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Can Libre Be Obtained At Less Of A Cost?

D

Dudes_Dad

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hello all. This is the first time I’ve posted a thread and hope you can help. I have been type 1 diabetic for 43 years and keep myself relatively healthy I think. My work means that I don’t always manage my blood levels as well as I would like and I read about the Libre system in a newspaper article. I deal a lot with the public so I find I run my bloods higher than they should be for fear of having a hypo whilst at work. The situation is not helped through the summer as I Umpire cricket matches most Saturdays and Sundays. I again run my levels deliberately high for fear of going low whilst “ out in the middle” . The Libre system looked fantastic until I saw the price. Can I get any assistance with this as I am sure it would help my control greatly. I spoke with my SDN who tried to steer me away from the system due to the cost. Any advice would be great. Thanks for reading

Ken : )
 
Are you based in the UK?
If so, you may be able to get the Libre on prescription. It is a bit of a postcode lottery and dependent on which hoops your ccg wants you to jump through.
However, given the comments from your SDN, you may have to fight pretty hard.

If you want to purchase them yourself, generally, forum members have found Superdrug or Asda pharmacists to be the cheapest.
As a person with type 1, you do not have to pay VAT.

I would offer a word of caution.
Some people find the Libre very accurate. Some find it totally inconsistent.
Some people have no reaction to it. Some people get a nasty rash. For some this starts to occur months after starting with Libre.

In the UK, the DVLA do not accept Libre readings to prove your BG when driving: it has to be finger pricks.
The usual advice is not to use Libre readings for calculating insulin doses as it may not be accurate and tends to lag behind true BG readings by 15 to 20 minutes.

That is not to say Libre is a waste of money.
The true value is not the individual readings; it is the trends both over long time (to tweak you insulin doses) and shorter term (indicating whether your BG is currently rising or falling).

Personally, I find it inconsistently inaccurate. However, still use one occasionally to tweak my insulin doses (I have a pump so can adjust my basal throughout the day).
This significantly reduces the cost as I tend to use one every other month when I have quieter weeks so I can use it for tweaks of my baseline doses.
I still have to finger prick. In fact, I find myself doing it more often to check the Libre (which is how I know it is inconsistently inaccurate).
Over time, I have noticed, I have reduced the peaks and troughs through Libre usage.
 
Hi Dude's Dad. Superdrug pharmacies are the cheapest I have found for the sensors at £35 each, thats compared with Asda at £44 and Abbott laboratories at £57. They normally require 48 hours notice to order them in. As for the accuracy, I have been using then for over 3 years now and have generally found them very accurate but I understand others have not found this to be so. I can't understand why the DVLA will not accept the Libre. If you think about it logically, you want to drive say 5 minutes before hand you finger prick and get a reading of say 6.7. But thats for that moment only. In 10 minutes you could be as low as 4 and thats less than the recommended reading for driving. With Libre you get an indication of wether your blood glucose levels are rising or falling. Surely thats far better and safer ?
 
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Hi @Dudes_Dad and welcome to the forum :)

If you do buy from a pharmacy then take in your medical exemption certificate otherwise you may be charged VAT.
 
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