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FreeStyle Libre

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Just wish I could download the information myself, I am unable to as we don't have a lap top or computer. We both have iPads but you can't use an iPad for the downloading which is a shame
 
Well, Cassie, top of this page you were sick of it.🙂

The replies from the addicts have obviously turned you to the dark side. It’s a bit like throwing up after your first fag, and ending up smoking, only healthier and more fun.
 
I go from resenting the whole diabetes palaver to just getting on with it. Ha ha! Type 1 has been my other half for 46 years so I guess sometimes I feel like a divorce! It always takes me a while to get used to new stuff and to decide whether it is for me. I've swithered for about three years now on the subject of insulin pumps, and still not got one...... My real other half is very easy going so the three of us in this marriage tick along most of the time. Yes, I think the dark side has got me this time. Maybe it will be the pump next time!
 
A whole world of new terminology and now other halves and the dark side to contend with! .. I need a new disease already, this one is wearing me out...
Anyhow, only been shacked up with this thing for a while but already on a second Libre, I have to pay so the fact that I am still with them must say something.. not trying to convert or sell or otherwise, there have been a couple of things that I noticed .
For me, at this stage.. having an actual measurement 24/7 (22 or 23 /7 depending on how much sleep I get..) is a huge benefit. Light and dark huge, this just before eating and two hours after is great when you know you own body and have a decade of experience.. for someone mildly freaking out when they swallow a breadcrumb, this is (someone here said game changing, that is it exactly..) But you know this..
The accuracy is a problem. Maybe because I have lanced my fingers to bloody tea-bags, maybe because I have had two Libres in two months.. I noticed the readings aren't quite what I hoped for. First time around I would be adjusting bg and so on, this time.. if I want to inject or eat or sleep or excercise then I measure blood, the libre is between 1-2.2mmol out all the time.

So I just about ignore the values ( I use my blood values and mentally calibrate my libre results ) and look at the picture it paints.. then the game is a little less one sided!
I am paying for this luxury, so far no issues with comfort in any respect..conscious of it but never anything else so far.
I have gone from maybe 17 finger-stinging jabs a day to around 4.. plus some confidence in what I am doing, which the NHS cannot put a price on so they won't pay for it!
I would take it if offered. I am buying for now, for the reasons above.. hope I have said something of use.
 
christophe said:
A whole world of new terminology and now other halves and the dark side to contend with! .. I need a new disease already, this one is wearing me out...
Anyhow, only been shacked up with this thing for a while but already on a second Libre, I have to pay so the fact that I am still with them must say something.. not trying to convert or sell or otherwise, there have been a couple of things that I noticed .
For me, at this stage.. having an actual measurement 24/7 (22 or 23 /7 depending on how much sleep I get..) is a huge benefit. Light and dark huge, this just before eating and two hours after is great when you know you own body and have a decade of experience.. for someone mildly freaking out when they swallow a breadcrumb, this is (someone here said game changing, that is it exactly..) But you know this..
The accuracy is a problem. Maybe because I have lanced my fingers to bloody tea-bags, maybe because I have had two Libres in two months.. I noticed the readings aren't quite what I hoped for. First time around I would be adjusting bg and so on, this time.. if I want to inject or eat or sleep or excercise then I measure blood, the libre is between 1-2.2mmol out all the time.

So I just about ignore the values ( I use my blood values and mentally calibrate my libre results ) and look at the picture it paints.. then the game is a little less one sided!
I am paying for this luxury, so far no issues with comfort in any respect..conscious of it but never anything else so far.
I have gone from maybe 17 finger-stinging jabs a day to around 4.. plus some confidence in what I am doing, which the NHS cannot put a price on so they won't pay for it!
I would take it if offered. I am buying for now, for the reasons above.. hope I have said something of use.
Click to expand...
Very useful Chris! All info greatly appreciated. I consider myself very lucky to be able to get it on prescription - so felt a little guilty having a moan about it all when I don't have to pay for it. I'm not keen on reading the "on target" bit, as recently it's not been very good. Since I've had this for so long - I guess I've got used to how contrary diabetes can be. Like the other day when we went out for a lovely meal, my blood sugar all day was amazing, despite having a wonderful Italian ice cream in a cone on the walk back to the car! Kept scanning on the way home (yes I was being driven ha ha) and perfect results! Then, later in the evening, a huge rise ..,,,,and again and again. Which then put my average up horrendously. I had been so happy that the amount of Novorapid I had done before my lovely lunch had worked, then suddenly all the highs came at me! Seems the pre lunch Novorapid (done at least 20 mins before I ate) worked much quicker than usual. Who knew?
 
Hi Cassie

I got a bit hung up on the percentage on target, and I checked out with my consultant what would represent ‘good control’. We agreed a much more realistic target than the one I was setting myself, and also changed the band on my Libre of ‘on target’ and made it wider. This is different from the target range I have on my bolus calculator which I have set at a single value in order to prompt correction doses.

