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My new Freestyle Libre - My findings...

Hi AndBreathe :¬)

You are right I had given up a few weeks ago (smash it up and jump up and down on it until I get blister) (hitch hikers guide to the galaxy) hehehe but still I was annoyed

But still this was only about an interesting thing I found
(if it had not happened I would not have even mentioned it :¬)

Also Its hard to give up on this tech totally - as we speak I have inserted sensor 4

sensor 1 complete fail
sensor 2 1 mmol low on average all 2 weeks (blood sticks used 28) 2 day
sensor 3 1.5 mmol higher on average all 2 weeks (blood sticks used 28 again)
sensor 4 activate tomorrow

Yes - in my opinion its a bit sad its all unrealistic but we are pioneers
But Blood testing sticks are laughable too

I am guessing by the time I am dead its all going to be excellent :¬)

nice weekend people :¬)

 

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Been a while since I posted here but interesting things started to happen on sensor 6

Nothings changed in my meds or life or food etc but I am starting to get night time drops below 3.9 mmol
it seems my body fights back fast but ...
Does anyone know how I can be getting drops like this at night time
(probably a stupid question as usual) :¬)

 
I saw dips like that when I put sensors on the side of my arm rather than on the back of it. I think it happens when you lie on the sensor and your interstitial fluid is pressured where the sensor is.
 
robert72 said:
I saw dips like that when I put sensors on the side of my arm rather than on the back of it. I think it happens when you lie on the sensor and your interstitial fluid is pressured where the sensor is.
Click to expand...

Ahhh thanks... that makes sense now :¬)
Even though I have done the back of my arm

I do remember waking up with a dead arm and doing a reading before going back to sleep
(small round circle)

Shame though
 
Ok seems this new sensor 6 is indeed susceptible to something when I sleep
(although its in the same place on my arm as all the rest was)

Seems I am getting 1-3 hypo warnings every night from it now
3.2mmol and as soon as I stand upright it goes up to 6.0 almost immediately

Shame this tech is so fickle but its still good if you read between the lines and get to know your sensors moods :¬)
 
Have you tried inserting the sensor on the front of the arm instead of the back or side? That way, you wouldnt be lying on it in bed. Also, I believe it can also be inserted on the top front of the leg or tummy so that's another option to try which should prevent pressure from mattress contact.
 
This is something that happens with non-lilbre sensors as well. It seems that when you apply pressure to the area where a sensor is it affects the amount/concentration of the interstitial fluid and generates a fake low.
 

Interesting idea :¬) I will check it out
as I have used this site before a few times maybe this time I hit a pocket of slightly different tissue
more sensitive to pressure :¬)

Thanks all
 
Are many of the Freestyle Libre users experiencing unreal numbers when comparing the readings to classic bg meter result?
Mine have so far been pretty spot on since sensor1 on day1.
 
Celsus said:
Are many of the Freestyle Libre users experiencing unreal numbers when comparing the readings to classic bg meter result?
Click to expand...
This is typically something you see when the sensor is going a bit nuts.
 
tim2000s said:
This is typically something you see when the sensor is going a bit nuts.
Click to expand...
Thank you - Maybe I have just been crazy lucky so far!?
All my readings from sensor1 till today have been pretty spot on.
Have not even bothered to compare now for months, since just the first read on a new sensor where I check if ok.
 
