First Time Libre User

LadyLovely · Sep 18, 2019

I've just bought the starter pack to see what effect specific foods and exercise have so will be keeping a diary of sorts to monitor it over the next month. I'm not sure I can afford to use Libre every month. It's taken me a while to pluck up the courage to put the sensor on but it was much easier than I anticipated!

For those that start testing 24 hours after placing a new sensor to gain more accurate readings, do I presume you activate it on the reader at that point too rather than when first placing it?

I have managed to get my BG down to non diabetic levels which has surprised me. I follow a low carb diet but do have the occasional high carb item. I've also started swimming again. I do find that I have very low energy levels, brain fog, tingling toes and fingers, headache when I first wake up plus sometimes feeling ravenously hungry after meals. I've talked to the DN about this and she thinks they are not related but I'm not sure how much of an expert she is.

A year ago I had background retinopathy but this has now been reversed, thank goodness.

Appreciate any thoughts you may have.

Muneeb · Sep 18, 2019

LadyLovely said:
I've just bought the starter pack to see what effect specific foods and exercise have so will be keeping a diary of sorts to monitor it over the next month. I'm not sure I can afford to use Libre every month. It's taken me a while to pluck up the courage to put the sensor on but it was much easier than I anticipated!

For those that start testing 24 hours after placing a new sensor to gain more accurate readings, do I presume you activate it on the reader at that point too rather than when first placing it?

I have managed to get my BG down to non diabetic levels which has surprised me. I follow a low carb diet but do have the occasional high carb item. I've also started swimming again. I do find that I have very low energy levels, brain fog, tingling toes and fingers, headache when I first wake up plus sometimes feeling ravenously hungry after meals. I've talked to the DN about this and she thinks they are not related but I'm not sure how much of an expert she is.

A year ago I had background retinopathy but this has now been reversed, thank goodness.

Appreciate any thoughts you may have.

Yes I usually place the sensor on for it settle down for 24 hours. Then after the 24 hours I activate it, otherwise you more or less lose a day with poor accuracy readings.

You can use third party apps like Glimp/Xdrip that allow you to scan the sensor and sometimes you can get longer than 14 days from the sensor, also with these apps you can calibrate the readinsg with your meter. But that may be a step too far atm.

Muneeb · Sep 18, 2019

helensaramay said:
@LadyLovely welcome to Libreland where graphs help us design rollercoasters!

As Munneb mentioned, just apply your sensor to your upper arm and leave it for 24 hours before activating it.
The pictures seems to be of sensors applied to the back of the arm. I find this is too susceptible to being knocked off so apply mine more under my arm and it seems to stay. And don't forget to use the wipes before you apply the sensor.

You may find a few things which seem odd
- Libre is most accurate above 4mmol/l and below 8 mmol/l. When outside this range, it may be a bit off so only use it for guidance.
- Libre can suffer from "compression lows". This is when you apply pressure to the sensor and it records lower readings, This is most likely to happen when you are asleep. I found this happens less when I have it under my arm.
- Some people find Libre can get unstuck if kept in water for prolonged periods (such as when swimming). So it may be a good idea to put a plaster (or VetWrap) over the sensor to keep it in place when in the pool.

Have fun with your scanning.

Since months of having it on my arm, I tried my leg (I have with miaomiao) and its perfect. Out of the way, out of sight, easy to scan if needed. Very accurate readings as well.

LadyLovely · Sep 18, 2019

Muneeb said:
Yes I usually place the sensor on for it settle down for 24 hours. Then after the 24 hours I activate it, otherwise you more or less lose a day with poor accuracy readings.

You can use third party apps like Glimp/Xdrip that allow you to scan the sensor and sometimes you can get longer than 14 days from the sensor, also with these apps you can calibrate the readinsg with your meter. But that may be a step too far atm.

Yes it dawned on me that I should not have activated the new sensor if leaving for 24 hours. Never mind. I think the other apps you mention might be a step too far at the moment but will have a look and see if they might be of use.

LadyLovely · Sep 18, 2019

helensaramay said:
@LadyLovely welcome to Libreland where graphs help us design rollercoasters!

As Munneb mentioned, just apply your sensor to your upper arm and leave it for 24 hours before activating it.
The pictures seems to be of sensors applied to the back of the arm. I find this is too susceptible to being knocked off so apply mine more under my arm and it seems to stay. And don't forget to use the wipes before you apply the sensor.

