than my Accu Chek Mobile, but not by very much. Certainly not more than 1mmol/l and normally about half a mmol/l. The last 3 have been more or less spot on, but I do have to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the time lag. I also find the very last day of the sensor can be a bit haywire.
 
No I blood tested first then libre but I did write it a bit clumsily. I waited about 15hrs before activating after inserting it. I had planned on 24 hrs but got impatient. A little odd that your accu chek reads higher than libre when mines the other way round. I’ll check a bit further out to see if the lag is longer than I allowed for.
 
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