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Libre questions

localshop

localshop

Well-Known Member
Messages
77
I was just speaking to a colleague who uses a pump and a CGM. He funds the CGM himself as the Libre is only a flash monitor, and he said that even when people have a Libre fitted they still need to do finger prick tests at least once a day for calibration purposes. He also said that the Libre isn't accepted by insurers as a good enough test to do before driving which surprises me. Can anyone shed any light please?
 
localshop said:
I was just speaking to a colleague who uses a pump and a CGM. He funds the CGM himself as the Libre is only a flash monitor, and he said that even when people have a Libre fitted they still need to do finger prick tests at least once a day for calibration purposes. He also said that the Libre isn't accepted by insurers as a good enough test to do before driving which surprises me. Can anyone shed any light please?
Click to expand...

The libre does not need calibrating at all, however its wise to check that it is staying fairly accurate as they can go wrong, also it is highly inaccurate when low and has a 15 min delay so when treating hypos you need to blood test to get accurate results.
Some of the systems do need calibration with blood tests, the Libre does not.

If you are in the UK, the DVLA will accept libre reading for testing before driving now (I don't think the insurers care as long as DVLA are happy - though I could be wrong ) - see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/diabetes-mellitus-assessing-fitness-to-drive and go to the 'Interstitial glucose monitoring systems' section of that page for more details.
 
localshop said:
I was just speaking to a colleague who uses a pump and a CGM. He funds the CGM himself as the Libre is only a flash monitor, and he said that even when people have a Libre fitted they still need to do finger prick tests at least once a day for calibration purposes. He also said that the Libre isn't accepted by insurers as a good enough test to do before driving which surprises me. Can anyone shed any light please?
Click to expand...

I would go with the info that @Rokaab has provided. It is up to date.

The Freestyle Libre has been around a few years now. 4? 5? and in that time it has gone from having a new-and-unknown reputation where it used not to be used for insulin calculations, to being assessed and approved by the NHS and being accepted by the DVLA.

So your colleague probably hasn't updated his info since he first made up his mind about it years ago. ;)
 
thak you both! TBH I don't want a pump and the Libre seems good enough for me. If the DVLA are happy with it then so am I :)
 
localshop said:
I was just speaking to a colleague who uses a pump and a CGM. He funds the CGM himself as the Libre is only a flash monitor, and he said that even when people have a Libre fitted they still need to do finger prick tests at least once a day for calibration purposes. He also said that the Libre isn't accepted by insurers as a good enough test to do before driving which surprises me. Can anyone shed any light please?
Click to expand...

There are many complaints on this Forum about Libre readings not matching BG tests.

My personal experience is that the agreement with a BG test (test BG then read the sensor 15-20 minutes afterwards) changes over the two week period and that different sensors can read either high or low.

The Abbott supplied software does not, as far as I can tell, calibrate against a finger prick.

If you use 3rd party software such as Glimp, that reportedly has the ability to calibrate against finger prick tests and can then give more accurate results. However I have never made the effort to understand the more complicated user interface.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
If you use 3rd party software such as Glimp, that reportedly has the ability to calibrate against finger prick tests and can then give more accurate results. However I have never made the effort to understand the more complicated user interface.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Calibrating using Glimp (my read rap of choice.) isn't too tricky in my opinion. Link to user manual here. https://www.deebee.it/?p=1411

& yes, DVLA are cool with the Libre. @localshop . You arn't a "league of gentlemen fan," are you? ;)
 
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