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FREESTYLE LIBRE ON SALE!!!!

logindetails said:
Wonder of wonders this 4th sensor is performing fantastically The first couple of days it was reading low but over the last few days it has been spot on compared to the AccuCheck Mobile I'm currently using.
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.... don't know if placement has got anything to do with it but I've stuck this one on my left titty
 
logindetails said:
.... don't know if placement has got anything to do with it but I've stuck this one on my left titty
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Haha ouch! I was thinking about my belly next, not sure ur placement would work as well for the ladies!!
 
You have to buy the meter but the BM sticks are on prescription (freestyle optimum strips). Am going to use the sensor when on holiday due to the expense, otherwise the meter will do BM via sticks like all meters
 
Now I'm in a quandry.

Day 7 of my 3rd sensor. Stuck on my arm as per Abbott instructions. It was dodgy exactly as the other 2 but then on day 5 it startled me with with a spot on waking scan. Ignoring the 3 hours around meal times (i.e. 8 waking hours or so a day or about 1/3rd of the time) that Abbott says it doesn't work this one is now quite accurate.

Hmmm. Dunno. I like the data for history but it is too predictably unpredictable for anything but a rigid life style / eating pattern. I've got bored with scanning then finger pricking 'cos I don't believe the scan. Still, it has become a comfort blanket, not necessary but I'm lost and frightened without it.

I see the Abbott fan boys here are taking exception to some of my more tongue in cheek comments. Must remember that diabetes is far too serious a subject for humour and that Abbott are making a megabuck product release. Talking of which, Abbott quickly sent me an evasive boiler plate response on my complaint about accuracy - all problems I outlined were backed with proof - and have now ignored my follow up request that they actually answer my questions. Hey, Abbott guys, I know you are reading this, get your fingers out. Would be good to get your input for my NHS diabetic review on the 3rd Dec when I present my Libre reports. The reports are predicting HbA1c of 5.2%, we shall see, I reckon 6.4%ish.

'phew. Finally my replacement sensor arrived, still waiting for the replacement reader (switch 2 has died, can't log anything). I'll give Abbot the benefit of doubt, assume they had gremlins in their first batch of sensors, and restart from scratch next week. At least the NHS will get to see 1 week of 'clean' data from that.
 
LucySW said:
@igmr I haven't seen this - can you elucidate?
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First, I accept that nothing is set in concrete with BG.

I have a rigid diet.

My libre scan values have pretty standard variance to BG values when fasting and between meals. Unfortunately tthere are operational difference between sensors and where they are stuck but, once settled I know, for example, that a sensor is apt to be 1mmol low and 20 minutes behind a BG.

If I eat Quinoa (my staple diet) then my BGs increase faster than scan values, peak before the scan and drop before the scan. So, BGs appear to streak away from the scan, peak way above a scan value and then drop below the scan values while the scan is still catching up. It takes around 3 hours for the two values to realign to their constant differences. It's the time lag effect plus operational difference.

I am pretty sure I could predict my BG levels from a scan if I knew the exact pattern my glucose was following. That is impossible so for 3 hours the Libre scan does not give usable data as to what my BG is. That's 9 hours a day. It does, however, reliably tell my where my BGs have been.

Because I have a rigid diet I'm beginning to get a feel for what the Libre is telling me most ot the time but only because I know what has gone before. A Libre scan in isolation is meaningless whereas a finger prick tells me where its at.

This is how the thing works for me. Others will vary I'm sure, especially if they have a life.
 
PS. if you have a regular BG test time, i.e, always 2 hours after eating you will not see this as it is the time lag thing. I need to BG test at irregular times for driving and get very surprised at how wide that variance between finger pricks and scans can be.
 
When sending faulty sensors back do you literally put the sensor in the biohazard bag then into the Jiffy bag and that's it?
 
igmr said:
.....Ignoring the 3 hours around meal times (i.e. 8 waking hours or so a day or about 1/3rd of the time) that Abbott says it doesn't work .....
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Abbott have never said that it doesn't work around meal times.
As with all devices that measure glucose via interstitial fluid there is a time lag of 10 to 20 minutes compared to glucose measured from capillary blood. This lag will be there whether glucose levels are constant or changing rapidly.
The only times you need to double check scan reading with a finger prick is when the scan shows your glucose level is falling into hypo territory and after a meal if a scan shows your glucose level rising more than you expect - in both cases you take the fingerprick reading to base remedial actions on.
Of course this all depends on the sensor being accurate or at least giving a constant error - this is my pet peeve - not the time lag.
 
I feel for you guys having issue. When my first sensor took 3 days to settle that was bad enough. Other two since have been good.

My order of two more sensors finally arrived after 10 days. Need to get a couple more before the xmas post to see me to the new year.

Anyone forgotten their scanner lately? Had a day at work yesterday where I left it at home. Did feel a little odd not having the info on tap. When I got home and scanned I was surprised how much worse my readings were than they have been lately. And no, not an issue with the libretto, my bag tests aligned. Think I am starting to become a big fan. Or a data addict.
 
Been on a girlie trip to York today, stopped by a bar for some lunch and a cheeky glass of red. Imagine how surprised I was when a nice young man approached me to ask about my sensor. He too was a T1 but really disappointed that he's unable to purchase the libre until January. Such a shame Abbott can't meet the demand.
 
robert72 said:
Hi norm and welcome to the forum. I will have done 43 years in February.
I'm sure you remember the clinitest chemistry set a far cry from the Libre
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The Clinitest set,I'd forgotten about that.. (That and the glass and metal syringe in a surgical spirit filled container). Those were the days. NOT!!!
 
All those times watching the test tube bubble and praying for it to turn blue.
 
rebusuk said:
All those times watching the test tube bubble and praying for it to turn blue.
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Mine often went orange

And here's my first syringe - The Rand Rocket. Insulin was in U20, U40 and then U80 strength so there was a bit of maths to calculate the dose

 
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