Yay! been put on waiting list for libre

[Zinadane]

Had my 12 monthly visit to DSN today, current Hba1c 49 and six months ago was 48, so reasonable anyway. Type 1 now for 45 years! Doing 10 tests a day atm. Anyway, after a letter had been put in circulation from my ophthalmologist about the potential benefits of libre (this was after I moaned I didn't qualify and the minimal cost compared to 6 test bottles per month).
Out of the blue, the DSN said he will put me on the waiting list, brilliant I think! (I'm UK, west midlands based btw)
A couple of early questions:
Placement - inside of the arm, is this good a place? I play a bit of football and really don't fancy having it knocked off.
CGM - it seems in order to really benefit and get full CGM you need to add miao miao, however, it looks bulky, what are people's thought on this device?

 

[NicoleC1971]

Hi and congratulations. I hope you get your fsl soon.
Can't answer re MiaoMiao and are you able to get funding for that?
Re fsl position, I put it on the outside and despite being a PT and clumsy enough to bump into things/people/mad dog I have never knocked it off but everyone's different and react differently to the tenacity of the adhesive they use.
If you can afford it or can get a trial sensor out of Abbott then you could try it out for 2 weeks.
If you test within 8 hours, I believe you'll get a steady line of data from the fsl.

 

[Antje77]

I play a bit of football and really don't fancy having it knocked off.

I would recommend a nice big patch of Tegaderm or Hypafix over it, regardless of where you place it. I know some of us place it on their chest, which seems to be a relatively safe area. However, I did a couple of times a long time ago and got the impression they were less accurate there. Could well have been coincidence of course, I've only worn 2 on my chest.

 

[becca59]

Congratulations you must be pleased.
However, it always pulls me up short when people say they have been put on a waiting list. If you qualify you qualify and this talk of lists and training (it can be done on line) is in my opinion delaying tactics.

 

[ert]

Well done on qualifying. I imagine your waiting list is just the time it takes for a specialist to sign it off and for you to be booked into a Libre training course? I can't imagine keeping a Libre on during contact sport. Even with kinesiology tape, it's easy to dislodge. But it's something to ask the Libre representative at the training course. I wear mine on the inside of my arm.

 

[LooperCat]

Nice one! I used to wear mine on my upper chest, it didn’t get knocked off there like on my arm.

 

[KK123]

Hi @Zinadane, well I am in the West Mids too! I was fitted with mine a week ago and am loving it. I wear it on the back of my arm, as instructed by the Manufacturers and my DN, but my DN said it can be worn elsewhere if you like. For now I find it is very useful all on its own, it continuously measures your levels but unlike a CGM, this is simply a flash monitor meaning (I think) that it will give you your exact reading when you flash it with the reader (or your phone) but won't provide alarms or continuous actual numbers without putting it against the reader. It does give you a graph of how your levels are going during the day and all sorts of interesting information on averages and patterns. I think the waiting list is simply due to short supplies according to my DN, so any 'urgent' cases get it sooner and any not so urgent get put on a waiting list, my DN says people going on the list now should get it around May!

 

[Walking Girl]

The manufacturer has only approved it for arm use. I tried stomach and outer thigh. The stomach seemed far less accurate to me. Best bet is to wear a patch over it. Some like tegaderm, my personal favorite is the Simpatch brand. They get ratty looking after 4-5 days, so being able to pull off and replace is important when considered placement. Also, let the Simpatch fully settle (2-3 hours) before working out, showering, etc or it will peel off right away.

 

[Mad76]

Well done !! I have mine on arm.
And I have the miomio 2. Self funded
Love it. Total game changer

 

[UK T1]

Hi,
Hope the wait isn't too long for you! I wear mine on the back of my arm (was told FSL1 is only licensed for use there, but the FSL2 can be used on other areas but isn't yet available in the UK) and have had no problems (actually find it hard to get off after two weeks!). On the training day they did mention things like fake tan or hair can reduce the effect of the adhesive. There are lots of expensive strap type things out there, tbh I got some tubigrip from Boots and that worked well during sports. Obviously I don't use the tight tight one which I would choose for injury, I think I got one for legs which slips over the libre on my arm but doesn't compress like the arm one would. You shouldn't compress the sensor as reduced blood flow can lead to inaccurate results.
I don't use a miaomiao, have alarms set on the Libre Link app to remind me to scan (was told I had to scan over 8 times a day to keep it post 6 month trial) the sensor takes a mean glucose value every 15 mins and has an 8 hour memory so I've found the data very comprehensible! The FSL2 has Bluetooth and will act like a CGM and push through to the scanning device where you can also set up alarms if you're high or low, again not yet available in the UK as far as I'm aware but worth knowing!
Hope that helps!

 

[Hopeful34]

I wear mine on my outer arm or upper chest. Have had a couple where the sensor fell of leaving the sticky patch on my arm, but usually they are hard to get off at the end of the 2 weeks. Miaomiao is great as it alarms when going low or high, and I forget I'm wearing it. Would be lost without it now.