• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Freestyle Libre Questions

Just wanted to jump in and agree with absolutely everything @bluetit has said.
My experience matches hers.

If a sensor is reading consistently 1mmol/l high or low, it matters not a jot (to me, a T2 non insulin user).
What DOES matter is that the portion of carbs I ate with a meal sent me up by 4mmol/l and kept me up there for hours. Next time, i will skip the roasties. ;)

The Libre has taught me to understand my bg pattern overnight with precision. And how my Dawn Phenomenon turned out to be a Getting Up Phenomenon, not a Dawn one. And exactly what to eat to prevent a liver dump. And in what quantities.

It has also been a brilliant education in matching physical awareness/symptoms to rapid rises and falls of blood glucose.
For example, I always used to think that brain-fog-sleepiness after a carb meal meant high blood glucose. Nope. For me, it turns out those symptoms mean my blood glucose was high, and is now dropping fast.

All very helpful to my D management!
 
Last edited:
I've messaged Abbott via the Facebook page and asked about the difference between functionality of the app and the reader, and also whether data from the app can be exported to the analysis software.

@bluetit, are there other reasons (apart from the software) why you think the reader is the better option?

I like to think that I'd be saving money not buying the reader if I don't get on with the system. Or that I will only need to use it short term and then I will know all I need to know. OTOH I acknowledge that - I am a data geek, and if I love it (which I probably will), that I will want to carry on using it and ****** the cost. And that if I really don't get on with it, there's a 30-day refund on the starter pack.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
You will get all those questions answered with a Libre, and more besides. I do advise you, however, to find the justification to buy the reader. Yes, they are expensive, but you only need it once, and you get the software for your PC/Laptop which is far better than looking at a small screen. Unless of course you get can the PC type software and transfer the data from your phone. I have no idea if this is possible.
Click to expand...

Bluetit - I can't use the App with my model of iPhone, but I have seen the software on a phone, as shown to me by a PhD researcher, using them as a tool in the course of her study. I didn't have much time, in the context of a meeting going on (and she was leading it!) around us. However, the study she is running only uses the App, no readers are supplied; I assume, in the interests of economy. One thing I did notice is the App has the facility to share the Libre data with other users (in this case the research server and her, for collation/analysis), so that trialists are not required to do any data downloading or stick to cycles, aside from scanning at least every 8-hours, and slapping on a new sensor, as require for the duration of the research period.

On that basis, I imagine the data could be "shared" with oneself for inspection of a PC/Laptop, but I couldn't be absolutely sure.

@BarbaraG , perhaps you could clarify my hypothesis via either another thread, or the Facebook page, and maybe let us know?

Please, Barbara, do not make any decision on the reader/app on the strength of my post, because I repeat, it is a hypothesis of mine, and not a known fact to me. I'd hate to land you unwittingly with a bill.
 
There's a second app called LibreLinkup. At a cursory inspection, it provides the facility for another person (parent, caregiver, health professional) to remotely see whatever data has been scanned by the person wearing the sensor and using the LibreLink app. It doesn't mention the PC/Mac software.

I got a response from Abbott this morning, referring me to the website and claiming the answers to my questions were there. They weren't. So I've asked again, in words of one syllable :-)
 
And the response from Abbott.....

The layout and colours are slightly different, but the data reported is the same on the LibreLink app as on the reader.

You can't transfer data from the app to the Pc/Mac software.

So, if you go the app route, you get all of the functionality, but it is small screen only. If you want to be able to view on the desktop, you need to get the reader. I was trying to save myself a gizmo, as well as a bit of cash. Mind you, there's no reason why you can't use both, as long as you scan with your phone within the sensor warmup period. But the data doesn't transfer between the two... you'd have to scan with both devices to keep fully up to date.

I suppose if you went that route, you would mainly use the reader, but the phone would be useful if you were going for a long walk or run.... you could take your phone with you and be able to check your levels while working out without needing to carry an extra piece of kit. Then, when you got home, you'd scan with the reader to maintain the complete picture on there.

I think I've talked myself into getting the reader after all :-)
 
I've been using the Libra for nearly a year now and I love it. As to difference in readings from the Libra compared to a test strip, last one I did showed the Libra as being less than .5 higher, quite accurate enough for me.
 
BarbaraG said:
And the response from Abbott.....

The layout and colours are slightly different, but the data reported is the same on the LibreLink app as on the reader.

You can't transfer data from the app to the Pc/Mac software.

So, if you go the app route, you get all of the functionality, but it is small screen only. If you want to be able to view on the desktop, you need to get the reader. I was trying to save myself a gizmo, as well as a bit of cash. Mind you, there's no reason why you can't use both, as long as you scan with your phone within the sensor warmup period. But the data doesn't transfer between the two... you'd have to scan with both devices to keep fully up to date.

I suppose if you went that route, you would mainly use the reader, but the phone would be useful if you were going for a long walk or run.... you could take your phone with you and be able to check your levels while working out without needing to carry an extra piece of kit. Then, when you got home, you'd scan with the reader to maintain the complete picture on there.

I think I've talked myself into getting the reader after all :)
Click to expand...

I am not 100% positive, but I think I have read somewhere you cannot interchange between reader and phone. You have to stick with the one you activated it with. Please check this, I may well be wrong.

I find the reader very convenient when out and about. It isn't too large and sits easily in my coat/jacket/jeans pockets whilst my phone stays in my bag. It scans through a great thickness of clothing. I can't comment on how the phone works as I don't use it.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
I am not 100% positive, but I think I have read somewhere you cannot interchange between reader and phone. You have to stick with the one you activated it with. Please check this, I may well be wrong.

I find the reader very convenient when out and about. It isn't too large and sits easily in my coat/jacket/jeans pockets whilst my phone stays in my bag. It scans through a great thickness of clothing. I can't comment on how the phone works as I don't use it.
Click to expand...

As I understand it if you activate by phone then you can only use the phone.

If you activate by reader you have up to 20 minutes to scan with your phone and then you can use either device. That's is how I am currently using it with both reader and phone at the same time.

The school use the reader but once my wife picks up our son she uses her phone and I get an instant number via the LibreLinkUp app on my phone.
 
Binary said:
As I understand it if you activate by phone then you can only use the phone.

If you activate by reader you have up to 20 minutes to scan with your phone and then you can use either device. That's is how I am currently using it with both reader and phone at the same time.

The school use the reader but once my wife picks up our son she uses her phone and I get an instant number via the LibreLinkUp app on my phone.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying that.
 
Back
Top