Freestyle libre

[Amity Island]

I absolutely love the Libre so far
But the access to the data at an instance can be slightly overwhelming and i can see that it is quite easy to overreact to the data as you can see the blood sugar at any time.
Today I had my first low and i found myself checking my blood sugar every 3-4 minutes rather than waiting to let the jelly babies take effect, and I ended up overcompensating because of it. Not the fault of the device, just my fault

The accuracy has really improved since I started the sensor, I am now +/- 0.3 between the Libre and my finger check (Accucheck).

It is fantastic! the libre.
From my experience it can take 10 mins or more for blood sugars to pull up back into range (3.9 to 10mmol) after treating with glucose etc and then another 10 mins from there for the effects to show up on the libre. It is recommended for that reason and if in doubt, check with the "old fashioned/oldie worldy lol" finger prick device.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Good advice on the timings for it to show up on the Libre, I was thinking about how long it would take to show up.

I did take a finger prick as soon as the libre showed low but I still couldn’t help myself checking with the libre every few minutes (and stupidly taking a couple of extra jelly babies)

 

[Kaylz]

@Jon-Manchester sorry to see you've had a hypo, I hope you don't feel too bad, I suffer terribly with hypo hangovers

Are you aware that if you over treat a hypo and end up on the high side then should you want to correct you should be cautious and only take half the correction you would normally take?

It really does take a good while for the Libre to catch up unfortunately so never use it for treating as, as you've found out it will end up with over treating it
xx

 

[Jon-Manchester]

@Jon-Manchester sorry to see you've had a hypo, I hope you don't feel too bad, I suffer terribly with hypo hangovers

Are you aware that if you over treat a hypo and end up on the high side then should you want to correct you should be cautious and only take half the correction you would normally take?

It really does take a good while for the Libre to catch up unfortunately so never use it for treating as, as you've found out it will end up with over treating it
xx

Thank you Kaylz, I wasnt aware of that I should only take half the dose to correct after a hypo. In this case I ended up at 8.5 and as it wasnt higher I decided to leave it until my dinner which was only an hour or so away and did the correction as part of the dinner. I hope that is an ok way to do it ?

 

[Kaylz]

Thank you Kaylz, I wasnt aware of that I should only take half the dose to correct after a hypo. In this case I ended up at 8.5 and as it wasnt higher I decided to leave it until my dinner which was only an hour or so away and did the correction as part of the dinner. I hope that is an ok way to do it ?

I don't correct unless I'm eating either and neither do many of the members but hypo's can breed hypo's hence why we only generally take half the correction we normally do but you managed it very well so well done 🙂 I don't mean that in a patronising way but many panic and you seem to have kept your cool and your 1 step further in your management xx

 

[Jon-Manchester]

I don't correct unless I'm eating either and neither do many of the members but hypo's can breed hypo's hence why we only generally take half the correction we normally do but you managed it very well so well done 🙂 I don't mean that in a patronising way but many panic and you seem to have kept your cool and your 1 step further in your management xx

I absolutely didn’t take it as patronising, there is so much to learn so I am trying to pick up as much as I can from you who have had to live with this longer than I have. So much of how to manage diabetes seems to be down to experience, so I am trying to use everyone else’s experiences to fast track the learning 😉 (cheeky, I know)

 

[SB2015]

Hi Jon

I am another Libre user. When I get a hypo warning I always switch back to using fingerpricks. The Libre has a time lag, so if that is already showing a hypo I have probably been hypo a while. I have a reminder set on my glucose kit to make me wait for 15 min after JBs to avoid over treating the hypo.

By frequently checking on the Libre I am often able to head off a hypo. I will switch to fingerpricks if The Libre is showing rapid drop from 5 or below, or slow drop from 4.5. This way I can check and one JB might pull it up before I actually go hypo.

Since the Libre is so easy to use it really doesn’t matter if you swipe any number of times.
My main use of the Libre is
- head off hypos and hypers
- identify foods that spike me
- work out appropriate timing of blouses before meals.
- monitor my time in range

Hope that helps

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Hi Jon

I am another Libre user. When I get a hypo warning I always switch back to using fingerpricks. The Libre has a time lag, so if that is already showing a hypo I have probably been hypo a while. I have a reminder set on my glucose kit to make me wait for 15 min after JBs to avoid over treating the hypo.

By frequently checking on the Libre I am often able to head off a hypo. I will switch to fingerpricks if The Libre is showing rapid drop from 5 or below, or slow drop from 4.5. This way I can check and one JB might pull it up before I actually go hypo.

Since the Libre is so easy to use it really doesn’t matter if you swipe any number of times.
My main use of the Libre is
- head off hypos and hypers
- identify foods that spike me
- work out appropriate timing of blouses before meals.
- monitor my time in range

Hope that helps

That really helps, I need to set up some similar ‘rules’ for my own management
I was trying to do something similar, but just not very successfully. I was out in the garden playing football with my daughter. Scanned 4.4 and rapid falling, I did a finger prick and I was 4.2 so I took 3 jb at this time.
I think if I had caught it at 5 as you do, I would probably been fine with the 3 jb but unfortunately was I a bit too late so dropped down to 3.5 before it rose again

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I think if I had caught it at 5 as you do, I would probably been fine with the 3 jb but unfortunately was I a bit too late so dropped down to 3.5 before it rose again

On the other hand, if you have to scan every 5 minutes then that's just annoying. Now and again we're going to go a bit low or a bit high, and 3.5 (if we assume that's accurate) is a pretty good level to catch things at.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

On the other hand, if you have to scan every 5 minutes then that's just annoying.

