1st ever libre

LittleGreyCat said:

Just about to do the deed (or get my partner to press the plunger; I'm a wimp).

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My husband puts all mine on for me. It isn't wimpish - it seems to work better. It isn't easy doing it with one hand, especially if you want the sensor on your dominant arm. I have had about 16 of them so far, and not one has fallen off. And it doesn't hurt! It just makes a loud noise that makes me jump.

HSSS said:

See post #2 for advice that helped me set it up

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Thanks - this seems to contradict the documentation for the App but I can see the "Scan New Sensor" screen.

Does this App upload the data to the Internet so you can view it via a website?

I have created an Abbott account using the phone

Edit: I bought some sports tape just in case but it seems to be Elastoplast with some paint on.

HSSS said:

A libre view account on that website allows you to download the data from the app. It’s a bit of a dodgy sign in process needing two attempts every single time.

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Please could you post a URL to the web site?
Google is not my friend (nor is DuckDuckGo).

HSSS said:

https://www1.libreview.com/

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Thanks - just found it.
I was struggling through the many Abbott sites about Freestyle Libre.

I understand your comment about having to log in twice; it seemed to want to ask you for your country of residence twice.

The device is implanted and has some funky camouflage tape over it to hold it on.
Now to wait for 48 hours before activating it.
Should be just before my Thursday Yoga class.

Pro tip: don't look at the sensor, the needle looks as though it could hit bone.

The excitement mounts!
I've just managed to activate my sensor, and am now waiting an hour before I can read it.
The phone chirped and the screen display changed.

Nearly had a heart attack when I saw the number 19:02 but calmed down when I read the text.
That is the time when I can take my first reading.

I think the NFC sensor is just below the mid line on my Samsung Galaxy S5.
I had a nervous time moving it about until it finally chirped.

Just to be clear about the time lag; if I have a finger prick test then scan about 20 minutes later that should be a comparable reading (because of the delay between blood and interstitial fluid showing glucose levels).
However, how crucial is this?
I assume that once I am getting a continuous graph out of the Libre sensor I can then cross match any finger prick with the Libre time line.

I assume it is far more important for those on glucose lowering medication so that they can understand the trends and predict highs and lows.
Thankfully(!) I am only using this as a general diagnostic tool to try and work out which aspects of my daily routine are affecting my BG levels.

The 20 minute time lag varies from person to person and time of day, whether you went to church, what colour your car is. With me it varies. It can be anywhere between 10 and 25 minutes. There must be a scientific explanation but I don't know what it is.

LittleGreyCat said:

Thanks - just found it.
I was struggling through the many Abbott sites about Freestyle Libre.

I understand your comment about having to log in twice; it seemed to want to ask you for your country of residence twice.

The device is implanted and has some funky camouflage tape over it to hold it on.
Now to wait for 48 hours before activating it.
Should be just before my Thursday Yoga class.

Pro tip: don't look at the sensor, the needle looks as though it could hit bone.

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24 hours is enough!

HSSS said:

https://www1.libreview.com/

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I'm having a minor problem with the web site.
Possibly because i also registered my Freestyle Freedom Lite BG monitor and uploaded data from that.

The web site shows that it knows about both devices and shows statistics from the Libre, but on the default screen https://www1.libreview.com/glucosereports it shows the Libre for this week, the percentage figures, but does not populate the graph on the right with the individual readings.


This doesn't look right; can anyone confirm that the graph should be populated during the first day of readings?

Edit: just found that there is a "one of two" button on the Daily Log option which switches between devices. Phew!

I'm also having fun times trying to calibrate the sensor against my finger prick tester.

Basic test is to take a finger prick and scan the sensor, put a timer on for 10 minutes, then scan the sensor.
Finger prick again, timer on, 10 minutes later scan the sensor then finger prick again.
This in theory should give a matching set up numbers with an offset (10 minutes is first guess).

At the first test the numbers aligned, 8.3/8.4 but now the sensor is showing a regular drop and is down in the high 6s whilst my finger prick is showing a steady 8.3/8.4.

It does look as though the sensor is reading a lot lower than my finger prick at the moment but I'm trying to work out why the sensor is showing a steep drop in BG when the finger prick is showing a steady state.

If I understand it correctly the finger prick should be ahead of the interstitial fluid and the sensor, so that the finger prick is more immediate and the sensor data trails behind it.

At the moment my first impression is that the sensor is ahead of the finger prick, as it shows a steep drop in BG while the finger prick was steady, but is now dropping.

I think I need to wait until the sensor reading stabilises - that is, roughly a flat line, before I can estimate how far apart the finger prick is from the sensor.

I can't at the moment see any way to read individual values from the sensor using the phone App or the web site - I just see a graph line with very poor granularity.

Edit: just found the Logbook option shows the individual readings. Phew!

Me again.

I am finding this all very confusing.

My Libre peaked at 8.7 at around 11:45 and has been dropping steadily since, and is now down to 5.0 and still apparently dropping 2.45 hours later.

I really do wish this was accurate because I would love those numbers, but it doesn't seem to match my finger prick tests which are considerably higher.

I'm still waiting for the Libre sensor readings to flatten out more or less, as they did overnight.
Then I can take a finger prick or two and have some idea of a comparison.

If the sensor is reading around 1.5 mmol/L low then my readings for today so far are a bit worrying because an 8.7 could map onto over 10 and all I've had today is my bullet resistant coffee at around 09:00.

I've ordered a batch of test strips from Diabetes UK because this detailed testing is eating up my current stock in no time at all, and I am limited in the number that I can get on prescription.

Kim Possible said:

The Libre is factory calibrated.
Unfortunately, not everyone's interstitial fluid is the same as the factory calibration. I found I was regularly out.
The Libre Reader and LibreLink provide no option to calibrate against a finger prick reading. However, there are some free phone apps which use a different algorithm to convert interstitial fluid reading to BG reading and they take into consideration a calibration finger prick reading. I use an app called Glimp which does this and the readings are much much closer to my finger prick. The LibreLink app is still needed to activate the sensor bur once activated, you can switch between the two ... and compare the two if you want.

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Dear Kim Possible, my apologies before I even start. This is completely off thread. I need to start several new threads but have no idea how to do so. I have noticed that you are a frequent poster and so thought that you would be able to help. To convince you that I am not an idiot or timewaster, have you noticed that the reader gives three beeps when it reads, sometimes monotone and sometimes ascending. I think I know why but Abbott Customer Support tell me that it is impossible. Please help.