Type 2 Libre always low.

[Yvonnie]

Hi
I’m a new user, on my second sensor
The sensors are continually giving me lower readings. I wait 12 minutes after checking my blood to scan.
This has been happening since day 1.
I rang abbot last week and they sent me a replacement sensor.
I waited 24 hours before scanning a new sensor and it’s still giving me low readings.

I’m almost about to give up, I’ve never pricked my finger so many times!

Please can anyone advise what I might be doing wrong - I’m at my wits end.

(T2 20 years, MDI - Levemir AM and PM & Novorapid)

 

[philly1991]

When you say lower readings how much lower are we talking? Mine are always slightly different but not usually enough to change how I would treat my readings.

 

[xfieldok]

I always assume a 20 minute lag with the libre. And I never believe it under 4.

 

[Antje77]

How much lower are they reading?
Mine have consistently (over 3 years) read lower than blood by 0.8 to 2 mmol/l. This is within the margin of error that is allowed. If the difference is much bigger, give Abbott a call before you remove the sensor. They'll want you to do a couple more test and if it's faulty they'll replace without a problem.

If 1 or 2 mmol/l is about the difference you're seeing, it's just the way it is. I find it very annoying and I still average 3 or 4 fingerpricks a day but still the advantages are very much worth it for me.

 

[Yvonnie]

The variations are between 1 and 3 mmol lower.

I use a freestyle insulinx and use it to calculate my novorapid.

I’m also staring to question the accuracy of my BG meter

This is all starting to get too stressful and just adding to my burnout.
I thought the libre was supposed to help

 

[Jaylee]

Hi
I’m a new user, on my second sensor
The sensors are continually giving me lower readings. I wait 12 minutes after checking my blood to scan.
This has been happening since day 1.
I rang abbot last week and they sent me a replacement sensor.
I waited 24 hours before scanning a new sensor and it’s still giving me low readings.

I’m almost about to give up, I’ve never pricked my finger so many times!

Please can anyone advise what I might be doing wrong - I’m at my wits end.

(T2 20 years, MDI - Levemir AM and PM & Novorapid)

Hi,

Are you scanning using your phone? If so? There is a free app (free when I got it.) called "Glimp" which can calibrate the Libre readings to your BG meter.
You then simply scan using Glimp.

 

[KK123]

My theory is that they are designed to read towards the 'lower' end, that way there is a built in buffer that makes people correct (with carbs) when in actual fact they are around the 5/6 level but think they are around 4. I take account of this personally but it is a pain with regard to their absolute accuracy. I get that nothing can be 100% accurate (whether it's a glucose meter or whatever) but with the libre, I think this is exactly how they have designed it. x

 

[KK123]

How much lower are they reading?
Mine have consistently (over 3 years) read lower than blood by 0.8 to 2 mmol/l. This is within the margin of error that is allowed. If the difference is much bigger, give Abbott a call before you remove the sensor. They'll want you to do a couple more test and if it's faulty they'll replace without a problem.

If 1 or 2 mmol/l is about the difference you're seeing, it's just the way it is. I find it very annoying and I still average 3 or 4 fingerpricks a day but still the advantages are very much worth it for me.

Hi Antje77, I know you're not in the UK so do you have any issues getting the amount of test strips you may need? Since getting the libre in the UK, my strips are now dished out at around 50 strips 'per 1 to 2 months'. x

 

[searley]

All glucose meters are not accurate there is a 15% tolerance and anywhere within that 15% is considered acceptable.

The higher your glucose level the bigger that difference show for example. 10mmol. Could show anywhere between 8.5 and 11.5 and still be considered correct

The libre has never been considered as accurate which is why the DVLA in the uk has only recently approved it for driving blood tests but NOT for HGV

Don’t get too hung up by the slight differences in numbers you are more interested whether you are in the right ball park and what the trend is.. not sure about now but even the libre literature used to say not to be used for treatment decisions

 

[Antje77]

This is all starting to get too stressful and just adding to my burnout.
I thought the libre was supposed to help

It is supposed to help, but if it really does make burnout and anxiety bigger for you it might be you do better without.
On the other hand, why not give it some time to see if you can get used to it, including it's annoying quirks?
Wish you all the best!

Hi Antje77, I know you're not in the UK so do you have any issues getting the amount of test strips you may need? Since getting the libre in the UK, my strips are now dished out at around 50 strips 'per 1 to 2 months'. x

Yes, I will have issues in the future with test strips. I've self funded Libre for 3 years and just last week got my first batch of funded Libres . (They have been funded for everyone on MDI/pump since last december, but smartypants me has had friends bulk-buying sensors in France where they are cheaper, not expecting our government would decide on funding suddenly quicker than expected).

In the Netherlands without a Libre you get 400 strips every 3 months (and more with a letter from your HCP if needed) but if you get the Libre funded you only get 50 every 3 months, not nearly enough for me.
If needed I'll self-fund strips in the future, after finding out what the cheapest brand is here. Possibly I'll have to resort to Chinese webshops.
For now, smartypants me is covered, thanks to friends and friendly strangers on Facebook, and it looks like it will stay that way for a while. Not how it should be but 'nood breekt wet' as we say here.

My theory is that they are designed to read towards the 'lower' end

I've felt the same, but I've also heard from many people how accurate it is. I think the proof is in the predicted hba1c versus the real one, many people tell how they're very close. For me has been off by 8 mmol/mol every time, perfectly correlating with an average difference of 1.3 mmol/l in bg.

 

[Bill_St]

Try looking at this British Medical Journal article on Medical measurements.
You can select HbA1c and see just how “inaccurate” that can be - also Glucose - and these are for Hospital laboratory tests!
Home tests whether with BGM or Libre will be even less “accurate”.

Comparisons with different systems just compounds differences.
Much easier just to stick to one and just trust it as we always used to do whether with blood or urine.
The big advantage of Libre is that it takes multiple measurements, one every minute although it only displays every 15min.
That allows you to interpret the values using the changes -using the graph - try a fingerprick every minute!

https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m149?