Thanks
@Jaylee for the tag
Hi
@tan800 I’m type 2 (unmedicated) and using the Freestyle Libre in preference to finger pricking at the moment. Although use of the Libre started once I’d pretty much figured out what I could and couldn’t eat and gone very low carb, it has proved to be very useful in identifying things that wouldn’t get picked up with finger pricking. A few examples are below.
I should add that I did have quite a vigorous finger pricking routine - on waking, before and after every meal and before and after any defined exercise (i.e.something more than my usual walking to and from a to b, which is fairly substantial in itself), so I’m not just comparing the Libre to the odd finger test here and there.
- My peak post meal BG level is never at the 1 hour mark and fairly often not the 2 hour mark either (likely because of the fat content of my meals).
- Some foods cause a ‘double’ spike - i.e they rise, fall and then rise again.
- Some foods that I may have thought ok if just finger pricking are not. A good example would be last summer on holiday in New York, when walking past an ice cream/chocolate shop that I’d always assumed to be out of bounds, I spotted some 100% chocolate in the window. On further inspection they had sorbet made from 82% chocolate and ice cream made from 75% chocolate. I needed no second invitation. After 1 hour, BG was down. After 2, within an acceptable limit for such an item. After 3, well, higher than I ever like to go. I did choose to eat it again, but at least that was in full knowledge of the consequences.
Above all, I love the freedom of the Libre. So much easier to pull the reader out of my pocket while out and about and wave it at my arm than to find somewhere to stop and test more conventionally (ever tried doing a finger prick test with no surface to rest on in high winds while walking along a canal?!)
In short, if you’re interested and have the means, I’d give it a shot. One last point, the Libre readings are usually lower (in my case by about half - 1mmol) but the overall trends are just as valid.