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Free style libre eligibility

B

B17_Fan

Well-Known Member
Messages
83
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
My mum, who is type 1, has an appt at the hospital Friday, to discuss getting a sensor. But she's worried that she won't meet the criteria. She does about 8 blood tests a day...but it was more a few weeks ago. She has arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, which makes it painful or difficult to do blood tests at times, she attends the eye clinic every 6 months, as she has changes at the back of her eyes. We recently went away and a family member got her a sensor to try...it was life changing for those 2 weeks....she was going to bed more confident as she knew which way her sugars were going...the alarm system was brilliant and a couple of times went off early...so she could deal with a low and not wake up with a hypo. Her diabetes nurse at our doctors surgery said she didn't see why she couldn't have one. I just think as the day is getting closer, she wants to be prepared to put her case across. What are your opinions on this? Do you think she stands a good chance of getting one?
 
Flash glucose monitoring | Diabetes UK

Looks like your mum could qualify because
B17_Fan said:
She has arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, which makes it painful or difficult to do blood tests at times,
Click to expand...
?
  • You have type 1 diabetes and you need to check your blood sugar level more than eight times a day.
  • You have type 1 and have previously paid for Flash and can show it has improved your HbA1c.
  • You have type 1 and have severe hypos or have reduced hypo awareness.
  • You have type 1 and are unable to test regularly due to a disability.
Looks like your mother might qualify for all the above 4, though it'll be difficult to argue the improve her hba1c with only 2 weeks usage? Also, be careful about arguing reduced hypo awareness unless it is a real issue for her.

Having said that, I'd make sure you mention all her issues, and hope for the best. Given that they nominally only fund 20%, I suspect it may still be a bit of a lottery as to whether you get funded.

Hopefully some UK folk with real experience of getting funding will chip in before Friday.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for the reply. On the appt letter, it says she may be there for 2 hours...so we're thinking that they wouldn't say that if they weren't going to give her one. But she was discharged from hospital care and just had her reviews at the doctors surgery with the nurse. So possibly they could be treating her as a new patient and that's why she'd be there a long time??
 
Definitely sounds as if she deserves one, but my personal opinion is everyone does , if something is going to improve diabetic control well it’s a no brainer. Not to sound mr party pooper , it’s a bit of a post code lottery , Im on Libre 2 on prescription and have been on Libre system for a few years now , and to be honest I hardly took my blood sugar Hb1ac was always in the 90s ! But now in low 50s constantly, I’m sure time is coming when it’ll be common place for diabetics to have a libre type system, let’s face it we had to pay for disposable syringes in the past until someone saw a bit of sense let’s hope the same sense will apply for your mum
 
B17_Fan said:
So possibly they could be treating her as a new patient and that's why she'd be there a long time??
Click to expand...
That sounds quite likely, when I changed hospitals they said for my first appointment I'd be there for a few hours and would see the consultant, dietitian and DSN, plus get bloods taken.
At that same appointment I got asked if I wanted to try the libre but it was a couple of months before they got added to my prescription as the consultant needs to apply for funding for them. I think some hospitals will put people on a 6 month trial first and in that case maybe the wait isn't so long, I believe the sensors etc come directly from Abbott in that case, but I'm not sure.
I will keep my fingers crossed for your mum as it sounds like she would benefit from having the libre with her arthritis etc, let us know how she gets on.
 
Good News! My mum has been approved for a sensor. She's got to do the educational bit online, and the application form, and with the covid backlog, we're looking at the new year before she'll actually get a sensor. Disappointing in that respect, but at least we've got the ball rolling
 

To be honest any appointment letter of mine says that as well, probably cos they know it runs late a lot of the time so you may just be waiting a lot time to see them .......
Yes I realise this a slightly cynical view but I know my diabetes clinic sometimes ran very late
 
That's not good that she has to wait. She could speak to her gp and they could authorise it?
 
Hi - Freestyle Libre was suggested to me in January 21 and I finally got it last week! had to show 6 months of 9 x per day. and complete the modules and send certificates. During that time i had two of the most helpful tele consultations I have ever had with DNS Dietician and Consultant.
One week (!!) of using the Libre 2 with iphone as sensor and its working well. Feel far more in control - readings between monitor and finger prick tests are not wildly different and I have appreciated the alarms for a low and an indication of direction of travel for a high. It has not fallen off yet!!
I think approaching GP to avoid the wait may not help - at least in my PCT - as the monitor has to be applied for by the Trust (prescription via GP) and success and usage monitored by the Trust Diabetes Team - they have not really been interested in me before!!!
Just a final point - I looked at experiences of this CGM on the forum and there are many negative posts about sensors not working falling off or being in accurate. However - these do appear to be very very old posts - and months - or even years on - maybe things have improved?
Good luck and I hope you experience success - and fingers crossed for me too!!
 
I was lucky as newly diagnosed so maybe that's why I got free 6 month trial with NHS. I've not had any fall off and using my 3rd. Have a few hours issue while embedding new sensor but mostly great
 
Lisa69free said:
That's not good that she has to wait. She could speak to her gp and they could authorise it?
Click to expand...

The doctor at the hospital said that her gp has agreed to fund it straight away, but they want her to do the education part first. The hospital was supposed to send the info in the post, but nothing this week. We don't know whether to check if it's been sent, or continue to wait and assume things are just delayed due to the backlog
 
There is plenty of information here and other sites. YouTube videos too. Doesn't need that much education really esp with it possibly being something that could make controlling it much better?
 
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