Life with Libre

[maglil55]

After a fair bit of thought and research I decided to take the plunge and have a go with the Libre sensor. I thought it might be useful to record my thoughts in one place in case anyone else was thinking about it.
I had a few misgivings but my main concern was it would fall off as I spend a couple of hours in a swimming pool 3 or 4 times a week which is well beyond their 30 mins maximum. With that in mind I decided I have to tape the sensor. I eventually went for Opsite transparent tape but I put some gauze over the sensor so that the Opsite is sticking to my arm not the sensor.
I ordered direct from freestyle and have to say the order was processed and arrived quickly. Yesterday I made sure I read everything and that I was happy with what I had to do. Today I waited until the afternoon when my BG is pretty stable, had a shower , made sure I was nice and dry then used the medicated wipe.
As suggested I picked the back of my arm. Being left handed I went for the right arm. If I'm honest I would have preferred to fix it to the abdominal area but I followed the instructions.
It was straightforward enough. I did find the applicator difficult to open but that was probably because I didn't want to damage it. Opened the sterile pack with the sensor , lined up the black indicator lines and very tentatively pressed down to attach the sensor to the applicator.
It contains a needle - yes it does. Very much like a long Lancet needle and that's going to be such in me for 14 days? Told myself not to be silly , put the applicator in place and pressed down. There is an advantage to bingo wings - I didn't feel a thing.
Next step is to remove the applicator. Easier said than done as I'd managed to nip some of my skin into it. A bit of gentle extraction later I freed my skin and the applicator without detaching the now stuck sensor.
With Hubby's help I applied gauze and Opsite to ensure it stayed put. I'm leaving it quietly in place until tomorrow afternoon and will activate it.
Once I got over being tentative it was surprisingly easy and painless to attach. Just hoping activation is as problem free tomorrow.

 

[Brunneria]

Interestingly, most of my sensor applications are completely painless too. But occasionally I get a brief pain. Closest thing to a bee sting. Fades after a few seconds. And the sensors that hurt like that seem to be the most accurate ones. I wonder if I have hit a nerve or a blood vessel or something to cause the pain? No idea. The majority of sensor applications are completely painless.

 

[Chook]

Good luck with it @maglil55. It will be interesting to find out what happens to you BG over night and the beginnings of that pesky DP issue.

(Its nice that bingo wings are useful for something. )

 

[Lorraine1973]

I trialed the Libre whilst i was on the DAFNE course. The price put me off abit, being a single mum of 3 money is tight. But after reading other peoples thoughts on it on here i think i might give it another go.

 

[TheBigNewt]

How much does it cost may I ask?

 

[Lorraine1973]

£40 to £50 for the sensors. I got the monitor free, think they are about £60 x

 

[maglil55]

How much does it cost may I ask?

I paid £48.29 for each sensor - VAT exempt. I didn't buy the reader as I am going to use the App I've downloaded to my android mobile. They also do a starter pack that has the reader plus 2 sensors which is £160 ( £128 excluding VAT). To me the reader was another sensor cost wise and seemed unnecessary when the App will do the same job.

 

[Scott-C]

Very much like a long Lancet needle and that's going to be such in me for 14 days?

It is a big needle, isn't it, more like a harpoon!

But don't worry, the needle pops in, leaves the sensor filament in place, then the needle comes back out and is hidden away inside the applicator. The needle isn't inside your arm, just the sensor filament, which is a short flexible piece of plastic.

Best of luck with it, it's a great piece of kit!

 

[Chook]

@maglil55 How's it going? Have you activated it yet??

 

[maglil55]

@maglil55 How's it going? Have you activated it yet??

I have. The disadvantage of the back of the arm is you cannot read what's on your phone's screen. Fine if you are familiar with it but for a first timer you want to know you are doing the right thing.
First thing I did was turn all the volumes up as I usually keep them off. Checked that NFC was on to read the sensor. I wasn't sure if the sensor would find the signal to activate through the case I have my mobile in so I removed it, put the back of the mobile against the sensor, waited for the 3 beeps, tried to read it upside down and realised it was started and was on its 1 hour countdown to be ready for use.
No 2 Grandson has spotted it and is calling it my secret sugar thing.
All in all it has been very simple and I'm actually looking forward to getting more information although I think my theory of it scaring the Dawn Phenomenon may have merit after this morning's reading.

 

[maglil55]

It is a big needle, isn't it, more like a harpoon!

But don't worry, the needle pops in, leaves the sensor filament in place, then the needle comes back out and is hidden away inside the applicator. The needle isn't inside your arm, just the sensor filament, which is a short flexible piece of plastic.

Best of luck with it, it's a great piece of kit!

I agree - I was surprised when I saw it and must admit I am happy to know I won't spend the next 2 weeks stuck with it!

 

[maglil55]

OK countdown is done and the scanner is working. I've discovered it will scan through the leather case on my mobile so that's good. A few question though.
1) I did a finger prick before the 1st test and got 6.6. Waited 10 mins and did the 1st scan on the sensor and got 7.3.
Have I got this the right way around? Is it blood, wait , scan or scan, wait , blood?
I expected it to be different but that's a fair difference.
2) does it just take time to settle? I.e are the first few scans normally out?
I appreciate it is all about the trend but that seems quite a gap.

