Continuous glucose monitoring machine

Some people have been purchasing Libre sensors and activating them and reading them with an app on a smart phone.

Paula55 said:

Good Morning,

I was wondering what continuous glucose monitor is the best to purchase? I am type two (5years) and currently on Metformin 500mg a day and Trulicity 1.5mg/0.5ml injections once a week. I am overweight and not managing my blood levels very well. I am testing throughout the day and noticing that before bed and when I wake I am around 15.6 which is high for me, the usual range having been 8/10. I would like to monitor the levels to see what patterns are occurring and how I can manage this better. I know about diet and exercise, etc. TIA

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Hi @Paula55 and welcome to the forums.

Where you write that you know about diet and exercise, I wondering what you have been told, especially with regard to carbohydrates?

The Freestyle Libre is probably the most widely used system although the manufacturer (Abbott) seems to be having supply issues in some areas.

The sensor is normally worn on the arm and in its basic form has to be scanned with the Freestyle reader or with a smartphone using the Libre app. This is technically known as a Flash Glucose Monitor (FGM) although the technology exists to make it CGM at further expense.

For CGM there is Dexcom and Evasense - the latter requires a minor operation to have an implant inserted under the skin.

The Dexcom G6 is quite popular with users but I haven't tried it so can't comment on which is 'best'.

Hi Paula, I've only had experience with the Freestyle Libre so can't speak for others (e.g. Dexcom). I've been really pleased with the Libre though. As mentioned above, it's a flash glucose monitor rather than a CGM: the sensor on your arm continuously monitors your levels (and stores the data for the last 8 hours of readings) but you have to download the data to view it. You can either use the Libre machine or your phone if you have an iPhone 7 or above, and can scan as often as you like. As others have said, you can turn the Libre into a CGM with additional tech. There's a bluetooth device called Miaomiao that apparently does the trick. I've not used it myself. Others have got on well with it, but I'm a bit cautious. Their website is a masterclass in how to cut corners – the grammar and spelling is awful. I worry that if they don't do their due diligence there, are there issues with the quality of their products too? I may well be wrong, but it's something to keep in mind!

Hi Paula, I've been a lazy type 2 for several years and started using a Freestyle Libre last month after a high-ish HBA1C result (@8) and the threat of more medication. It took a while to get hold of one, and the monitors are expensive if you self fund but it really works for me. It transformed my sugar management almost immediately by providing real time and up to the last 8 hours readings I can directly link to food choices and exercise levels. It can be used as often as you like and best of all there is no finger-as-a-pin cushion I used to get when trying to self monitor with a stabber in my more pro-active periods. With the support of my Diabetic Nurse I have already dropped a medication. It turns out I don't react well to some foods I thought were OK and would eat regularly, like porridge or a slice of brown toast, others are fine. I have now naturally adopted a low carb higher protein diet because I can SEE the impact not because I've read it in a book, and I am slowly but steadily losing weight, with my usual sweet/hunger cravings mostly gone. It's not all plain sailing, I still get mystifying peaks and troughs in the readings and I am experimenting but it has genuinely changed my approach and blood sugar levels. Good luck!

Best is probably the dexcom g6 but is expensive. Libre is not true cgm not as accurate but cheaper to run and a good option for most

As a T2 I've used a Libre Sensor plus Reader which will (with appropriate test strips) also act as both a glucose or ketone monitor - useful if you eat a ketogenic/lchf diet, and I've used the Libre software on my PC for uploading data and producing graphs, etc. It's an excellent tool to show you how not just food, but stress, illness, medications. exercise, etc, may all impact on your glucose levels.

I mainly got my glucose levels sorted with low carb and finger prick tests initially, partly because at the time the Libre was a fairly new concept, and there were very long waiting lists. But using the sensor gave me extra and finer details about the patterns I was already seeing, plus one or two little surprises. One issue I found with the sensors was that I needed a very long (48 hour) settling down period after insertion, before I could active them and start getting sensible results, so generally ended up for a couple of days wearing a pair of sensors.