FREESTYLE LIBRE ON SALE!!!!

[madusmacus]

@madusmacus, your experience seems very unusual, have you spoken to Abbott about it and if yes what did they say?

Might talk to abbot good idea usually I just assume people that sell you stuff dont help much :¬)

As I say im sure its just me and I need to find a better place on my body
I will try very high up on the back of arm next time
I have always used upper arm middle rear till now :¬)

 

[drahawkins_1973]

I think my findings are 'only valid for my body' but seems to becoming a real trend for me (small sample of 18 sensors so far)
Also the Libre measures interstitial fluid and has a lag over blood pricks
Also they both have crazy +/-mmol acceptable reading so none of them can be perfect

Still for me - a trend is a trend :¬) -but.

I am more worried why when I move from lying down to standing up, the Libre shows the vertical line indicator and the values move from 6.5 to sometimes as high as 9.5 and if I lie down again it goes back to 6.5 (over the 15minute lag period)

Personally I think im weird :¬) it cant be the tech hehe

I'm weird too!!!
I have the exact same thing. I'm sure its the libre. As I laid in bed I checked with my Accu Check Expert was 6.2 and libre 6.8
Got out of bed and libre showed an up arrow and shot up in literally seconds to 8.4 and my Accucheck stayed at low 6ish for a few hours where as libre slowly dropped down (slow enough for it to give me an across arrow) over the next few hours.

Its my fist sensor so maybe need to re-think where I (politely) stick it....currently a bit towards the side arm rather than back so will try the next one further round.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I am on my first sensor, only halfway through its life. So far it is reading preposterously low. It gives my predicted HbA1c as 28mmol. My last one, in December, was 44! However, as I am T2 and not on any meds it isn't crucial. I am just hoping that it is consistent with few outliers. That way I can just look at the graphs and log to determine where and why my peaks and troughs are whilst ignoring the actual levels. It does seem to be even lower over night, and maybe I need to re-think where I put my next one to avoid sleeping on it.

 

[madusmacus]

We know our bodies and we desperately need a manual calibration feature in this Libre...
If it actually used the Blood prick readings to calibrate the sensor data that would be awesome :¬) but look pigs in the air

We know from blood slicks that certain sensors are 1-3mmol to high and 1-2mmol low (to the point of low warnings and I have to rip them off)
This wont help the standing up instant 3mmol hike but would make the sensors more stable

As I write this I have a new box of 2x sensors arrive at my door (19 and 20) I had to rip off the last one again it was bonkers.

Have a nice weekend all :¬)

 

[Snapsy]

I'm on my first sensor, and it's been around 20% higher than my blood test results. I found this irritating to start with, and to be honest it would be absolutely great if it always corresponded (although I appreciate that it's a 20-min tine lag to take into account interstitial vs blood glucose) BUT..... I LOVE IT.

I'm using it more as a general overall pattern measurer. It's not replacing my testing regimen. I have identified when I tend to go up, and when I tend to go down. It's prompted me to do some more basal rate blood testing as before I had it I had no idea how fast I was dropping overnight.

I'm more relaxed about being able to gauge discreetly where my blood glucose level is at - if I'm out and about of course I will still have my pump and handset/meter with me - but the Libre is brilliant for tickalong testing, as I call it. No fuss, just blip the Smartie on my arm and off I go.

I know it's early days, but I think the Libre has already earned its place in my life.
(Please remind me of my last statement if I ever come back on this thread to whinge about it!)

So far, I know it's not perfect, but it's promising.

 

[tim2000s]

I wonder. When you stand up after lying down, your muscles need fuel. They typically generate this from glycogen stored within the muscles. It's not unreasonable that the process of getting up liberates glycogen as glucose and your sensor sees this in the interstitial fluid. Just throwing it out there.

 

[NikiMilligan]

I'm a newly diagnosed T2, and managed to get the Libre, as I thought it would be a great way to educate myself.

Instead, I'm getting mighty confused.

I had originally purchased a Wavesense Jazz.

I got the Libre, and discovered that the readings were consistently below the Jazz (e.g. 5.8 Jazz, 4.5 Libre).

I've now purchased ANOTHER blood tester, the Accucheck Mobile), and put on a second sensor.

The discrepancies are now horrific.

Libre: shrieking that my blood sugar is low (2.5).
Jazz: 5.8
Mobile: 5.6

It's possible I've got two dodgy blood meters, but it's starting to look like it's the Libre that's dodgy. I haven't eaten much today, and am feeling pretty tired, but then again I've also got chronic fatigue. I'm not, however, sitting shaking and feeling as awful as what I read hypos to be like.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Thanks!

Niki

 

[robert72]

I'm a newly diagnosed T2, and managed to get the Libre, as I thought it would be a great way to educate myself.

Instead, I'm getting mighty confused.

I had originally purchased a Wavesense Jazz.

I got the Libre, and discovered that the readings were consistently below the Jazz (e.g. 5.8 Jazz, 4.5 Libre).

I've now purchased ANOTHER blood tester, the Accucheck Mobile), and put on a second sensor.

The discrepancies are now horrific.

Libre: shrieking that my blood sugar is low (2.5).
Jazz: 5.8
Mobile: 5.6

It's possible I've got two dodgy blood meters, but it's starting to look like it's the Libre that's dodgy. I haven't eaten much today, and am feeling pretty tired, but then again I've also got chronic fatigue. I'm not, however, sitting shaking and feeling as awful as what I read hypos to be like.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Thanks!