 

[Deleted Account]

If anyone is interested in trying the Libre, I strongly recommend asking your HCP for a free trial. Mine was able to arrange one for a group of us. £50 per sensor plus the cost of the receiver is a lot to pay to find out you don't like it and as Freestyle are trying to push it, they seem happy to give free trials.
After my trial, I decided it was not for me as I found the Libre results differed greatly from my finger prick, the first sensor fell off and it was uncomfortable for the three weeks I wore one (each sensor lasts 2 weeks and I was able to get a second because the first fell off after 1 week). But others have had more positive experience: clearly a personal opinion.

 

[maglil55]

And now it is scanning low....not a little bit low 4.1 low. Me 4.1 ??? No Way! I was 6.1 according to the finger pricker. I'll see what happens over the next few hours but currently the only trend is it's all over the place.

 

[Bluetit1802]

You got it right. Finger prick, wait 10 to 15m., scan. However, I find mine runs nearer 15 to 20 minutes behind. My current sensor varies between spot on and 1mmol/l difference. Always lower. But what I find is each sensor is consistent in its own readings. By this I mean if it says you were 2 mmol/l higher post meal, that 2mmol/l is likely to be accurate no matter how silly the actual readings are.

 

[maglil55]

You got it right. Finger prick, wait 10 to 15m., scan. However, I find mine runs nearer 15 to 20 minutes behind. My current sensor varies between spot on and 1mmol/l difference. Always lower. But what I find is each sensor is consistent in its own readings. By this I mean if it says you were 2 mmol/l higher post meal, that 2mmol/l is likely to be accurate no matter how silly the actual readings are.

I follow the sense of what you are saying and I could live with the variation if there was some consistency to it but it is swinging between too high or too low and realistic figures inbetween. The only thing it's telling me is I'm 100% within range which is true it's just it's range is broader than the one I'm really in.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Give it chance to settle. You may have been better to plump for the reader. I find the downloadable 15 miunute logs invaluable and I'm not sure you can do this with the app.

 

[Mbaker]

Hi @maglil55 I have tried both the Reader and Android App. I have to say I am disappointed as the readings only occasionally are almost the same as my Onetouch Select Plus; it seems that I am not the only one to experience this.

Having said that, Glimp reads closer to my finger tester, so I will give it another go.

 

[RichardDS]

After a fair bit of thought and research I decided to take the plunge and have a go with the Libre sensor. I thought it might be useful to record my thoughts in one place in case anyone else was thinking about it.
I had a few misgivings but my main concern was it would fall off as I spend a couple of hours in a swimming pool 3 or 4 times a week which is well beyond their 30 mins maximum. With that in mind I decided I have to tape the sensor. I eventually went for Opsite transparent tape but I put some gauze over the sensor so that the Opsite is sticking to my arm not the sensor.
I ordered direct from freestyle and have to say the order was processed and arrived quickly. Yesterday I made sure I read everything and that I was happy with what I had to do. Today I waited until the afternoon when my BG is pretty stable, had a shower , made sure I was nice and dry then used the medicated wipe.
As suggested I picked the back of my arm. Being left handed I went for the right arm. If I'm honest I would have preferred to fix it to the abdominal area but I followed the instructions.
It was straightforward enough. I did find the applicator difficult to open but that was probably because I didn't want to damage it. Opened the sterile pack with the sensor , lined up the black indicator lines and very tentatively pressed down to attach the sensor to the applicator.
It contains a needle - yes it does. Very much like a long Lancet needle and that's going to be such in me for 14 days? Told myself not to be silly , put the applicator in place and pressed down. There is an advantage to bingo wings - I didn't feel a thing.
Next step is to remove the applicator. Easier said than done as I'd managed to nip some of my skin into it. A bit of gentle extraction later I freed my skin and the applicator without detaching the now stuck sensor.
With Hubby's help I applied gauze and Opsite to ensure it stayed put. I'm leaving it quietly in place until tomorrow afternoon and will activate it.
Once I got over being tentative it was surprisingly easy and painless to attach. Just hoping activation is as problem free tomorrow.

The needle does not stay in you, it retracts out, it is used to deliver the sensor strip, which is thin and flexible. The needle runs through the back of the sensor, the groove in it picks up the sensor strip and delivers it under your skin. I was puzzled by the complexity of it all, so pulled all the parts apart, it is all very cleverly design, I think :¬)

 

[Scott-C]

does it just take time to settle? I.e are the first few scans normally out?

Yes, it can take time to settle. When you insert it the needle causes slight damage, just like poking any sort of needle in would do, and the sensor filament itself is regarded as a foreign body, and those two things start a range of bodily repair/ defence mechanisms, which eat glucose so will often show an artificially low glucose reading in that area until things settle down. The filament also needs to bed in.

Your earlier posts suggest you waited for a day before activating to allow the damage to settle, and that was a good idea, it often works, some insert 48 hours before, others are fine with 12 hours.

Don't rush to judge it too quickly, it might just take a bit longer to settle.

You'll never get the same readings from meter and libre: they are measuring different things, and they both have their own inaccuracies. It's mainly down to biology, and you can't change that, but they both have their uses once you figure out how to make sense of the differences.

Most of mine have run a bit low, but consistently, so it's easy enough to say libre says x so meter probably says y.

Some have been way out, Abbot are usually ok about replacing really dodgy ones, but sometimes it's a case of taking the rough with the smooth.