Greetings from South Africa (T1d)

[M@]

Howdy
I am a 22 year old type 1 that was unexpectedly diagnosed about 6 months ago.
My blood glucose levels are under control although it is a bit of a struggle going through the honeymoon period.
I am having plenty of problems with Freestyle Libre sensors though (6 out of a total of 7 that I've had have failed).. Thankfully Abbot is good at replacing them.
Thanks for letting me on here
Any advice for a newbie would be appreciated.

 

[Antje77]

Howdy
I am a 22 year old type 1 that was unexpectedly diagnosed about 6 months ago.
My blood glucose levels are under control although it is a bit of a struggle going through the honeymoon period.
I am having plenty of problems with Freestyle Libre sensors though (6 out of a total of 7 that I've had have failed).. Thankfully Abbot is good at replacing them.
Thanks for letting me on here
Any advice for a newbie would be appreciated.

Hi, and welcome!
Please ask away if you have any questions.
In what way did your sensors fail?

 

[M@]

Hi, and welcome!
Please ask away if you have any questions.
In what way did your sensors fail?

Thanks
The majority of them are giving incorrect readings (2+ mmol/l off) when checked with a glucometer. Not sure why I'm having trouble with them, as they seem to be working for most people. Another one fell off and another two ended early. This is pretty frustrating, as these sensors are painfully expensive (for my income).

 

[Antje77]

The majority of them are giving incorrect readings (2+ mmol/l off) when checked with a glucometer.

For me, it helps when I apply them a day early, only activating them after they have been on my arm for a day. Still, often the first day seems to be a bit dodgy so it's only on the second day (third day from applying) that I'm starting to trust them.
And even them, they usually read lower than a finger prick by between 0.8 and 2.0 mmol/l. Still very useful to me though!

 

[Antje77]

Also tagging @rosemaree , who's also a relatively newly diagnosed T1 from South Africa. While diabetes is the same all over the world, it may be you can help eachother with the practical side of things, which is a bit dependent on the country where you live.

 

[jape]

Hi M@, I was born in South Africa and grew up there. However, for nearly my entire adult life, I have lived and worked in several different countries. I am retired now, but have lived for the last 30 years in Canada. I am sure that rosemaree would be able to relate some of the practical challenges concerning diabetes in SA. When I first got my Libre, my sister in South Africa was quite interested in it, but she later reported that it was quite expensive, and it was not covered by her medical fund.

Anyway, I am now on my 74th sensor. At the beginning, I experienced a somewhat higher 'failure' rate than now. I have had only 1 sensor that was a complete dud, and one I had to remove after one day, because I was getting and MRI scan, and apparently the sensor (any metal) would interfere with the MRI machine. It seems that practice makes perfect????My sensors are normally 1 minus point off from my BG finger prick method, and slightly less than 1 from a1c. I have learned to live with that and take that into account with my insulin dosages.

Well, good luck and best wishes on your journey!

 

[Daibell]

Hi. You need to accept that the sensors aren't always accurate; it's a limit of the technology. The important thing is trends and warnings when you're getting low. I'm lucky as mine grip like limpets.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Just to say the capillary blood you get from your fingers will have different blood sugars to that within your cell fluid which is what the sensor reads from. 2 mmol seems a lot though so I like the suggestion of letting the sensor truly warm up (1 day).
I found mine read lower than my actual level so for practical purposes you could stick to just checking fingers when you feel you are hypo or hyper. I think the time in range bit is pretty useful too as it may give you clues should your 3 month average (hba1c) test be unexpected.
Re the cost, take a look:

 

[M@]

it helps when I apply them a day early, only activating them after they have been on my arm for a day.

I'll try that, thanks.

 

[M@]

Hi M@, I was born in South Africa and grew up there. However, for nearly my entire adult life, I have lived and worked in several different countries. I am retired now, but have lived for the last 30 years in Canada. I am sure that rosemaree would be able to relate some of the practical challenges concerning diabetes in SA. When I first got my Libre, my sister in South Africa was quite interested in it, but she later reported that it was quite expensive, and it was not covered by her medical fund.

Anyway, I am now on my 74th sensor. At the beginning, I experienced a somewhat higher 'failure' rate than now. I have had only 1 sensor that was a complete dud, and one I had to remove after one day, because I was getting and MRI scan, and apparently the sensor (any metal) would interfere with the MRI machine. It seems that practice makes perfect????My sensors are normally 1 minus point off from my BG finger prick method, and slightly less than 1 from a1c. I have learned to live with that and take that into account with my insulin dosages.

Well, good luck and best wishes on your journey!

That's great, thanks. The medical funds seem to not like paying for these sensors sadly.
I don't have a problem with minor errors or lag in the readings, but some of the sensors would read 6.0 when I was actually 4.0 for example, which is quite far off. I guess that I would have to get used to that though.

 

[M@]

I found mine read lower than my actual level so for practical purposes you could stick to just checking fingers when you feel you are hypo or hyper.

That makes sense. I have started always carrying my glucometer in case of sudden blood sugar drops.

I think the time in range bit is pretty useful too as it may give you clues should your 3 month average (hba1c) test be unexpected.

I have been finding that amazingly useful in regulating my basal dose, as I was finding that I went too low at night and then my blood glucose level rose before I woke up, so the glucometer wasn't picking it up.

 

[M@]

Thanks @Antje77,

Hey @M@, well done on keeping your levels stable! I was recently given a libre trial and also found it very inaccurate - it was always at least 0.5 to 2 mmol lower than my actual readings and not consistent, it also started peeling off around the edges within a few days - I was mostly trying to see trends with it though, but I've been meaning to ask the rep about it.
I've been trying to get them approved with my medical aid, as they are too expensive for me otherwise, are you on medical aid?

Thanks @rosemaree. I also have the problem with it peeling, so I now wear Kinesiology tape (which can be bought at Clicks) over the sensor, which alos protects it slightly if it gets bumped. I put cotton wool or something of the sort over the sensor to make sure that it holds the sensor on but doesn't stick to the sensor when the tape needs to be replaced.
Yes, I am on the GEMS medical aid, but they refuse to pay unless a person is on one of their top packages (even with a prescription from my endocrinologist), in which case it is cheaper to buy the sensors oneself. I have heard that Discovery is more willing to pay, so that might be worth a try. I try buy one sensor a month (because it costs too much to get more) and that is still helpful in seeing the trends.