Niki

Sounds like you've got a dud sensor. Give Abbott a call and they will probably replace it. Keep a record of your tests as they will ask for the numbers.

 

[arniemouse]

Hi I am seriously debating about a libre - sorry there is probably this question somewhere in the last 198 pages but for those who have used it for a while how close is it to real time readings or is it just more useful for trends please?? If my BS dropped quickly say in 10 mins would it pick that up?
Thanks

 

[Bluetit1802]

@arniemouse

I am type 2 not on any meds. I am not at all confident in the levels my first sensor has thrown up compared with my finger pricking. However, it does produce lovely graphs of the highs, lows and in betweens. It records the reading every 15 minutes whether you use the scanner or not, plus it also records all the scanned readings. You can see at a glance where your peaks are, what time they occur, how quickly you rise and how quickly (or otherwise) you drop. I find the overnight readings very illuminating. I just ignore the numbers completely, but I can because I don't need to know them.

 

[drahawkins_1973]

Might talk to abbot good idea usually I just assume people that sell you stuff dont help much :¬)

As I say im sure its just me and I need to find a better place on my body
I will try very high up on the back of arm next time
I have always used upper arm middle rear till now :¬)

Hi Madusmacus,

I recently put on my second sensor. This time I put it a bit further back on my arm and I also put in on the day before activating it(I'm sure I read somewhere that helped but I can't find the thread so maybe I dreamt it!). Anyhow, this sensor doesn't seem to be doing the same thing as before, no more shooting up when I stand up. Did you have any luck with the placement of your follow up sensor??

Andrea

 

[AndBreathe]

The current sensor I have on, I applied 48 hours before activating, and thus far, it's pretty much bang-on. I've had several sensors replaced by Abbott due to erratic and divergent (from reality) readings, so I'll be giving this approach houseroom and repeat it consistently from now on.

My theory on it is this; that for the first indefinable, "little while" my body is tearing the sensor filament like it would a splinter and wants rid of it, so bombards it as it would any foreign body. After a while, it tolerates it better. The reasoning behind this is two fold: others have mentioned early skin irritations and secondly, I have been unfortunate enough to have had a traumatic foreign body injury and some unrelated surgery in recent times where my body has gone into over-drive to be rid of the foreign bodies. Min the case of surgery, this was to the sutures. My nurse labelled me a hyper-healer. I've yet to decide if that's a good or bad thing, but will go with good for now.

That may just be complete imagination and supposition, and could be rubbish end by my next xensor, but I'm crossing my fingers.

I won't be applying my next sensor for a few weeks, so i won't be reporting back on that too quickly. Just throwing it out there for thought (and to prove myself to be one of those internet nutters we all read about ).

 

[Bluetit1802]

I am beginning to think I should have sent my current sensor back, as it constantly throws up unrealistic readings much lower than my finger pricking suggests and from where I expect to be. Too late now, it finishes in 2 hours!

 

[tim2000s]

Had an interesting conversation on Twitter with someone who seems to be a former employee at Abbott. They believe that Abbott will reduce the price of the sensors in the not too distant future as their production ramps up, and also as a mechanism to retain customers, especially as one of the key design points was to keep the costs down.

He was also certain that Abbott will shortly face competition in this area...

 

[Garr]

Like AndBreathe , I put my 2nd sensor on 48 hrs before activating it, and this time it's been pretty much spot on so far, the first one I waited 24 hrs and it ran low most of the time.

 

[Snapsy]

Still on my first, which I put on 36hrs before activating. It's a consistent 20-25% out, but I'm still finding it incredibly useful. Might try 48hrs next time to see if it's that which makes the difference. Mind you, I don't use the numbers to bolus from - I always BG test first for that - and I'm using the Libre more for the trend viewing.

 

[arniemouse]

Thanks JPTS it does seem from your and other replies that its great for a trend and I am sure given time Abbott will work out the gliches and it will become more reliable. Think I will wait for a while and see if sensor mark 2 might be better. I need to know when things are dropping quickly so maybe not for me at present.

 

[AndBreathe]

I've shifted time zones and will be here for some time, so it's a bit irritating looking at my data and having to continually do a -4 hour mental adjustment.

Does anyone know how, if I change the reader time, it affects the historic outputs?

 

[smilesandsmiles]

GO GO GO!

I just placed my order

Orderd mine from their website Friday and got it delivered this Wednesday. I'd only just heard about the device a week ago on the DAFNE course and bought one straight away. Had on it on for a day now. Absolutley thrilled with it. Hardly any lag between meter reading and actual blood glucose. Very accurate as well, virtualy identical results to my finger prick test. I've waited 20 years for a device like this. It seems expesive (the sensors £45 a go) but it is such a good device. It gives you the opportunity to manage your blood sugar really well. I'll be using mine until there is a cure, like the new one under trial, the TB Vaccine which stops the immune system detroying the beta cells. It was really easy to apply the sensor, no pain, and so far no discomfort from wearing the sensor.

 

[madusmacus]

Sensor 19 report

I tried to place this sensor more to the upper inside of my arm to stop the laying on it problem but sadly...

This sensor is reporting me as nearly dead... 2.1-2.5 mmol lows all night and 1.5mmol to low when im awake
It also suffers from my "get up fast watch it sky rocket vertically" problem

I dont know I guess I will rip it off try number 20 and then give up
Its an expensive hobby when you have to do Blood pricks anyways to see how bad the sensor is reacting

My body just isn't the right type for this hardware or I have alien DNA or something :¬(