That is very true and I wouldn't trade an afternoon playing football with my daughter for anything

 

[Ljc]

I used to scan a lot more than I do now, now I still scan more than I used to fingerprick (only 9 times today) as the info is still helpful it also enables me to head off some hypo’s before they get going.
Another good thing I’ve found with the libre is, it makes basal testing a bit easier ,for one thing no setting an alarm for silly clock at night.
Oh and warm glow of achievement when you see you first ever overnight even line on the graph

 

[SB2015]

That really helps, I need to set up some similar ‘rules’ for my own management
I was trying to do something similar, but just not very successfully. I was out in the garden playing football with my daughter. Scanned 4.4 and rapid falling, I did a finger prick and I was 4.2 so I took 3 jb at this time.
I think if I had caught it at 5 as you do, I would probably been fine with the 3 jb but unfortunately was I a bit too late so dropped down to 3.5 before it rose again

You will find what works for you.
I certainly am a lot more active since using the Libre as I have more
confidence that I can manage my levels a lot better.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Woke up this morning and saw a completely flat line at 5.7, the sense of achievement you can get from doing absolutely nothing. Ha ha ha

SB2015, you are absolutely right, I feel so much more confident being active now with the Libre, yesterday I went for a long walk, had an hour (light) bike ride with my daughter. But the most important thing was that I was able to enjoy the moment rather than constantly worry whether I should do a blood sugar test or not. The confidence it gives to be able to do a quick scan and allowing me to think about what I am doing rather than just diabetes

 

[Ljc]

It’s also so much easier when it’s pelting down with rain when your out and need to test
Congratulations on your first flatfish 🙂

 

[Snapsh0t]

My first fortnight with the Libre showed spikes after every meal. My practice nurse referred me to the DSN who glanced at my graphs and said (what I was sure of) that I needed to be on basal/bolus. I've now been on basal/bolus for exactly two weeks and the only meal that still gives a spike is breakfast! I was also a bit surprised by a hypo this afternoon but that was easily dealt with.

 

[Kaylz]

My first fortnight with the Libre showed spikes after every meal. My practice nurse referred me to the DSN who glanced at my graphs and said (what I was sure of) that I needed to be on basal/bolus. I've now been on basal/bolus for exactly two weeks and the only meal that still gives a spike is breakfast! I was also a bit surprised by a hypo this afternoon but that was easily dealt with.

what do you have for breakfast? and do you pre bolus? xx

 

[Ljc]

My first fortnight with the Libre showed spikes after every meal. My practice nurse referred me to the DSN who glanced at my graphs and said (what I was sure of) that I needed to be on basal/bolus. I've now been on basal/bolus for exactly two weeks and the only meal that still gives a spike is breakfast! I was also a bit surprised by a hypo this afternoon but that was easily dealt with.

When you say you spike after breakfast. It could just be the timing of your bolus that needs altering, I now only need 15 minutes before breakfast but early last year I needed around 45 minutes. It could also be what your having for breakfast.

I am afraid hypo’s are part and parcel of being on insulin. Putting it mildly they are not nice . I still remember my first one..... scary, I also wanted to eat the contents of my cupboards and fridge 😱 ( hypo hunger) I am glad yours was easily dealt with.

 

[Snapsh0t]

what do you have for breakfast? and do you pre bolus? xx

I always give at least 15 minutes but gave 30 yesterday without any obvious difference.
I usually have a measured bowl of none or modest sugar muesli/granola/assorted flakes moistened with semi-scummed (sic) milk or cloudy apple juice. I suspect the problem is there's no fat to slow the absorption.

When you say you spike after breakfast. It could just be the timing of your bolus that needs altering, I now only need 15 minutes before breakfast but early last year I needed around 45 minutes. It could also be what your having for breakfast.

I am afraid hypo’s are part and parcel of being on insulin. Putting it mildly they are not nice . I still remember my first one..... scary, I also wanted to eat the contents of my cupboards and fridge 😱 ( hypo hunger) I am glad yours was easily dealt with.

After over 20 years on insulin I know a bit about hypos but have never had one I couldn't deal with myself. In this case, a Frusli bar and 100ml of orange juice brought me up to 8 - perfect.

 

[Amity Island]

Woke up this morning and saw a completely flat line at 5.7, the sense of achievement you can get from doing absolutely nothing. Ha ha ha

SB2015, you are absolutely right, I feel so much more confident being active now with the Libre, yesterday I went for a long walk, had an hour (light) bike ride with my daughter. But the most important thing was that I was able to enjoy the moment rather than constantly worry whether I should do a blood sugar test or not. The confidence it gives to be able to do a quick scan and allowing me to think about what I am doing rather than just diabetes

Hi Jon,
This a typical night time libre for me. I'm on mdi, tresiba and humalog. It's not completely flat and I've had flatter day time results. Last night I had my last meal at 5pm so there was no active bolus running or food being digested through the night. You could call it a basal test. If I'd of eaten late on, the graph would be quite different. As a rule I try to resist eating after 6pm. That way if my blood sugar does go out of range I can sort it before bed. Not every day is the same, some days are way out of range, but my last few years hba1c results have been between 48 and 52.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Hi Jon,
This a typical night time libre for me. I'm on mdi, tresiba and humalog. It's not completely flat and I've had flatter day time results. Last night I had my last meal at 5pm so there was no active bolus running or food being digested through the night. You could call it a basal test. If I'd of eaten late on, the graph would be quite different. As a rule I try to resist eating after 6pm. That way if my blood sugar does go out of range I can sort it before bed. Not every day is the same, some days are way out of range, but my last few years hba1c results have been between 48 and 52.

That is very impressive.
A flat day isn’t something I have experienced yet but I am still fairly new to all of this diabetes malarkey so hopefully will I get closer to that. To be honest just stay within target for a day feels like an achievement right now :/