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Freestyle Libre sensor applied for first time

A

Ashcar25

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi everyone. My son hasn't been managing his diabetes very well at school, he has been making excuses to get out of lesson early to do a check, and not actually do one. he has been making up readings as they record them n a diary.
So to try to and get some control back for him, we invested in the freestyle libre. It has taken a few weeks to convince him that it is a good idea to try the new meter, and this evening we managed to apply the sensor for the first time.
On seeing the sensor our son stormed out of the room saying it's massive and it will get knocked and come off at school.
My question is, are there any parents out there whose child is behaving in a similar way with diabetes management and if you have tried the freestyle libre And what reaction you got first time it was applied?
I am hoping he will come round and get used to it so we are not activating it until tomorrow.
Any help comments greatly appreciated.
Thnaks
 
Hi @Ashcar25
welcome to the forum !!
I would start by stepping back and asking why isn't your son managing well at school -- being a T1D is a massive thing for all of us but at school it really does present its own set of problems ( mainly with inclusion and not wanting to be different )

hopefully he will see the benefit early on -- it is tremendous in terms of ease of use -- but it does sound as though normal child issues are having an influence so using your best psychology will form part of the answer.

all the best !!
 
Hi and welcome!

Was he looking at the sensor applicator, or the sensor itself? Because the sensor, when attached to your arm, is only about the size of a £2 coin.

Applicator kit:


Sensor itself:


and can be covered up with tape so it just looks like a plaster:


Having said that, it may well be that your son is reacting to every part of diabetes control, and his dislike of the Libre is just an extension of it.

I really feel for you. It must be incredibly difficult from your and his perspective.

Are you waking him at night, to test his blood glucose?
If so, you may be able to sell him on the Libre by pointing out that you can test his blood glucose without waking him up.
 
Hi @Ashcar25 and welcome to the forum.
My son, 11 years old, is on his fourth libre sensor now.
At first he was skeptical about it. He feared reactions from other kids. We do not try to hide his diabetes, he has always taken BG measurements in class, taken insulin in class, so all kids are aware of his situation. When he got used to the idea of the libre, having watched a few videos on youtube, he was looking forward to his first sensor. Second sensor was a bit scary, there was some bleeding through the sensor, which put him off a bit, but the bleeding stopped quickly, along with the mild pain he had felt. Kids at school think the sensor is a fun gadget, so my son feels like a cyborg sometimes, as he puts it . The libre is a fantastic piece of technology, may not be too accurate, but gives a lot of insight. I checked some stats yesterday, on average we do some 20 scans a day, that tells you how dependent we are on it. We would never do 20 finger pricks a day. So that may well be the first thing that your son might appreciate about the libre and accept it.
There is the danger that the sensor might come off, we use micropore surgical tape to make sure the sensor stays attached and check every now and then, to replace the tape. My next order of sensors might arrive a bit late, and my son might be off the libre for a few days. And this is such a worry now.

All best and keep us updated on progress!
 
How old is your son? his age could make a big difference in the way people reply and how best to handle the situation.

Sorry I don't have any further advice, other than the Libre can be a fantastic tool!
 
It's really difficult for people at school. You just want to get on with eating and you want to be able to eat food when somebody offers you it. It's really hard to cope with diabetes, especially among those in school who may not understand it. I have been using the libre for months and I've not had one come off once, it's also been really useful in school. If my sugars are good (around 5mmol/l) then I'll just give myself insulin and get on with the day, it's much easier.
 
Hi everyone and thanks for your responses. Our son is now 12, he was diagnosed 2 years ago just after starting high school.
His initial reaction to the Libre was to the size of the sensor, i think he was a bit shocked but, after an hour last night he came round. He even activated the sensor himself.
We haven't been waking him night as his level on going to bed and waking have been really good. I like the idea of scanning of him while he is asleep though, just to see how his levels are at night.
He is definitely not happy managing his diabetes in school and the school have been brilliant in how they deal with it, they notice when he is high and low which is a big weight off us when he is in school, knowing they are looking after him.
We hope that he will see the benefits of using the Libre in that he wont need to be away from his friends to do a check, he doesnt like checking or injecting around his friends anymore, he used to be ok with it but not anymore.
We did a scan this morning and also a blood sugar check there was a 0.6 difference between them, the libre being the slightly higher.
Lets see how he is when he gets home from school to see if he has had a good experience with it or not.
 
