FreeStyle Libre - My Life with the Machine

[RFSMarch]

@Bluetit1802
Do you use an online food diary / app..?

I have been looking at "My Fitness Pal" - but it seems a little complicated (for an old bloke like me, anyway)

I have used MFP for ages, and after my diagnosis I rejigged it to "carb-count" rather than calorie count.

You can set 6 Food Diary entries so I have mine set to:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack AM, Snack PM and Supplements (where I also include my metformin).

Then under goals (on the free version) you can set a percentage for your carbs. Just mess around with the percentages to get you down to what you want.

You can log your exercise, and then also in the notes section you can write all kinds of stuff... I log my BG scan numbers and my Blood pressure and can print all that off and take to the GP/Pharmacist whenever I go see them so it is all there in one place.

Feel free to message me if you want me to walk you through it in a little more detail

Edited to add - I used to have my drinks separate... now they go in the appropriate section (ginger and lemon tea and a coffee in Breakfast, afternoon coffee in Snacks PM, whatever I drink at lunch and in the evening if not water go in the relevant section and get lumped in to the carb count when I do the initial scan. Hope that helps!

 

[Peter_Sylvester]

I have used MFP for ages, and after my diagnosis I rejigged it to "carb-count" rather than calorie count.

You can set 6 Food Diary entries so I have mine set to:
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack AM, Snack PM and Supplements (where I also include my metformin).

Then under goals (on the free version) you can set a percentage for your carbs. Just mess around with the percentages to get you down to what you want.

You can log your exercise, and then also in the notes section you can write all kinds of stuff... I log my BG scan numbers and my Blood pressure and can print all that off and take to the GP/Pharmacist whenever I go see them so it is all there in one place.

Feel free to message me if you want me to walk you through it in a little more detail

Edited to add - I used to have my drinks separate... now they go in the appropriate section (ginger and lemon tea and a coffee in Breakfast, afternoon coffee in Snacks PM, whatever I drink at lunch and in the evening if not water go in the relevant section and get lumped in to the carb count when I do the initial scan. Hope that helps!

Thank you @RFSMarch
I will message you directly...
I appreciate your help
Peter

 

[jwillyf]

Interesting, Peter. There is probably not an answer to this, but is it because interstitial fluid glucose is different from blood glucose, or is the discrepancy there because the Libre is less accurate?

 

[Ledzeptt]

@Bluetit1802 @Peter_Sylvester

Food diary:

I use MyFitnessPal, but I’m a “control freak” and weigh everything; plus I monitor other things besides carbs. (I have digestion issues and have suffered from malnutrition, so I do have some grounds.)

When I started out, I used the Carbs & Cals book: I’d particularly recommend the pocket size version, which is ideal for eating out/visiting friends, etc.

 

[Ledzeptt]

@Peter_Sylvester

Reading variations:

Here’s a link to a research paper into interstitial fluid glucose testing (not the Libre, but similar technology): http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/8/2405

In summary, their tests showed that the sensor glucose (SG) readings lagged behind blood glucose (BG) readings by an average of 17.2 ± 7.2 minutes.

In addition, when glucose was rising/spiking, the increase in SG was less than that in BG (different to Peter’s experience); whereas when BG was falling, the decrease in SG was greater (similar to Peter’s experience).

I can’t say I’ve compared my SG/BG closely enough to tell. I’ve definitely had numerous warnings of hypos from my Libre, which proved to be false when I blood-tested, but that’s the right way around as far as I’m concerned! I only use finger-prick tests for driving these days, so that’s the only time I compare my Libre results; with the Libre usually -0.5 out.

 

[Peter_Sylvester]

Interesting, Peter. There is probably not an answer to this, but is it because interstitial fluid glucose is different from blood glucose, or is the discrepancy there because the Libre is less accurate?

I think this article may start to explain the difference @jwillyf

Difference between Sensor Glucose v Blood Glucose

I am still researching, so if I find anything more easy for me to understand, then I will share it with you...
Peter

 

[jwillyf]

Thank you.

