My question is, as a newbie, what do I need to know about Libre 2? I see people using different apps? Does it monitor continuously and automatically or do need to scan multiple times per day?
Any info would be good, I don’t want to waste money.
My understanding is, with the latest NICE guidelines, everyone treated with insulin (at least in the UK) is entitled to Libre. You should not be treated as a second class citizan because you have type 2 diabetes.
Libre (and other CGMs) have been brilliant for me. I am an Android user so will leave someone else to comment about iPhone compatibility.
However, it is very important to understand the limitations of all CGMs. Take a read around the fourth because these have been mentioned again and again. Although Abbott (who manufacture the Libre won’t tell you). The key things off the top of my head are
- some of us find our bodies take a day or two to acclimatise to having an alien object embedded in our arm. Whilst we cannot feel it, it can affect the readings it reports. Therefore, it is common to apply the sensor a day or two before activating it.
- Libre are factory calibrated to be most accurate at “normal“ levels. Therefore, it is recommended to test highs and lows with a finger prick before treating.
- if you apply pressure to a sensor, it will report a false low reading. These are often referred to as Compression Lows and are most likely to occur at night when you accidentally lie on them as you turn over in your sleep. Careful placement can minimise this
- sensors read interstitial fluid which reacts about 15 minutes behind blood to register blood sugar changes. Libre accommodates this by extrapolating the current trend to “predict “ the current value. This can result in some oddities when your trend changes direction in the last 15 minutes such as when treating a hypo. The change of direction of trend will take longer to register so Libre may report going lower than really happens. Then it will overwrite the low when it catches up.
- some people just do not get on with them. You will find many threads and complaints about its inaccuracy not Sticking or not lasting the full 15 days. Abbott are very good at replacing them when you report this but it is still frustrating when it happens. However, the quiet majority experience very few of these issues.
Libre monitors continuously. It stores 8 hours of data in memory on the sensor. Scanning transfers this data to your reader or phone app. Therefore, you need to scan at least every 8 hours to get all data. Scanning uses the NFC feature (the thing used for Apple Pay) on your phone.
Libre 2 has an alarm which uses Bluetooth. This tells your phone to alarm if your levels are higher or lower than your target range. You can set the target. Many of us set the lower limit above 4 so we can treat a potential hypo before reaching it.
if you are technically minded, there are unofficial apps such as xDrip, Shuggah and Diabox which can “hijack” the Bluetooth signal. This contains the reading. The advantage of these apps is that you do not have to scan. The extra advantage is that they use a different algorithm to convert interstitial fluid readings to blood sugar readings and these algorithms can take into consideration calibration for you against finger pricks.
However, these apps are written by techies for techies with limited documentation and support.
Finally, if you have a compatible phone, you can get a free 2 week trial from their website.
And real final comment, if you do end up self funding, you should not have to pay VAT.