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Do I HAVE to Swap Arms Each Time?

Rachox

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
17,561
Location
Oxford
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I use the Freestyle Libre 2 and have had a few fail, Abbott have quickly sent replacements, so all good there. However the failures all seem to have been on my right arm. I do sleep on my right side so prefer the Libre on my left arm for comfort and to avoid compression lows. Would it therefore be possible/sensible/advisable to always use my left arm? My skin is always fine under the adhesive and I would obviously not place a new sensor in the exact same place as the previous one. Does anyone else just use one arm?

Edit for typo
 
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Of course you can use one arm, no worries!

I only swap because it's more convenient because I apply my next sensor a day early, saves me from scanning the wrong one.
 
I alternate my arm , but I put mine on the inside of my bicep , that also stops knocking sensor off on door jams
 
One arm is fine with care. I use mainly my left arm because my right arm leads to failures. I think because I get a knock on the sofa and the insertion point gets inflamed. I go one high and then one low. Too high on the arm and it seems to fail. I use the inside of the arm. I use a barrier spray and give it at least 30 mins to dry. This way I can get away with overlapping the adhesion areas from one sensor to the next. Sometimes I’ll go to testing strips for a day between sensors to give the arm a rest.
 
Antje77 said:
Of course you can use one arm, no worries!

I only swap because it's more convenient because I apply my next sensor a day early, saves me from scanning the wrong one.
Click to expand...
I stopped bothering putting them on a day early as I don’t see any difference!
 
Rachox said:
I stopped bothering putting them on a day early as I don’t see any difference!
Click to expand...
For me it insists I'm low most of the night the first night if I activate right away, but if this isn't an issue for you I don't see any barriers to using the same arm all the time!

If anything, it'll save you from doing this stupid dance for three days every two weeks. :hilarious:

 
Hi, I always use my left arm because I have had compression lows as I sleep on my right arm, I just try to avoid sticking it in the exact same place, I tend to have a circle where the last one was so it’s easy to avoid, I also just stick it in and zap it as it seems fine for me.
 
I always use one arm because I’m not allowed to have any needles or injections in the other. I just alternate the areas of the arm…one high, then one low, High moved across a bit. Never a problem.
 
For those worried about scanning a new sensor “by accident” don’t worry, that can’t happen, because when you scan the new sensor it asks you whether or not you want to start the new sensor and all you have to do is click “No”.

I wear mine on my chest, and find for some reason it seems much more accurate on the left side, so at changeover time I have two sensors *very* close to each other, practically touching, and it’s never been an issue at all.
 
Some of we radicals even use places other than our arms. (Go me!)

Upper, outer of my chest usually works well, and doesn't show when wearing sleeveless garments, or even a bikini. Lower abdomen works well, but can be caught when pulling jeans or trousers down.

I know of at least one person only able to use one arm (successfully) due to a lymphoedema risk, post cancer treatment, including the removal of lymph nodes.


I'm pretty convinced the recommended sites for the Libre would have come out of the various testing and trials, pre-approval.
 
finzi1966 said:
For those worried about scanning a new sensor “by accident” don’t worry, that can’t happen, because when you scan the new sensor it asks you whether or not you want to start the new sensor and all you have to do is click “No”.

I wear mine on my chest, and find for some reason it seems much more accurate on the left side, so at changeover time I have two sensors *very* close to each other, practically touching, and it’s never been an issue at all.
Click to expand...
I did that (following a recommendation) and Abbott told me off for doing it. At first they refused to replace it when it failed.
 
When u think about the total surface Area of the body I find it unbelievable that a relatively small area is recommended, I’ve used various different areas with no problem ! ive checked against a finger prick and results are very acceptable ,as far as Abbott are concerned I’ve never been asked where I’ve put my sensor and I’ve been using Libre for years , if they did ask I’d just tell them outside of arm , how are they going to know , I know if I’m standing at the gates with St Peter in front of me denying me access I’ll feel guilty …….not
 
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