Libre

Yes, they lag 10-15 minutes behind blood, it takes longer for glucose to get into the interstitial fluid that the Libre is measuring

It depends, if you can a small nerve or blood vessel then yes it will probably ache a little
xx

CC1 said:

Hey guys, so one year in (t1/lada, they arebt quite sure) been on insulin a year, hit a bit of a brick wall mentally with it all and got the ok for libre trial. Libre now on. Bit addicted and constantly scanning its a little bit behind blood pricking. Questions:
Will libra always have a time lag?
Does your arm ache a little after new libre insertion.
Thanks all. Worrying a lot.

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Hi there, as already mentioned, yes it will always have a time lag and sometimes your arm will ache. Having said that, I love it. I was scanning it a gazillion times a day at first but after a few weeks I calmed down. x

When you first put it on, Abbott's recommend you leave it 8 hours before using. I put it on the day before.

Does your arm ache?
Hmmm...after using my left arm for my last two Libres I have the current one (awaiting activation) on my right arm.
Can't feel it but my brain thinks I have one on my left arm.
Go figure.

It can be so useful and I find it helps if I’m out busy or feeling anxious to just be able to scan and see a number. I did also find it had the opposite effect when the numbers I was seeing weren’t in my range at all! I self fund every now and then as I don’t seem to be able to get one on prescription? I think they are mostly useful for spotting trends and patterns. Like what’s happening in the night...or after exercise...so you don’t have to finger prick fifty times hehe. It’ll be behind actual levels so if you are unsure, like you see a low and wonder whether to treat the I’d do a finger test to see, sometimes very similar sometimes not at all!

I wore a libre for six months and here is what I found. Most started out reading a bit high, after 2 or 3 days I get a bit of an itch and the redings go down so most of the time, it reads 10 low about. Imhad two malfunctions in 6 months. Started out for short tome just fine then went like I must be dead low.

so I had to get used to calibrating with a regular meter. That too is calibrated with the proper fluids.

I founf the Libre to be great for relative reading and so very educational, but I would not trust them to be accurate. I think like the rest of diabetes care they are terrified of hypoglycemia so they aim for a reading that is a bit lower than reality.

only ripped one off on a door jamb. I had to be conscious in the shower to be careful.

really liked it, probably going to buy an occasional one, insurance won’t cover mine anymore because I’m off all meds.

I had the opportunity to try the Libre about a year ago. It was great. Helped me pin point my dawn effect (2am surge).
There was some slight tenderness when first inserted but it subsided reasonably quickly.

I've been meaning to contact my insurer to see if they still cover them as I'd like to get one again. Really liked not having to prick test to get detailed BGs. The only think is I wish they would make them concave so they were less likely to get caught in straps or door jambs etc.

I've been using the Libre full time for about 2 years now and don't know that I could ever go back to just finger pricks. As others have said, yes there is always a slight lag with the interstitial measurements but if in doubt I take a normal measurement to check that the way that the Libre is trending matches.
The tenderness when inserting it is pretty variable. Sometimes mine aches a little sometimes it doesn't but I certainly wouldn't worry about it. The only real problem I've had is that on one occasion I hit a blood vessel when inserting it. Had to remove it and throw it away.
The Libre can be slightly inaccurate (~5-10%), particularly at the upper and lower extremities of BG range. I would recommend making a normal measurement at least every 2 or 3 days to compare. This is best done during a time when your BG is not changing much. I'm not sure if the Libre meter or app will then adjust the reported reading but I use a different app that shows an adjusted measurement which I find very helpful.
One of the best benefits for me is being able to modify my carb intake based on our my body is responding. I tend to have a quite variable response depending on the type of carbs and my exercise level etc so I'm never fully certain that I've got my insulin dosage right. With the Libre it's very easy to check after eating and then adjust accordingly.