My Libre has arrived!

[rebrascora]

So excited my Libre has arrived at the appointed time and I am actually feeling quite brave about applying it straight away. I have read the quick start guide and given my chosen arm a good scrub with soap and water and an exfoliator glove to remove any dead skin as I do tend to have slightly dry skin and I want to give it the best chance of adhesion I can. I have been outside working in the garden since doing that to let it dry off thoroughly, so I should be good to use the alcohol wipe, let it dry again and then apply. I have set up the reader with correct time and date etc.

Do I need to read the full manual before I go for it?
I have set my range as between 4 and 9. Is that reasonable?

Anything else I should know before I apply it? I am not going to be using my phone at this stage so will just be initiating it with the reader.

I love how small the reader is! It will make scanning when I am out riding a doddle!

 

[Robin]

So excited my Libre has arrived at the appointed time and I am actually feeling quite brave about applying it straight away. I have read the quick start guide and given my chosen arm a good scrub with soap and water and an exfoliator glove to remove any dead skin as I do tend to have slightly dry skin and I want to give it the best chance of adhesion I can. I have been outside working in the garden since doing that to let it dry off thoroughly, so I should be good to use the alcohol wipe, let it dry again and then apply. I have set up the reader with correct time and date etc.

Do I need to read the full manual before I go for it?
I have set my range as between 4 and 9. Is that reasonable?

Anything else I should know before I apply it? I am not going to be using my phone at this stage so will just be initiating it with the reader.

I love how small the reader is! It will make scanning when I am out riding a doddle!

Good luck! I don’t think I ploughed through the manual, just referred to it as and when I got stuck. It’s a godsend for riding, and I haven’t dropped the reader in a muddy puddle yet...

 

[rebrascora]

Well, I am afraid that I was just too excited to wait for any replies, so I have gone ahead and applied my first sensor and initiated it, so I am counting down to my first reading. All gone smoothly so far. Insertion was pain free. I held it place for nearly a minute before lifting the applicator away just to be sure and whilst it didn't just lift off, a little bit of gentle wiggling brought it free.
Soooo excited! Really hope it works well for me!

 

[rebrascora]

Oh, thanks so much @Robin. You must have posted at the same time I was typing. I really appreciate your reply as it has made me feel a bit more confident that I have done things right.

 

[rebrascora]

Well my first reading is a good one.... pretty much as good as it gets..... it gave me a 5.2 (House Special) and a nice horizontal arrow! I know it isn't a fasting reading so it doesn't count as an HS really but I am still thrilled! Finger prick gives me a 5.8 so it is all looking very good indeed so far. Yippee!!! No doubt lots more readings to follow. Toying with going out for a run walk and seeing what happens but it is chucking it down..... question is am I excited enough to ignore the rain and go and play with my new toy??

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I have set my range as between 4 and 9. Is that reasonable?

Anything else I should know before I apply it? I am not going to be using my phone at this stage so will just be initiating it with the reader.

The range is fine. (You can just change it later if you want. I set mine to 4-10 to match the Time in Range recommendations thing.) If you want to use your phone you can do so whenever you like.

 

[Ljc]

I hope it works well for you. Initially I only read the quick start. It has made a huge difference to my control and being able to scan as often as I wish/need to, sure helps in heading off hypo’s.

Do have a read around Abbott’s site as they have lots if helpful info there
You might want to sign up to this one

FreeStyle Progress - Abbott

Welcome to FreeStyle Progress. Log in or Register as a person with diabetes or a healthcare provider to start taking positive steps towards managing diabetes.

progress.freestylediabetes.co.uk

Let us know how you get on with it

 

[grovesy]

I like that the reader is a meter too!The reader is not just a reader, it is also a meter too!

 

[Ljc]

I believe it can test for ketones too but like the BG test strips they are dear.
It may well be worth trying to get some on prescription, they can only say yay or nay

 

[SB2015]

I certainly didn’t read the manual. I just jumped in and wanted to get going, like you.
I also use the reader most of the time, and my phone now and then.

I did find in the early days that the sensor took a while to settle down, so I applied it 24 hours before I wanted to start it. I still do that and have two on for one day. No idea whether I still need to but I don’t see a need to change this practice.

I hope that you find it as helpful as I have.

 

[Ljc]

If you want to get into the professional settings where you can set up things like the insulin calculator and correction doses yourself , the code needed is CAA1C , though to use the insulin calculator you have to do a finger prick

 

[SB2015]

.... and I also got some blood ketone testing strips for it as well as some glucose strips. That way when I go away I have it as my spare meter, although I have rarely needed to use it.