 

[Peter_Sylvester]

I think this article may start to explain the difference @jwillyf

Difference between Sensor Glucose v Blood Glucose

I am still researching, so if I find anything more easy for me to understand, then I will share it with you...
Peter

An extract from article is..
"So it’s important not to focus too much on the individual sensor glucose numbers (as it is likely to be different from your BG meter reading) and more on trends and patterns in your glucose levels."
Peter

 

[Stroudie]

Aargh, Peter, you iPhone guys, what are you like! Free yourself from the Apple behemoth and embrace Android - there's way more of interest going on in that sphere.

Can you Apple people do this yet:

View attachment 24417

Yep, that's libre with a blucon transmitter on top sending 5 min readings to a 99 quid android phone and then to my late 50th birthday present, a Fossil Q Explorist watch, all stitched together by the guy who develops xDrip+ tweaking it a bit so that it'll take data from blucon. He did that in a few weeks because he cares. Apple would have taken years.

PS: the bounce up from 5 to 7.7 shows what a pint of lager does!

 

[Stroudie]

Hi Scott,

Is this device commercially available or is it just an experiment? If available it is half way to being competitive with the dexcom G5. The overwhelming advantage the G5 has over FL is the ability to sound an alarm when going high or low. If this can be added then it means there are two competitors for this market which should help with pricing to all our benefit.

The dexcom uses bluetooth and connects to certain android and iphones.

Cheers,

Stroudie

 

[Scott-C]

Hi Scott,

Is this device commercially available or is it just an experiment? If available it is half way to being competitive with the dexcom G5. The overwhelming advantage the G5 has over FL is the ability to sound an alarm when going high or low. If this can be added then it means there are two competitors for this market which should help with pricing to all our benefit.

The dexcom uses bluetooth and connects to certain android and iphones.

Cheers,

Stroudie

Hi, Stroudie. It's a commercial product called Blucon Nightrider from a small start up company Ambrosia Systems in San Francisco. The founder used to work for Abbott, saw a niche for himself and ended up building a small transmitter, Blucon, which sits on top of the libre sensor. it's very compact, barely notice it. One off cost of £100 plus some shipping costs. They seem to have been overwhelmed by demand so people are having to wait a while - I got mine on pre-order a few months back.

Their inhouse app, LinkBlucon, is rubbish, no alerts, but the xDrip+ developers tweaked xDrip+ back in September so that it would take data from Blucon, in the same way that it takes data from G5, or the homemade things like limiTTer etc.

As far as I'm aware, there's a lot of dexcommers using xDrip+ in preference to the official dexcom app.

So blucon sits there on top of libre sensor, reads it every 5 minutes, then bluetooths it to xDrip+ on my phone and watch. It means I get all the functionality which xDrip+ has and, yes, that includes more customisable hypo and hyper alerts than I can shake a stick at! Also does predictive lows, and can calibrate the sensor readings to tighten up libre's sometimes shabby factory calibration.

I'll probably get around to trying dexcom at some point to compare the two, but, having used this set up for about a month now, I'm delighted with it. Provided I calibrate it now and then, it runs fairly close to blood for extended periods. It's a fairly solud, well made item, just need to change the cheap battery every two or so weeks, it's just a bit of electronics so I reckon it'll last for a good while.

All in all, hypo alerts for a one off cost of £100 ain't bad.

Here's what the transmitter looks like alongside libre sensor (it's actually smaller than it looks, it's just the angle I took the photo at):

And here's the output:

 

[tubamanandy]

Libre: Reading variations

On this forum, I have been seeing various comments about the accuracy (or otherwise) of Libre readings by comparison with actual blood test readings - so I thought that I would conduct my own little experiment..!

Over a 3 day period, I conducted a comparison of the Libre readings against a separate Nexus test strip meter.

The results were interesting...