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****, spoke too soon - The new sensor I plugged this morning has gone nuts!
Been on Freestyle Libre since January, and not a single bad remark/observation till today.
It was time for a new sensor for me this Saturday morning. Changed it with a new on the other arm.
Initializing and waiting for 1 hour till first reading could be done. It was 4.7 mmol/l on my old meter (Accu Check Mobile), and displayed as 4.6 mmol/l on the Freestyle Libre. Small variance, but not a big deal really. Then just before lunch Freestyle Libre measured like 8.2mmol/l. Hmmm, so I checked with my old meter. It said 7.4mmol/l. Hmmm, OK I surely enjoyed my extended breakfast this morning, but had never seen such high discrepancy before in readings between Freestyle Libre and my old Accu Check Mobile. Then 3h post-lunch the Freestyle Libre said LO, checked with my old meter that said 4.1 mmol/l. Not so good, as just trusting the Libre would have made me take some carb. Did eat though a small snack. And now here just before dinner time the Libre again just said LO. Checked with the old meter, which said 5.6 mmol/l. Now, that does not work at all for me. As LO on Freestyle Libre should mean you are down around 2.3mmol/l or so, and you definitely need some carb to correct asap. Never had a bad sensor before. Any experience about it might come back and become good/trustworthy or is it straight into the bin with it? Do Abbott care to get feedback on this and will they e.g. replace?
Pretty annoying it only gave 1 good reading so far, just 'working' the first 3 hours after gone live, and now its junk.
Comments welcome!
 
You will most likely need to give those figures to Abbott. I have had 4 out of 17 replaced on the basis that they were too erratic to replace finger sticks but have not had one go constantly LO, which I'm fairly sure indicates failure.

If you take it off, don't discard it as Abbott will want it returned (they send prepaid packaging with the replacement sensor).
 
Thanks Robert, Will follow your advice and return it on Monday if still erratic by then!
For some reason it appears to have slowly started returning towards the correct bg value, so no longer just showing LO. It is for the moment now 'just' showing 1.2 mmol/l too low versus value I get when using my old Accu Check Mobile. Will post more about it tomorrow if observing further variation.

EDIT1: Last two measurements before going to sleep said:
"Sensor Error. Please try again in 10 minutes".

EDIT2: Reading first time this morning was spot on. Less than 0.2 mmol/l in difference to the AccuCheck Meter reading.

EDIT3: Now 1 week in, the sensor is still working, just reporting consistently 0.6mmol/l too low.

Anybody else that have experienced a nutty sensor becoming good?
 
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Hi all, it has been really interesting reading this thread. I am new to the freestyle libre and only put on my first sensor last night. However all my readings last night were in the 3's, when I was actually in the 5's! I thought I'd give it the benefit of the doubt and leave it on again for today, but it still appears to be giving unrealistic readings. Do I purservere with it a bit longer or remove it and try another? I'm wondering if I have put it a bit too much on the back of my arm instead of more on the side? I know a lot of this has been discussed, but any advice is appreciated, as I'm a bit unsure of what I am doing! Haha. Thanks.
 
My readings on the freestyle libre are just way out. The first sensor at first just gave continuos readings of 3's. The next day it did give other readings, but these were still way off from my usual finger prick test. I removed this sensor and put on another, but this one doesn't seem much better! Could it just be bad luck and the sensors I have are erratic, or maybe the sensors just aren't made for my body? I'm gutted as I feel I would really like using these, if they worked that is! Thanks.
 
Hi Tim,
Will Abbott offer a sensor replacement FOC if the sensor is 15% or more off the correct reading?
 
Hi Kerrin,
I have used it for 6+ months and never had a sensor being really bad off. That is, until last weekend, where for the first time ever I had a reader that started out reading so low that it just kept saying "LO". That despite old meter via fingerprick testing said my bg should be around 5-6 mmol/l. I left the sensor on (pls see my posting just above this). And within the following 36hours it came to life and got closer and closer to provide correct readings. It kept being a bit too low. After 3 days it no longer changed much, but remained like reading the bg 0.5 mmol/l lower than what it really is. I still will wear it, though ofcourse not ideal that you have to make a minor correct "in your head" every time you make the bg read. Still I find it worthwhile though, as it enables frequent reads without much hassle and also gives you insight into the bg trend and the actual bg measures during the time since last reading.
 
Celsus said:
Hi Tim,
Will Abbott offer a sensor replacement FOC if the sensor is 15% or more off the correct reading?
Click to expand...
If you can evidence multiple occurrences of large deviations and they are tested against the Optium strips then I've not had a problem with getting replacements.
 
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