For ketones it is a lot better than the urine strips, although I did promise my GP that the urine strips would be my first resort, unless I felt very unwell. Apparently the consultants now recommend blood ketones strips as the norm now. Perhaps that will bring the price down. It makes more sense as the urine strip is telling you what your levels were a while ago.

However all of that is for later. For now just enjoy all that you can learn from the readings, especially the arrows (to head off highs and lows) and the graphs for the patterns, and overnight basal testing (swipe - sleep ........... - swipe in the morning. Job done)

 

[SB2015]

Well my first reading is a good one.... pretty much as good as it gets..... it gave me a 5.2 (House Special) and a nice horizontal arrow! I know it isn't a fasting reading so it doesn't count as an HS really but I am still thrilled! Finger prick gives me a 5.8 so it is all looking very good indeed so far. Yippee!!! No doubt lots more readings to follow. Toying with going out for a run walk and seeing what happens but it is chucking it down..... question is am I excited enough to ignore the rain and go and play with my new toy??

Probably worth the wetting . It is very exciting so worth it.
Those magical arrows!!! I love it when we are out for a day of walking,
or I am playing (normally) badminton.

I look forward to hearing how you get on.

 

[Amity Island]

So excited my Libre has arrived at the appointed time and I am actually feeling quite brave about applying it straight away. I have read the quick start guide and given my chosen arm a good scrub with soap and water and an exfoliator glove to remove any dead skin as I do tend to have slightly dry skin and I want to give it the best chance of adhesion I can. I have been outside working in the garden since doing that to let it dry off thoroughly, so I should be good to use the alcohol wipe, let it dry again and then apply. I have set up the reader with correct time and date etc.

Do I need to read the full manual before I go for it?
I have set my range as between 4 and 9. Is that reasonable?

Anything else I should know before I apply it? I am not going to be using my phone at this stage so will just be initiating it with the reader.

I love how small the reader is! It will make scanning when I am out riding a doddle!

Hi Rebrascora,

Congratulations!

You, probably like anyone else who has changed from finger pricking to scanning, will gradually change the way they live. It's probably no coincidence abbott called it the "libre"...... it's truly liberating.

My diabetes team suggested a range of 3.9 to 10.0, the range you've set it to seems good too🙂. The consultants tend to look at the time in range rather than just the graphs highs and lows. Obviously, the wider the range you set it to, the more time you will be within that range, but if you set it too wide, it wouldn't really give much health benefit if your averages are high.

Also worth a mention, as you will soon see, sometimes the arrows can be pointing upwards even when the graph is showing a downward trend, which is funny.

 

[KARNAK]

So jealous Barbara, they say I have too much control to qualify for a Libre,🙄 my HbA1c are always in the 30`s last one 32. They don`t take into account the amount of hypo`s I have hence the low readings, hope you gain the benefit that others have, well done. xx

 

[rebrascora]

@KARNAK Ted, I am so sorry! Your team are woefully behind the times if they are just looking at you HbA1c and in fact such a low reading should be flagging up concerns to them in itself. Surely the fact that you have had bad hypos where you have needed medical assistance should qualify you for Libre. Have you checked the criteria and argued your case?

I am still a bit sceptical as to when/if I will get it prescribed even though I have had it confirmed that I am on the long term prescription list, but I just lost patience with waiting and I had some Birthday money from a year and a half ago which I had put away for something special and I am so excited about this, I really can't think of anything else I could have spent it on that would have pleased me more. If I get a few months down the line and still no sign of prescription and my funds are running low, I don't know what I will do as I will be reluctant to give it up!

 

[Amity Island]

So excited my Libre has arrived at the appointed time and I am actually feeling quite brave about applying it straight away. I have read the quick start guide and given my chosen arm a good scrub with soap and water and an exfoliator glove to remove any dead skin as I do tend to have slightly dry skin and I want to give it the best chance of adhesion I can. I have been outside working in the garden since doing that to let it dry off thoroughly, so I should be good to use the alcohol wipe, let it dry again and then apply. I have set up the reader with correct time and date etc.

Do I need to read the full manual before I go for it?
I have set my range as between 4 and 9. Is that reasonable?

Anything else I should know before I apply it? I am not going to be using my phone at this stage so will just be initiating it with the reader.

