I sincerely hope that Libre 3 is more accurate and reliable than Libre 2 when it arrives.
Hello.
As of this month, the Freestyle Libre 3 sensor can be prescribed in Italy through the National Health Service, but before I switched from FSL 1 to 3, I asked my endo for a test.
So I tested it for a fortnight, and these are the results of my experience, which I hope will be useful to others.
1- Reliability- FSL3 does not calibrate, so the value shown by the App is the one calculated by the sensor. The first two-three days were always 30-40% lower than those from BG and the calibrated ones from xDrip+ with FSL 1 and Miaomiao.
Then they became surprisingly VERY accurate, about 5-8% compared to BG, and this was the case until day 14. From this first test I would say that FSL 3 probably needs a longer settling-in period than the others, say at least a couple of days.
2- App Freestyle Libre 3- Unfortunately, although the new sensor is a jewel of technology, powerful, precise, tiny indeed, it has the usual problem: its App. While with xDrp+ and its variants I can have with FSL 1 and the Miaomiao a very efficient CGM system that can be configured at will by the user, the Libre 3 gives very little. For example the alarms: there are only 3, High, Low, Signal Lost, and all of them are not configurable except for the Min-Max threshold values. With xDrip+ you can choose from many alarms, including those for very fast descent/ascent, or alerts for calibration, for dirty values, for persistent high or low values, for predictions of low or high values, and so on. And finally, with xDrip it is possible to enter the amounts of CHO taken and the I.U. injected, and from this to obtain predictions of BG trends and 'Insulin on board'.
3- Graphics- Terribly poor, with various visibility problems, such as the lack of zoom, so you only have the curve for 12 hours, without being able to see the last three hours in detail for example. If the values are in range, the curve is white on a light green background, practically invisible in daylight. The alarms all sound the same, and cannot be replaced by others. The screen gives no other information, such as the calculated A1c value, although with all the free space it has it could show much more.
4- Diagnostics- Apart from the graphics, FSL 3 App gives a lot of indications, and this is important, but even here it could be done better, graphically..
After these two weeks of testing, I think that the FSL 3 and its App could be the turning point in the diabetic life of everyone who has used the FSL 1 and its App so far, without the need for sophistication. For those who, like me, instead use and appreciate the many options and possibilities offered by FSL 1 with Miaomiao and xDrip+, I consider FSL 3 unsuitable. At least until Abbott puts its apps in the hands of people who have experience with diabetes and graphics as well as Android and IOS programming.
My opinion, of course....
Andrea