(1). When the Libre readings were within my “target range” (5.0 to 9.0) I found that the difference between the two systems was +/- 0.2 max. The closer the reading was to the “median”, the closer the two readings were
(2). When Libre showed a substantial spike upwards, it seemed to exaggerate that reading by comparison with the Nexus reading. The biggest difference from the four times it happened was +0.9 greater than the Nexus reading
(3). Similarly, when things started to go low, the actual blood reading according to Nexus did not go as low as the Libre reading ( Libre 3.9 v 4.8 Nexus)

So if my little experiment is any indication, then Libre exaggerates the highs and lows, and when it is “within range” seems fairly consistent with the Nexus machine

I put this out there without any causal or analytical conclusions - it is far too early for that.

However, my personal reaction was fairly positive - I took reassurance from the “fact” that when I deviated from my central path, I was neither as high or as low as the initial Libre warnings showed

Peter

Mainly using mine to spot trends and the effects of different foods on my body

 

[Stroudie]

Hi, Stroudie. It's a commercial product called Blucon Nightrider from a small start up company Ambrosia Systems in San Francisco. The founder used to work for Abbott, saw a niche for himself and ended up building a small transmitter, Blucon, which sits on top of the libre sensor. it's very compact, barely notice it. One off cost of £100 plus some shipping costs. They seem to have been overwhelmed by demand so people are having to wait a while - I got mine on pre-order a few months back.

Their inhouse app, LinkBlucon, is rubbish, no alerts, but the xDrip+ developers tweaked xDrip+ back in September so that it would take data from Blucon, in the same way that it takes data from G5, or the homemade things like limiTTer etc.

As far as I'm aware, there's a lot of dexcommers using xDrip+ in preference to the official dexcom app.

So blucon sits there on top of libre sensor, reads it every 5 minutes, then bluetooths it to xDrip+ on my phone and watch. It means I get all the functionality which xDrip+ has and, yes, that includes more customisable hypo and hyper alerts than I can shake a stick at! Also does predictive lows, and can calibrate the sensor readings to tighten up libre's sometimes shabby factory calibration.

I'll probably get around to trying dexcom at some point to compare the two, but, having used this set up for about a month now, I'm delighted with it. Provided I calibrate it now and then, it runs fairly close to blood for extended periods. It's a fairly solud, well made item, just need to change the cheap battery every two or so weeks, it's just a bit of electronics so I reckon it'll last for a good while.

All in all, hypo alerts for a one off cost of £100 ain't bad.

Here's what the transmitter looks like alongside libre sensor (it's actually smaller than it looks, it's just the angle I took the photo at):

View attachment 24421

And here's the output:

View attachment 24422

 

[Stroudie]

Hi Scott,

That's fascinating - amazing that the Abbotts people have not done this for themselves. For type ones the fear of hypos while sleeping or driving is a shadow hanging over all of us. I managed for 35 years without needing outside assistance but once I fell off the tightrope the fear of losing my driving licence led to me seeking out the G5. I am having to pay for it out of my savings so if the FL works out less it will be very helpful. Would be interesting to run them side by side if that is possible.

Personally I have always found the Dexcom Clarity website very good, up to date analysis of my results with graphs to print out of the last couple of weeks which should be useful when attending my next clinic. The helpline is also excellent only once had to wait to get through and the people there knowledgeable and helpful.

Many thanks,

I will give it a go.

Cheers,

Stroudie

 

[Peter_Sylvester]

LIBRE : Preparing for the change...
I am now 13 days into the use of this Libre gizmo, and whilst I think that I still need to do more research on the accuracy of the numbers (by comparison with an actual Bloods reading), I am actually not too concerned about it.
The important thing that the system has shown me is some DETAIL about my bloods MOVEMENTS, which I was not aware of previously. It has also revealed that I have 2 times each day when my readings increase - and one of those times is before I even wake up..!!
So last night I added my next sensor (to my other arm) to give it time to settle before the current one expires tomorrow. This has been great advice from several people on this thread - thank you one and all..!