I love how small the reader is! It will make scanning when I am out riding a doddle!

Hi Rebrascora,

Would you be able to come back here after a few weeks and let us know how amazing it's been?
Have you spotted anything you didn't already know? like dawn phenomena, spikes, how much you need for any corrections above what you used to think you needed?

I've learnt soooo much since changing over onto the libre.

btw My consultant said the criteria for getting libre on prescription is testing at least 8 times a day, which I was already doing just to manage things, thus after self funding, I did get it on prescription and have shown that it is well worth the money from the nhs in order to gain better control.

Thanks

 

[rebrascora]

@Amity Island

I will certainly keep the thread updated.... try stopping me.... I am just so excited and want to share!

I will be interested to see my overnight traces but from my frequent finger pricks (often as many as 10 a day), I am pretty sure that my DP does not start until I get out of bed, regardless of when that is. Unfortunately I struggle to maintain any routine in my life so sometimes I will be out and about at 2 or 3am and go to bed at 4am because I enjoy being out in the dark (weird I know, it is a throw back from working shifts).... other times I will be tucked up by 10pm. Meal times can be equally erratic, so patterns may be more difficult to see. I often end up eating late at night and go to bed with active insulin in my system, or sit up waiting to see how things pan out before I go to bed, so the direction of travel arrow will hopefully give me some confidence with that.
The biggest thing I hope to gain from it is the timing of my breakfast as I currently need to bolus 1-11/4hrs before food with NR (slightly less with Fiasp) and finding that sweet spot where the insulin is kicking in is difficult just by finger pricking and varies depending on my waking reading, so if I am high first thing, I need to wait longer before eating.

Anyway, I was a big girls blouse and didn't get out for a run but found some housework to do instead. Readings have been high 4s and low to mid 5s all afternoon/evening which shows that my daytime basal is good as I haven't eaten anything significant since my breakfast omelette and salad at 8am. Bit loath to eat now and spoil my nice straight line!... Oh dear, I am becoming obsessive already!!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Surely the fact that you have had bad hypos where you have needed medical assistance should qualify you for Libre. Have you checked the criteria and argued your case?

I think the criteria still recommend CGM rather than flash, but I found Libre worked effectively for me in drastically reducing hypos. I had written a rant about how the criteria ought to be more positive towards FGM, but actually I think the wording's OK in the current one, https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-conte...unding-of-relevant-diabetes-patients-v1.2.pdf

For those with Type 1 diabetes and recurrent severe hypoglycemia or impaired​

awareness of hypoglycemia, NICE suggests that Continuous Glucose Monitoring​

with an alarm is the standard. Other evidence-based alternatives with NICE​

guidance or NICE TA support are pump therapy, psychological support, structured​

education, islet transplantation and whole pancreas transplantation. However, if​

the person with diabetes and their clinician consider that a Flash Glucose​

Monitoring system would be more appropriate for the individual’s specific situation,​

then this can be considered.​

As usual, your challenge is to persuade your team that it's worth trying.

 

[rebrascora]

Love it! Love it! Love it!

Firstly, not sure if it is beginners luck, but this sensor has been extremely accurate from the start. Getting only about 0.2 variation from my BG meter unless levels are changing, which is understandable.

Secondly scanning though the night is a doddle and being able to do so without having to put a light on or get out of bed and go into a different room so as not to disturb my partner is wonderful. Wake up, scan and go back to sleep.... amazing! Real peace of mind!

It was very slow to respond to hypo treatment this morning compared to BG meter but I was patient and it probably takes 20-25 mins to register an improvement in levels, so need to factor that in. My morning hypo tells me that my night time basal needs reducing, but I have been alternating between 7 and 8 units for over a week and I am either high or low, so need to work on bedtime levels being lower and using just 7 units I think.

Managed my bolus insulin this morning so much better. Split dose for DP and protein from omelette and taking regular readings with Libre enabled me to catch levels starting to rise as protein kicked in 2.5 hours later and give it the second dose.

Apart from my fasting hypo of 3.1 this morning, I have managed to keep all my other readings in range, so REALLY, REALLY HAPPY with how things are going so far.

Niggles and drawbacks....
Doesn't accept half units of insulin which I was surprised at.
More work recording duplicating stuff as I feel my phone app is still necessary as it allows me to record more detailed info about food and insulin used and why I split doses and what sort or exercise I did etc..... but those are only very slight negatives compared to the data gained.