Libre on prescription

Sonnyb2 said:

Hate the libre... Love finger prick tests as the libre is 5 mins behind

Sonnyb2

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T1D fot 45 years. Started with urine tests then onto BG test. Done thousands of finger pricking in my time and HATE it with a vengence. Libre is amazing, now I only do 3 tests per day to bolus. From 8 - 10 per day and having limited feelings in the ends of my fingers, dry cracked skin as well. I would say the Libre is a god send.
How long have you been diabetic @Sonnyb2 and how long testing BG's with finger pricking??

Been T1 for around 40 years and been self funding the Libre since it came out, would not be without it now last night my sensor expired whist on a night out, so what did I do when I got home at 3am drunk as a skunk, yep pulled the old off and stuck the new one on!!!!!

NewTD2 said:

I’m proud of you for being T1 and a pilot!

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Thanks very much! A little bit of forward planning and it's easily safe and achievable!

49 years and counting. I started with the drops of urine & water into a test tube adding a reagent tablet watching it boil and fizz, colour dark blue to orange, good to bad. Removing my glass & stainless steel syringe from a metal tube container filled with surgical spirit, boiling it, poking a thin wire through the huge reusable, re assembling it then injecting soluble insulin (bovine). I eagerly moved along with the great improvements in treatment of our ailment. I was not always on the right side of the balancing scale, to my detriment.
Freestyle Libre has liberated me, but at a cost. I live in Scotland, my local Health Board are still deliberating over the ‘cost effectiveness’ of this truly outstanding aid to my treatment. I still work and pay my taxes and wish to do so for several more years, this CGM undoubtedly is helping me maintain good control. N

nasim said:

I live in Scotland, my local Health Board are still deliberating over the ‘cost effectiveness’ of this truly outstanding aid to my treatment. I

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You might not have too much longer to wait, Nasim.

A lot of the health boards have been waiting for the Scottish Health Technology Group to report on libre effectiveness before making a final decision.

NHS Scotland is required to consider, but not necessarily follow, SHTG advice.

It issued an Advice Statement a couple of weeks ago, recommending libre for anyone on insulin, as it was both clinically and cost effective.

Link to the statement here, which has a link in it to the Evidence Note setting out details of their research:

http://www.healthcareimprovementsco...dvice_statements/advice_statement_009-18.aspx

The boards are not obliged to follow the advice, merely consider it, but seeing as their stated positions have been that they were awaiting the report, and seeing as Forth Valley, Lothian and Glasgow are now happily prescribing to pretty much anyone who wants it, it would be very surprising if the other boards in Scotland didn't fall into line.

It happened very quickly in Lothian. It's only a matter of time.

The trouble is, for the NHS to really take this on Libre needs to be more consistent and they need to sort out the allergy problem that hundreds of us have. You get lured into the joy of it for 6 months and then Wham! Uncontrollable itching and weeping sores when you take it off. And guess what Abbott are not interested.
Sorry feeling cross!

Trouble is , its all it's post code lottery or should I say penny pinching?

EllieM said:

I got 8 months before this happened for me. And I'd live with the itching if it wasn't combined with completely erratic results (eg continuous LO when you're running at 8). I'd love to know the statistics on people for whom the libre completely fails - it's for sure that Abbott won't tell us.

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I joined aFacebook page Libre rash. It is rife! It also seems to be that it usually occurs 6 months plus in. People are desperate and trying all sorts.

I got my libre about 7 weeks ago now and prior to libre my HbA1c was 68 ay last hospital appointment. Just uploaded my libre information and according to the stats my HbA1c for past 14 days is 53. I have never been anywhere near that level in my life, I have always ran around high 60 mid 70's

Think its a combination of putting lots of effort in, weigh food, going on a low carb diet and testing very regularly with libre, up to 20 times a day. I am now making correction doses where appropriate, something I never really did in my previous 37 years

I think having such valuable information helps us make decisions that suit us and our diabetes

So for me its a big thumbs up for the libre