You may find a few things which seem odd
- Libre is most accurate above 4mmol/l and below 8 mmol/l. When outside this range, it may be a bit off so only use it for guidance.
- Libre can suffer from "compression lows". This is when you apply pressure to the sensor and it records lower readings, This is most likely to happen when you are asleep. I found this happens less when I have it under my arm.
- Some people find Libre can get unstuck if kept in water for prolonged periods (such as when swimming). So it may be a good idea to put a plaster (or VetWrap) over the sensor to keep it in place when in the pool.

Have fun with your scanning.

I have applied under the arm as I found that easier to get to and held it up in front of mirror so I could see what I was doing. Also applied opsite tape to keep in place as I am very clumsy and if it can be knocked off I'm sure I will do it! Also going swimming and want the extra reassurance that it won't budge.

LadyLovely · Sep 18, 2019

LadyLovely said:
I have applied under the arm as I found that easier to get to and held it up in front of mirror so I could see what I was doing. Also applied opsite tape to keep in place as I am very clumsy and if it can be knocked off I'm sure I will do it! Also going swimming and want the extra reassurance that it won't budge.

helensaramay said:
@LadyLovely welcome to Libreland where graphs help us design rollercoasters!

As Munneb mentioned, just apply your sensor to your upper arm and leave it for 24 hours before activating it.
The pictures seems to be of sensors applied to the back of the arm. I find this is too susceptible to being knocked off so apply mine more under my arm and it seems to stay. And don't forget to use the wipes before you apply the sensor.

You may find a few things which seem odd
- Libre is most accurate above 4mmol/l and below 8 mmol/l. When outside this range, it may be a bit off so only use it for guidance.
- Libre can suffer from "compression lows". This is when you apply pressure to the sensor and it records lower readings, This is most likely to happen when you are asleep. I found this happens less when I have it under my arm.
- Some people find Libre can get unstuck if kept in water for prolonged periods (such as when swimming). So it may be a good idea to put a plaster (or VetWrap) over the sensor to keep it in place when in the pool.

Have fun with your scanning.

Will the opsite tape cause 'compression lows". Hoping not!

Muneeb · Sep 18, 2019

helensaramay said:
I have not tried it myself but doubt it - the kind of pressure that causes it is when my head falls asleep on top of my arm.
I suspect if it is causing compression lows, the tape is on far too tight.
Take care if your tape gets tatty and you want to take it off - you don't want to pull the sensor out.
I think most people just put another layer over the top.

I use KT tape myself over it and pull it quite tight, don't have issues with compression lows (but that does have some stretch to it).

LadyLovely · Sep 19, 2019

I did start to take readings yesterday as I'd activated it on the reader. It did read a couple of points lower when compared to the finger strip readings but my BG was not of concern on either reading. So far so good!

Robbity · Sep 20, 2019

When I was using the Libre, I found that I needed to wait around 48 hours after inserting a sensor before I activated it otherwise I had a couple of days worth of "duff" results in the form of extremely low readings mainly overnight. But it was consistently lower anyway than my existing Contour Next meter's blood test results, though as I'm a diet controlled T2 and more interested in any trends and patterns it could show me, the actual levels weren't too important since I wasn't needing to rely on them to manage insulin. But in general those patterns matched previous meter results pretty closely but obviously in much greater detail. I used the Libre reader for finger pricking while wearing the sensors so I was also able to see both results on the same graphs using data uploaded from reader to Libre PC software.

Robbity

ETA If you want to use the sensors continuously, just insert the new sensor 24 hours (or whenever) before the old one's due to run out, and activate it immediately after the old one finishes.

LadyLovely · Sep 20, 2019

That's helpful Robbity. I'm diet controlled too and my last reading was down to non diabetic level and DN says it will be considered reversed if I get another reading like that in six months. However, I was surprised at that and I don't feel any better for it which is why I thought I'd try the Libre for a month to monitor food, energy levels and other symptoms. My reading this morning was at 3.6 on waking which created a red line on the graph. I finger pricked to see if that reading was any different and it came out at 4.9 which is quite a difference really. As I've had it less than 48 hours maybe it is still settling down. I'm happy with the trend graph and my BG is averaged at 5.9 but if the libra is giving me false lows then that is worrying. My DN has said she will refer me to another DN who will be able to look at my results and advise me further so maybe he/she will be able to throw more light on it.

ChrissiStar · Sep 27, 2019

helensaramay said:
@LadyLovely welcome to Libreland where graphs help us design rollercoasters!

Oh that rollercoaster comment gave me my first laugh in a few days! Mine has resembled a heart monitor on a few occasions too!

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