I appreciate all contributors on this thread, and I particularly want to thank @RFSMarch , @Bluetit1802 and @Ledzeptt for their regular and invaluable contributions.
I really appreciate it...
Thank you

-- Now for the next phase --
Peter

 

[RFSMarch]

The important thing that the system has shown me is some DETAIL about my bloods MOVEMENTS, which I was not aware of previously. It has also revealed that I have 2 times each day when my readings increase - and one of those times is before I even wake up..!!
I appreciate all contributors on this thread, and I particularly want to thank @RFSMarch , @Bluetit1802 and @Ledzeptt for their regular and invaluable contributions.
I really appreciate it...
Thank you

-- Now for the next phase --
Peter

Right? I have always been a restless sleeper - more so this year following a sudden bereavement, still occasional get-ups for the loo and just generally thrashing about and I have a veritable Everest of a peak in the wee small hours a lot of the time, or if I have been out for a cheeky night on the sauce and slept particularly heavily on the sensor, you get what is known as a compression low - which might look for all the world like you have had a hypo!

But the trends are all important... that and really assessing what certain foods will do to you.

 

[Peter_Sylvester]

LIBRE & My Fitness Pal - MFP here I come..!
As I move on to my next phase of my development and progress, my focus now is on the amount of carbs I am loading.
It is clear from my Libre now-visible "spikes" that my challenge is entirely manageable, and I have therefore decided to combine Libre with the My Fitness Pal app to help micro-focus on just one area of my activity - my carbs.

So last night, I attached my next Libre sensor to my other arm, and then downloaded the My Fitness Pal (MFP) app and started adding my food into it this morning.

Already, I have one discovery...

I have already discovered that a Cafe Nero Cappuccino has more carbs in it than my scrambled eggs..! OMG..!

@RFSMarch has given me some great advice on a private message, and I am now trying to get my head around the new MFP app. Thank you @RFSMarch - I really appreciate your help

More discoveries soon, me thinks
(BTW @Bluetit1802 - I don't think that I will be able to match your 30g carbs per day, but you have set me a good goal to aim for...!)

Peter

 

[tubamanandy]

LIBRE & My Fitness Pal - MFP here I come..!
As I move on to my next phase of my development and progress, my focus now is on the amount of carbs I am loading.
It is clear from my Libre now-visible "spikes" that my challenge is entirely manageable, and I have therefore decided to combine Libre with the My Fitness Pal app to help micro-focus on just one area of my activity - my carbs.

So last night, I attached my next Libre sensor to my other arm, and then downloaded the My Fitness Pal (MFP) app and started adding my food into it this morning.

Already, I have one discovery...

I have already discovered that a Cafe Nero Cappuccino has more carbs in it than my scrambled eggs..! OMG..!

@RFSMarch has given me some great advice on a private message, and I am now trying to get my head around the new MFP app. Thank you @RFSMarch - I really appreciate your help

More discoveries soon, me thinks
(BTW @Bluetit1802 - I don't think that I will be able to match your 30g carbs per day, but you have set me a good goal to aim for...!)

Peter

30 Grams per Day ? I wish

Another good shout is Lidl High Protein Rolls from their bakery at 9Gr/roll (NOT the Low GI ones which are around 30 Grams)

 

[Bluetit1802]

Another good shout is Lidl High Protein Rolls from their bakery at 9Gr/roll (NOT the Low GI ones which are around 30 Grams)

I very definitely second that. I am addicted to them and they do virtually nothing to my blood sugars, although I only eat half of one at a time (toasted with a generous helping of butter and eaten with a meal)

 

[Goacher55]

I’ve just read stroudies post and I read an article suggesting the same I tried it and I really prefer it I try to do the 16:8 thing I stop eating around 8 pm and don’t eat until 12 or 1 pm it suits me unless I go to the gym first thing.