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Libre Allergy?

ChrissiStar

ChrissiStar

Well-Known Member
Messages
90
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Please forgive me if this has been asked/answered before but I have searched and Googled and not found anything.

I was just wondering if anyone has come across someone being completely allergic to the Libre? I’m not talking about the adhesive as I found plenty on that, what I am asking is being completely allergic to it, body rejecting it and just feeling generally awful since starting using it?

I did ask my GP last week and he hadn’t heard of it, but couldn’t rule it out, so I left mine out for a few days and started feeling better, to the point I thought I was over whatever this infection is last night as I managed a proper dinner (oven baked salmon and steamed veg) and snacks! I took my previous sensor off on Thursday and because I was due to drive today I fired a new one in yesterday evening and BAM woke up this morning feeling like death again.

I’m at the stage I’m possibly very much clutching at straws, but I have now felt grim for two solid weeks, my appetite is almost non-existent, I have lost 7lbs this week alone (luckily I have it to lose and wanted to lose weight anyway, but not as drastically as this!), I feel like my life is on hold until we find out what is causing it and I’m just wanting to get back to work, back to routine and I just want to feel normal again. I have had two visits to the GP for a check over, a trip to the hospital MAU for blood tests (which came back only slightly elevated white cell count at 11.7) and a few hours of monitoring and was discharged the same evening.
 
My guess is that you may be allergic to the filament, though googling doesn't tell me what it's made of. But I also wouldn't rule out an allergy to the glue giving you an all body reaction.

There's a fascinating article low about the prevalence of skin conditions (scarily high)
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/dia.2018.0080

There's also a scary thread here about reactions to the libre

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/freestyle-libre-poll-have-you-had-a-skin-reaction.77681/

Post number 89 is particularly scary.

Do you have any known allergies eg metals used in jewellery etc?

Just curious, I gave up on the libre when the allergy made the results completely inaccurate/inconsistant. Are you getting good results from it? There's a 15 minute gap between the libre and a glucometer, BTW (the libre result lags behind).

Good luck.
 
EllieM said:
My guess is that you may be allergic to the filament, though googling doesn't tell me what it's made of. But I also wouldn't rule out an allergy to the glue giving you an all body reaction.

There's a fascinating article low about the prevalence of skin conditions (scarily high)
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/dia.2018.0080

There's also a scary thread here about reactions to the libre

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/freestyle-libre-poll-have-you-had-a-skin-reaction.77681/

Post number 89 is particularly scary.

Do you have any known allergies eg metals used in jewellery etc?

Just curious, I gave up on the libre when the allergy made the results completely inaccurate/inconsistant. Are you getting good results from it? There's a 15 minute gap between the libre and a glucometer, BTW (the libre result lags behind).

Good luck.
Click to expand...

That’s what we were thinking, allergic to the filament rather than the adhesive and my body is fighting it every time I put one in. I’m going to keep this one in as long as I can to see how it goes as I am getting really accurate results from it - anything between 4-9 is spot on or at worst 0.3 difference between the Libre and my finger tests. I’m crossing everything that I’m not allergic to it as it’s a fantastic gadget and I love being able to see exactly what is going on.

The only other allergy I have (that I know of) is garlic, I’m pretty hardy otherwise! Would be handy to find out what the filament is made of, but like you I can’t find out, despite a fair bit of detective work.

Thanks for those links, very interesting reading indeed and post 89 on that thread is horrific, what a horrible reaction to take!
 
ChrissiStar said:
despite a fair bit of detective work.
Click to expand...

I take it you've asked Abbott? Their usual official response appears to be to deny there is an issue, tell you to talk to a doctor about allergies, and then offer a free replacement for the malfunctioning sensor. But if they told you what was in the sensor you could probably get a test to see if you have a problem with it. And you're not a standard skin reaction complainant, so maybe they'll answer you honestly.:)

Good luck. It's promising that you are getting good results from the system.
 
My hospital team said filament allergy is a known thing. Something to do with the chemicals on it. It is being researched by Abbott apparently, but they are not expecting answers any time soon.
 
EllieM said:
I take it you've asked Abbott? Their usual official response appears to be to deny there is an issue, tell you to talk to a doctor about allergies, and then offer a free replacement for the malfunctioning sensor. But if they told you what was in the sensor you could probably get a test to see if you have a problem with it. And you're not a standard skin reaction complainant, so maybe they'll answer you honestly.:)

Good luck. It's promising that you are getting good results from the system.
Click to expand...

Spoke to them again today and they completely deny any allergy issues, according to the chap I spoke with no one has been allergic to them at all! One quick Google search or look on here proves otherwise. Tried to get it out of him what the filament is made from but he kept telling me to consult an HCP, so I gave up and promptly ripped the **** thing out of my arm.
 
ChrissiStar said:
Spoke to them again today and they completely deny any allergy issues, according to the chap I spoke with no one has been allergic to them at all! One quick Google search or look on here proves otherwise. Tried to get it out of him what the filament is made from but he kept telling me to consult an HCP, so I gave up and promptly ripped the **** thing out of my arm.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't expect anyone on the end of consumer help line to know what materials a medical device is made from as they will be remote from the engineering and design activities. I imagine that the material and its coating are intrinsic to the proper functioning of the device and the company wouldn't disclose intellectual property of that nature over the phone anyway. It's not shown on the Material Safety Data Sheet although they claim to have assessed biocompatibility (not very well it seems).
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf15/p150021b.pdf (see page 15/16).

You may well find the filament materials buried somewhere in patent applications but as Freestyle has over 100 patents on it you'll need a considerable portion of free time and a big mug of tea.

To be fair to the individual, he may also have been instructed not to admit liability in any way, shape or form. In this increasingly litigious world that we inhabit, any admissions could lead to million dollar law suits. Looking around the web, there are the odd whispers on various forums about class actions in the US although I don't get the feeling it's gaining any real momentum.
 
@urbanracer I completely understand and I didn’t really expect to get the information out of them, but I thought ‘well you don’t ask, you don’t get’ but it was more him just repeating his script over and over and his denial of any issues that got on my nerves.

That MSDS sheet is an interesting read though, even more so after the phonecall this afternoon.
 
When I googled safety information for the libre, I found an interesting page on the US site

https://www.freestylelibre.us/safety-information.html

Some individuals may be sensitive to the adhesive that keeps the Sensor attached to the skin. If you notice significant skin irritation around or under your Sensor, remove the Sensor and stop using the FreeStyle Libre System. Contact your health care professional before continuing to use the FreeStyle Libre System.

So they'll admit to issues in the US (presumably because if they didn't they'd be more at risk of litigation?) but not elsewhere..... (Or at least, I couldn't find any mention on the UK site).
 
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