Freestyle Libre without reader - newbie questions

[LittleGreyCat]

Firstly I feel a bit guilty as a T2 thinking about a Freestyle Libre when there are supply issues, but I've recently had a poor HbA1c result and I'm trying to investigate why.

If I understand correctly, the official route is to get a starter pack from Abbott including a reader, use the reader to activate the patch/sensor, then potentially use a smart phone with NFC and an App to read the sensor.

Also, you need an account with an Abbott cloud service to store your results on the Internet so that you can see them and share via a web browser.

Starter packs don't seem to be available at the moment.
Sensor patches may allegedly be available from pharmacies, though.

So is there a straightforward way to use a Freestyle Libre without the starter pack and reader?

Can you activate the sensor without the Abbott reader?

Can you set up an account with Abbott without buying the starter pack?

Can you just buy sensors at pharmacies?

 

[barrym]

Yes you can activate the sensor with a phone. You can not then scan with a reader though, just the phone.

I can't see any reason that you couldn't register on the libreview site if you don't own a reader. It's the app that sends up the data.

As far as I know you can generally get sensors from pharmacies although shortages may occur from time to time.

HTH

 

[HSSS]

I just did exactly this yesterday. Bought my first libre from a pharmacy as a one off to see what insights it can give me. Planning on using my iphone 7 to read it.

I’m assuming I just need to read the instructions and download an app. I haven’t even got as far as opening the box yet. If I beat you to it I’ll update this thread on how I get on.

Can I not see results on the app? Do I need to upload them anywhere? Any other helpful hints appreciated here too

 

[barrym]

I'm not an iPhone user do can't comment on the 7. But I imagine you just load the app, start the sensor, wait an hour then scan.

You don't have to register for libreview but why not? It's quite useful. Data will build up on the phone and show in app reports. Data on the phone is limited to 90 days, but on libreview is permanent, I think.

HTH