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Freestyle Libre

Lynz84

Lynz84

Well-Known Member
Messages
344
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hey All

Ive seen a lot of you post about this product? Is it worth the money?

Does the sensor stick to your skin? I'd be intrigued about this and may look into getting one!
 
Yes that what it does, there's an applicator that comes with the sensor.

Is it worth it? Depends what you get from using it but you'll only know by trying it yourself @Lynz84
 
I am in one they are awesome for me!!! It's changed my life in such a short time! The sensors sit under your arm and to be honest I barely know it's there. I'm having trouble with the sticking for the 2 weeks though because water makes it less stickie. It's because of showers but I'm hopeful for a solution
 
I've literally just got it delivered today. I am very happy with it, good readings, not at all bulky, painless insertion. I'll have to see how it lasts over 2 weeks though.
 
Hope you have fun with it!!! I love mine I've had it only a few weeks but like I said it's the sites coming off I'm struggling with otherwise I have so much more energy( was my big problem) and reading so much better
MrBrightside said:
I've literally just got it delivered today. I am very happy with it, good readings, not at all bulky, painless insertion. I'll have to see how it lasts over 2 weeks though.
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ove mine been
 
I have been using mine for a short while (am on my 5th sensor) and I cannot imagine life without it. It's an incredible piece of kit.

I am an obsessive tester and before getting the Libre I was doing a dozen or more blood tests a day. Most of these were what I'd call 'reassurance' tests - if I was feeling hot, cold, cross, not 100%, tired, hungry, sad, strange in any way, not able to concentrate, I would reach for my test kit, do a test and then think 'hmmm, that's fine, wonder if I'm going up or down though', and then do another test 10 minutes later to see if my blood sugar was the reason for feeling any of those feelings I just listed!

Now I do my 'reassurance' testing by just scanning with my Libre, and I'm only really doing blood tests when I get up, when I eat and bolus, or when I drive.

Liberating? Oh YEAH!

:)
 
Totally agree it's amazing. I just do blood tests for driving now
Snapsy said:
I have been using mine for a short while (am on my 5th sensor) and I cannot imagine life without it. It's an incredible piece of kit.

I am an obsessive tester and before getting the Libre I was doing a dozen or more blood tests a day. Most of these were what I'd call 'reassurance' tests - if I was feeling hot, cold, cross, not 100%, tired, hungry, sad, strange in any way, not able to concentrate, I would reach for my test kit, do a test and then think 'hmmm, that's fine, wonder if I'm going up or down though', and then do another test 10 minutes later to see if my blood sugar was the reason for feeling any of those feelings I just listed!

Now I do my 'reassurance' testing by just scanning with my Libre, and I'm only really doing blood tests when I get up, when I eat and bolus, or when I drive.

Liberating? Oh YEAH!

:)
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I've been using it for ages and can't imagine how I'd manage if I lost my job and couldn't afford it anymore :eek:

I hardly ever do an actual blood test now, although I don't drive so that helps! I just test if the number doesn't feel right, or to make sure I'm coming out of a hypo ok as the libre has a small delay compared to blood tests.
 
BeccyB said:
I've been using it for ages and can't imagine how I'd manage if I lost my job and couldn't afford it anymore :eek:

I hardly ever do an actual blood test now, although I don't drive so that helps! I just test if the number doesn't feel right, or to make sure I'm coming out of a hypo ok as the libre has a small delay compared to blood tests.
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how do you make accurate correction calculations......?

is it accurate enough?

or are you on target all the time....lol....?
 
novorapidboi26 said:
how do you make accurate correction calculations......?

is it accurate enough?

or are you on target all the time....lol....?
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Definitely not on target all the time!

As the delay between it and a blood result is only 5-10mins the figure won't have changed much in that time at all so i don't see any problem in using it to work out a correction dose. The only time the glucose level should be moving significantly in that time is if I've had quick absorbing sugar i.e. when treating a hypo.