Hi, thanks for the message. Our son had a good day with the libre at school, still didn't tell the truth about his level though. The sensor has started to come off and he is complaining about a bit of pain, have you had this happen before? Any suggestions on keeping the sensor in place, at the moment we have a plaster strip holding it on,
 
Hi hopefully you find the Libre and it's reports very helpful in maintains good glucose control. Learn how to use the trend arrows to help avoid hypos / hyper events
Get the software from the Libre website and contact the customer care team if the sensor falls off
As others have mentioned, you can help protect it by using plasters and elasticated sleeves / Armbands - there is a Facebook page run by patients that has lots of advice. The Libre is very accurate but different to blood glucose testing as it measures glucose in interstitial fluid - work with your paediatric DSN to get the best usage
Good luck
 
Yes to all of your questions with a 10y old girl including made up readungs in diary; but she was convinced by the reduction in finger pricks needed and that i can scan her at bedtime. She likes that it can be placed high enough up that its not very visible. We have had 2 accidental knocks at school that dislodged it so now i cover it with see through tegaderm - i like the bright plasters but she doesnt want to draw attention to it. Dsn swears by rock tape as a cover.i have to say i.m dreading her going to high school for the same reasons you mention. She now puts the sensor on herself as likes that control (i set it all up and hand her the primed device). Good luck
 
Thanks for all the responses and ideas/advice. We don't feel so alone in this knowing so many other parents are in the same situation as we are. It feels like the worst time at the moment but I am sure we will come through and things will settle.
Support in a forum like this is a huge help.
Thanks
 
Tegaderm is great for keeping the sensor on. I put a circle of paper over the sensor before covering it with tegaderm, so that it is easy to take the tegaderm off without pulling out the sensor (I find i need to change the tegaderm after a few days as it gets a bit itchy.)
 
Hi my 13 year old daughter was reluctant to have the libre as she already had a pump and didn't like the thought of another thing sticking out of her. We brought her to see another child who had one and they explained what they liked about it. She then agreed to give it a trial. She hasn't looked back. My daughter wears it during all sport and sprays cavillon on before she inserts. She wears adult sweatbands over them for some sport and likes how she matches them to her outfit! We test her when she is asleep and if she wakens she can test herself without even turning the light on. I asked her would she ever go back to finger pricking and she said no way. Although she does both for a few hours after putting new libre in. It may help if you ask your dsn if there is another boy using it that he could talk to. It sometimes works better that chatting to adults. Good luck
 
My son 11 has recently started to use the sensor he is very conscious of it and says it hurts from time to time results are not accurate and he still pricks before meal times i had high hopes with this but only time will tell he is particularly worried add he plays rugby two to three times a week I think it's brilliant
 
Hi our son who is 11 wad diagnosed last March.Soon after we got him a libre.In the beginning he was happy with it, not once did it come off in scholl or even in thr pool practice.Then one time we have accidentally hit the bllod vessel and it was very painful and bleeding.after waiting for a few hours we had to take it off which was very unpleasant and hurtful. ..After that during the summer 2 of the libres broke down from swimming in the sea even though we protected it with tegaderm.And now he just won't wear it again inspite of our efforts to persuade him that accidents happen but will not happen all the time. We as parents really liked it even though it can show occasionally lower numbers but then it should always be checked with finger pricking(goes for high numbers as well)..

I guess it takes time for them to accept that they have something on their bodies,and that sometimes it can break, it's a process but I think that eventually they will get along with it.

My son has a friend in school also type 1 who is wearing libre so maybe it may also help in reassuring him to try it again.

Best of luck
Natt
 
Hi there

I had exactly the same thing I was so delighted about the idea of the freestyle and the thought of not having to prick his fingers to test all the time but was very upset with his reaction.

It took him about four days to pluck up courage to use it and 40 mins of tears to put it on In the end I put it on with tears and screaming I don’t think it actually hurt but he went in about it for days. Finally after 6 days he was ok with it but the accuracy of the sensor was not brilliant.. taking it off was a mission and it wasn’t really that bad but to him it was. We are going to retry it once rugby season is over at school but not sure.

Good luck it helped to find a young boy on tube putting the sensor on a demo

Good luck
 

I am 14 however bandages are good, yes they cover the sensor but they hold in place. Plus if you have more bandages, you may be able to differentiate what bandage is for what by the size.
 
Hi. My 11 yr old son has the libre. We have been using it since Oct last year. He definitely prefers this to blood tests. Can just scan whilst in lesson without anyone seeing what he is doing. Just make sure you use tape over it as they don’t tend to stay put and at £60 each that’s not good. We use sports tape as my son is a gymnast. Good luck.
 
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