Urgh i hate this sensor so much (a bit of a rant)

[Sara Grice]

I still got to get through today and 2 more days till I can out on a new sensor but this one seams to be worse than any other i've ever had with stuff like having bad lag compared to my finger pricks when my bg is moving fast in either direction.

I did a bit more exercise than normal today before lunch, and I feel my insulin may have hit a little harder than it should of, I notice a rather sudden drop of 1.6 mmol/ml so I just tesr my singer to see where I may actuly be at ans Confirm I am dropping, but my sensor just decides that when I need it most it's just too much work and just sort of freezes on the same value for awhile and then again after a few minutes I see it sort of shows a bit more of the drop, it's just so annoying and frankly I feel alittle unsafe. Other sensors I've had never seem to be this bad, bit this one is the slowest sensor I've ever had...Saturday can't come soon enough

Just a vent post I guess I just wish they worked better in the moments we need them...the system realy should beable to handle it.

On a positive note I got to go to my weekly social group and got to so some crystal art, that was nice. But then once I got home things started going wrong.

I used to spend about 60% of my time I'm the green now it feels like 20% on a good day (at least I'm not realy going above 13 alot, but it's not ideal long term)

I just want off this roller coaster please this ride isn't fun

An on top of that I felt a bit nauseas this morning so thought I should keep ans eye on my keytones because I've been having a hard time with my numbers recently. They where higher than normal (I nornaly read 0.1 when healthy, and this morning it read 0.3) so I wanted to keep an eye on it alltogugh I didn't realise how few strips of them I had left and just used my last one like an hour ago, the pharmacy will have some ready for me tomorrow I should be ok till then, I just wish I could go back to how it was before where I was stressing but my numbers where at least good

Rent over, thanks for listening, I do feel slightly better betting that out there

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Just ring up and ask for a replacement sensor.
I don't see why the NHS should be paying for a faulty sensor. I bet if you paid for it yourself you would expect a replacement 🙂

 

[Sara Grice]

Just ring up and ask for a replacement sensor.
I don't see why the NHS should be paying for a faulty sensor. I bet if you paid for it yourself you would expect a replacement 🙂

Well you see, I don't think it's faulty, just slow..and it dose read about 1mmol/ml lower than my blood from my finger, but that's in the acceptable range of accuracy. It just have been struggling to keep up with fast changes in my blood sugar, which I am told is a pretty normal thing with these sensors, I've just never had one do it this badly

 

[mashedupmatt]

Definitely report it and get a replacement - I've had one replaced with one day to go for giving ridiculously low readings which were miles off - the only way they will improve is if all faulty ones are reported

 

[Sara Grice]

Definitely report it and get a replacement - I've had one replaced with one day to go for giving ridiculously low readings which were miles off - the only way they will improve is if all faulty ones are reported

Hmmm, i see your point, I will do that tomorrow.
I remain doubtful that any improvements are incoming but it is worthwhile to let them know. I still can't belive abbott refuses to admit there is accuracy issues, especially during the first and last days

 

[John Gray]

I'd be quite happy if my Libre 2 Plus sensor read no more than 1 mmol/L lower than a finger-prick BGM test, if my levels were stable at the time! There could be a lag of (say) 15 mins between the glucose values of the interstitial fluid (measured by the sensor) and the blood test if there are rapid blood glucose changes.
I just work off the lower sensor range, and don't worry about this discrepancy any more.

By the way, "some people" suggest that it might be worth attaching a new sensor to your (other!) arm a day before the old one runs out, but activate it only when the old one expires.
Anecdotally, that might help the new sensor to "bed in" during the first day, when it's not being used. I can't suggest anything about "the last days", though... [Whoever thought that it was a pretty neat idea to have a sensor last for 15 days rather than 14 need to be taken out and shot at dawn, if not earlier.]

 

[Thebearcametoo]

A big drop of 1.6 is noting. Ketones of 0.3 is nothing. Please look at the bigger picture so you don’t get yourself in a state. I say that with love. You’re looking at incremental changes that aren’t anything to be concerned about.

 

[helli]

Whoever thought that it was a pretty neat idea to have a sensor last for 15 days rather than 14 need to be taken out and shot at dawn, if not earlier

I have seen others complain about this. I assume it is because this means you can’t choose one day and make it a fortnight’s routine.
However, as my pump needs changing every three days, I am used to having an irregular routine. The slight difference is a pump change only takes minutes whereas a new pump takes an hour. For me, that hour is a small rest from being monitored not something to hate.
Again, that is a case of being used to something - after 20 years I am used to finger pricking and I am used to no two days being the same (often regardless of diabetes).

To the guy who thought 15 days was a neat idea, I guess they should avoid going out at dawn but be grateful if the slightly less waste.

 

[Standup]

I think you need to look at your sensor as a guide to trends - is your blood sugar going up or down over the longer period. As 'thebearcametoo' says a drop of 1.6 is nothing to be scared of. It's not a big drop in most circumstances and often its the algorithm attempting to interpret your blood sugar levels from changes. Often (but not always) when the sensor is unavailable its recalculating the numbers as your insulin is taking effect or some carbs are hitting your system. There's a useful post on the boards about how sensors work and why you shouldn't really rely on them for absolute numbers. If you look at my charts then you see it dropping or rising from 6 to 12 or vice versa in a matter of minutes. Partly the joy of no pancreas but mainly its just the way the software works.

I try not to get stressed out about it too much, set my alarms and then react if necessary working on the assumption its never going to be a straight line.

 

[louisew]

I'd be quite happy if my Libre 2 Plus sensor read no more than 1 mmol/L lower than a finger-prick BGM test, if my levels were stable at the time! There could be a lag of (say) 15 mins between the glucose values of the interstitial fluid (measured by the sensor) and the blood test if there are rapid blood glucose changes.
I just work off the lower sensor range, and don't worry about this discrepancy any more.

By the way, "some people" suggest that it might be worth attaching a new sensor to your (other!) arm a day before the old one runs out, but activate it only when the old one expires.
Anecdotally, that might help the new sensor to "bed in" during the first day, when it's not being used. I can't suggest anything about "the last days", though... [Whoever thought that it was a pretty neat idea to have a sensor last for 15 days rather than 14 need to be taken out and shot at dawn, if not earlier.]

Yes I do this and it seems pretty accurate from the start. I find mine runs around 1 mmol lower than finger test when I’m less active but seems to get more accurate when i’m exercising or cleaning, gardening etc. I did have one that was reading quite a bit higher than finger tests. As I’m on insulin and keep my blood sugar at a normal level , quite risky so I contacted them and they replaced it.

 

[helli]

Yes I do this and it seems pretty accurate from the start. I find mine runs around 1 mmol lower than finger test when I’m less active but seems to get more accurate when i’m exercising or cleaning, gardening etc. I did have one that was reading quite a bit higher than finger tests. As I’m on insulin and keep my blood sugar at a normal level , quite risky so I contacted them and they replaced it.

Don't forget that accuracy of meters is measured in a percentage not an absolute. So, the difference is likely to be less when the BG numbers are lower.
In addition, finger prick meters are not 100% accurate so if your Libre is always lower than finger prick, it is very possible that the finger prick meter is reading high.

Many of us have depended upon finger prick meters for many years with little to compare them with so we assume they are the more accurate meter but this is not always the case.