I found I couldn’t avoid checking the percentage on target and this wider band gave me a better visual on my graph. That suited me and I still keep a good HbA1c.
 
Cassie said:
Very useful Chris! All info greatly appreciated. I consider myself very lucky to be able to get it on prescription - so felt a little guilty having a moan about it all when I don't have to pay for it. I'm not keen on reading the "on target" bit, as recently it's not been very good. Since I've had this for so long - I guess I've got used to how contrary diabetes can be. Like the other day when we went out for a lovely meal, my blood sugar all day was amazing, despite having a wonderful Italian ice cream in a cone on the walk back to the car! Kept scanning on the way home (yes I was being driven ha ha) and perfect results! Then, later in the evening, a huge rise ..,,,,and again and again. Which then put my average up horrendously. I had been so happy that the amount of Novorapid I had done before my lovely lunch had worked, then suddenly all the highs came at me! Seems the pre lunch Novorapid (done at least 20 mins before I ate) worked much quicker than usual. Who knew?
Click to expand...

Didn't seem like moaning to me Cassie, if you don't like the kit there's nothing wrong with saying so.

I have been lucky enough to get taken for dinner the past two nights, with the libre I feel confident enough to order (guess a few critical things and hope for the best) but actually monitor what is happening during the meal. No blood on the tablecloth, and I get to be in control by playing off the food against the arrows ( the trend indicator arrows..).

Probably goes against all the courses and teaching of how handle type 1! On the other hand I can spend days at a time between 4 and 6mmol, with 7s and 8s after eating if I get it a bit wrong. Actual blood measurements taken when I need to, not the libre readings. I simply don't believe I could achieve this with a blood glucose monitor alone testing 20 times a day..

I like the sound of the ice cream! Haven't had one for a while, there is a list of things I am going to have when... it's a long list, I need to decide about the "when" ..

I am going on a bit.. need to add something though. My understanding of the insulin activity and absorption of different foods, arrived at by personal and very unscientific observation plus some very good advice from the very people who have been writing on these threads.. and I might well be totally wrong ... I have an eating strategy of a relatively fatty starter then a decent main ( decent as in healthy, low fat, good balance etc) my insulin goes in as long as I can before eating, I need 30 minutes before I get any measurable activity, and hold back on the carbs until I get steady readings before eating a little.. looking to maintain steady.. if I am dropping then I up the carb a bit, leave off the carb if rising too much.
Apologies, but my point is.. this can hide the effect of a final hit of carbs until all the fatty/ fibrous food is gone. If at this time the insulin has dropped off or there wasn't enough to begin with.. big rise coming, maybe these circumstances were similar to yours?

I am done! Too much information, right?
 
A bit more then I will shut up...
Obviously I still get it wrong and that knocks the confidence back a bit.. I guess what I am trying to say is I get a measure of confidence from this device rather than having to do it the hard way like most of the people here have had to or still have to. I was a big eater before type 1 but active working and exercising, I eat a hell of a lot less now and am trying to work back up to the activity I had before, some of the issues around eating are easier to work around now.
All done now I promise..!
 
You don’t have to shut up, Christophe. It’s interesting hearing you learning. Soon as you get boring, I’ll give you a shout.🙂
 
Just wanted to update you on my progress with the freestyle libre. At my recent diabetic 6 monthly review, after using it regularly every day since February - my HBA1C had lowered by 10 mmol and my diabetic specialist was extremely pleased with my results. I registered an HBA1C this time of 54. A month later my freestyle libre stats tell me I'm averaging 6.8 over the past month (just below 42). Although I disliked it at first, it really has improved my life and my diabetes control. In short, I never want to go back to blood testing (well apart from when driving). So it proves - never give up when the going seems tough. Thank you to everyone on this thread who encouraged me, and also made me laugh too.
 
Cassie said:
Just wanted to update you on my progress with the freestyle libre. At my recent diabetic 6 monthly review, after using it regularly every day since February - my HBA1C had lowered by 10 mmol and my diabetic specialist was extremely pleased with my results. I registered an HBA1C this time of 54. A month later my freestyle libre stats tell me I'm averaging 6.8 over the past month (just below 42). Although I disliked it at first, it really has improved my life and my diabetes control. In short, I never want to go back to blood testing (well apart from when driving). So it proves - never give up when the going seems tough. Thank you to everyone on this thread who encouraged me, and also made me laugh too.
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Congratulations on your brilliant progress Cassie! Don’t underestimate how much you have achieved - yes you had lots of extra information from the Libre, but it was YOU that put the effort into using that to such brilliant effect 🙂
 
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That’s brilliant well done . Does that mean you get to keep the Libre
 
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