Freestyle libre reliability

becca59 said:

I don’t think you are supposed to use the Libre on children under 4.

Click to expand...

Yes, Abbott don’t recommend it. But our family decided to just take the risk since it’s really tough to prick a toddler’s fingers 7-8 times a day. And I’d like to think that it’s not really about some harmful effect, but just that they don’t have enough research evidence or government approval to recommend it to younger children. Kind of like the way that Lantus is approved only for children who are at least 6yo, but some doctors are prescribing it for younger children anyway. (Lantus works better than Levemir for my son, by the way). After there are enough data gathered to support it, Libre or Lantus might lower the age limit. That’s just how research and approval goes. Limits are not written in stone, but reevaluated time after time. It’s just up to us whether the potential benefit is worth the risk, and in case of libre, I think it is.

I ve had the libre for 3 months and lost 1. It came unstuck the last 2 days of life. I find that you have to use the wipes to ensure skin is clean and give it time to dry.
Its brilliant I'm so happy with it. Not as accurate as finger pricking a couple of m out . But saying that my hba1c has dropped from 78 to 58.

I know this will sound controversial but, I very rarely bother with finger pricks anymore, I only really do one if I feel outrageously ill. And the government now allow the Freestyle Libre scan results to determine if you should drive or not.
https://diabetestimes.co.uk/dvla-approves-cgm-devices-for-driving-with-diabetes-28347-2/

I personally dont trust the libre due to it being 10 minutes behind.
I was advised on the course to still do finger prick tests before meals .
It's not as accurate I wont take the risk

Djdiabetic said:

Hi,

second post so if its irrelevant then please delete. I have just started a trial on the freestyle libre, I am just enquiring to see what the reliability is like and to see if I should still finger prick? I know its interstitial blood that it analyses. but has anyone found a big varience from their previous meter?

thanks for all advice

Click to expand...

I am now on my 36th sensor. Aside from a few failures which were replaced, I have found the sensor readings to be off, on an average, by more then 30%. Only on rare occasions will the sensor be consistent with the test strip.

Yes, I know all about the time delay and the trend indicators but if I were to rely on the sensor to tell me how much to inject then my A1c would be consistently higher. My trend indicators are overwhelmingly shown as "-" or not changing. So, NEVER trust the sensor reading. Use it only as a reference. More often than not, when my blood sugar is on target, the meter is reading LO. I am back now up to 6 test strip readings a day.

Two years ago, I developed a program that logs my statistics. Within six months (two A1c readings) I went from 9.3 to 6.1. I now am tracking the % error given between sensor readings and test strip readings and writing a program for a correction factor. I figure a few more months of programming and Ishould be able to get the sensor to behave the way the company implies that it should.

So, yes, expect variance from 10% to 90%, mostly 40%. This is in my documentation. If you call Libre, they will consistently down play the amount error you should be experiencing.

Hi, @Ellis 4F , there's a few posters here who are attaching a small bluetooth transmitter, miaomiao, to their libres, which reads the sensor every 5 mins and sends it to an android app, xDrip+ .

The way the app works is that you can type in a few bg readings so it can make more sense of the numbers it's getting from the sensor. My current readings with this set up over the last few days are literally only about 0.2 to 0.4 out.

I've been using the app for about 2 yrs or so now, and the increased accuracy isn't a one off fluke.

It also does hypo alerts, and can be set up so that parents can follow their kid's bg from miles away.

Here's a few links if you're interested in this route:

www.miaomiao.cool

https://jamorham.github.io/

Mickyduff said:

I know this will sound controversial but, I very rarely bother with finger pricks anymore, I only really do one if I feel outrageously ill. And the government now allow the Freestyle Libre scan results to determine if you should drive or not.
https://diabetestimes.co.uk/dvla-approves-cgm-devices-for-driving-with-diabetes-28347-2/

Click to expand...

Me neither unless above 13. Lucky enough for it to be pretty accurate.

I personally have found it out by 0.6 to 0.2 However it has improved since the update on libre . It's made alot of difference to my control. I dont trust it 100% but I'm.happy with its improvement to my control

Another heads up for the MiaoMiao transmitter and Libre combo, I use it with Spike as my tech / phone is Apple. I have found the calibration of Spike amazingly accurate - for me the Libre itself tends to over read as opposed to fingerpricks most of the time via its own native app, but using Spike opens a whole new, accurate world..........it has really helped me, I know i am "only" Type 2, but it has been invaluable so far.

I read about the Libre FreeStyle 2 and requested my GP to switch me over. They did this quite swiftly.

After some initial problems using it with my OPPO A5 mobile phone, Abbott promptly diagnosed some errors in my event log and supplied me with both a replacement sensor and a dedicated READER.

It is still early days yet but my initial feelings are that the new Libre 2 sensor is more accurate and the Alerts are working as they should in conjunction with the Reader. I suppose the moral of the story is that with the best will in the world, a mobile phone is not designed to be a Blood Glucose Reader although the graphical reporting of the Libre App was fantastic.

This is great news! I finally feel the technology is working for me.

Djdiabetic said:

Hi,
I have just started a trial on the freestyle libre, I am just enquiring to see what the reliability is like and to see if I should still finger prick? I know its interstitial blood that it analyses. but has anyone found a big varience from their previous meter?

thanks for all advice

Click to expand...

I have been using the Libre system for 5 years now and designed a computer program to help track my readings and compiling at least a thousand tests, it calculates the amount of insulin I should take. I moved to the 14 day sensor as soon as it was released for use here in USA and found no performance difference.

Aside from some problems getting the sensor to work, the Libre system has performed, mechanically, very well. Problems seemed to revolve around the quality of cleaning the area before applying the sensor. Now I use the two pads issued and scrub the area on each of the eight surfaces of the pad. (use both sides, then fold back the halfs and scrub two more times for each pad. Maybe I have oily skin but it finally worked reliably. I have found this extent of cleaning before applying the sensor improved the reliability of the readings.

I have now used 84 sensors. Every test event uses both the sensor and a test strip and I take readings 5 to 8 times a day.
I have fully documented the results. I believe that is a serious discrepancy between sensors and test strips. I have attempted to discuss this with Libre but they seem to write me off. All in all, I would NOT recommend going stripless. In my opinion, if you rely on sensor readings only, you are going to slowly drive up your A1c. Your results may vary.

I hear that there is a new sensor. I am willing to give it a try mainly so that I can compare its efficacy over the one I am using.