I did a lot more tests in the early days but I trust its accuracy now. It's never going to exactly match what a BG meter says but you'll never know how much of that is down to a) the meter's accepted variation, b) the libre's accepted variation or c) the small delay between interstitial and blood glucose levels. We have so many factors to consider with food/insulin/exercise/illness etc that I'd rather not over complicate things by worrying about whether my BG is actually 5.5 or 6.5. Perhaps if I manage to get myself low carbing, super controlled and on a pump and could make micro doses I would??
 
Fayefaye1429 said:
I'm having trouble with the sticking for the 2 weeks though because water makes it less stickie. It's because of showers but I'm hopeful for a solution
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I found that if my skin isn't totally dry when I add a new sensor that it doesn't stick as well as it should, but once it's on I haven't had any trouble with showering. When the weather was hot and sticky I resorted to standing with my arm in the fridge for a bit to cool it off as it was 'clammy' in the humidity! :)
 
@novorapidboi26 I still always do a blood test before taking any insulin, whether that be for food or to correct. That's not to say I don't trust the Libre, but in order to prevent hypos I would rather base my calculations on an actual blood test that is the 'now' figure rather than a measure from my interstitial fluid which is a 'while ago' figure. It's a confidence thing for me, I think.

That said, however, I HAVE been setting temp basal rates on my pump this week (have been high as I've not been well) based just on Libre readings without any nasty surprises.

Accuracy is pretty good usually, as under normal circumstances I'm much less rollercoastery than I was before I got my pump.

:)
 
Snapsy said:
I still always do a blood test before taking any insulin, whether that be for food or to correct. That's not to say I don't trust the Libre, but in order to prevent hypos I would rather base my calculations on an actual blood test that is the 'now' figure rather than a measure from my interstitial fluid which is a 'while ago' figure. It's a confidence thing for me, I think.
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Likewise @Snapsy, didn't trust the Libre 100% to give a bolus dose based on it's readings so always did a bg test before meals.
 
Oh I see, @noblehead . I'm enjoying being the most diabetically-relaxed I have ever been in the last three decades, so I'm bipping until the novelty has worn off a bit - or until I start getting irate phone calls from the bank, whichever comes sooner. At this rate it's only a matter of time!

:)
 
Totally agree!!!!
Snapsy said:
Oh I see, @noblehead . I'm enjoying being the most diabetically-relaxed I have ever been in the last three decades, so I'm bipping until the novelty has worn off a bit - or until I start getting irate phone calls from the bank, whichever comes sooner. At this rate it's only a matter of time!

:)
Click to expand...
 
Snapsy said:
Oh I see, @noblehead . I'm enjoying being the most diabetically-relaxed I have ever been in the last three decades, so I'm bipping until the novelty has worn off a bit - or until I start getting irate phone calls from the bank, whichever comes sooner. At this rate it's only a matter of time!

:)
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No I agree, the Libre is a great device but just can't justify the cost every month as I can't trust it completely.
 
Yeh I understand what you mean. To be honest most blood glucose monitors I've had have had loads of issues in them same with pumps I guess it's the way the technology goes. Although the price is a challenge and I guess there is an argument of when information too much?
 
I've been using the Libre since just before Christmas, and like majority say, it really does change the way you view your diabetes control. It gives you the bigger picture in terms of what's actually going on through the day night. I understand more now how you can hit a low then rebound up high without sometimes realising how or why.
Once on, you'll find you probably will constantly test / check, which can be done very discreetly and quickly. So long as you check within 8 hour periods, the readings carry on.
On the downside, it is very expensive when replacing sensors (£100 per month!!), so I've been having breaks in-between. When using it with finger test strips, it does need a big droplet of blood and these readings are not used in the graphs.
On the whole, very pleased but hope as time goes by, it will get improved (they have no real competition at the moment to push them and bring costs down!)
 
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