Hi all, I've been finding it stressful in trying to squeeze in the time for changing my Freestyle libre sensors around shifts at work, and I was wondering if I should make sure I have the day off for that instead? I usually change my sensors on a Sunday, and as I can occasionally get shifts in a busy retail store this can be a bit of a handfull to juggle. Would I have a leg to stand on if I were to request this as a day off?
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
-
Learn more about joining the Diabetes UK Support Forum team here: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/volunteering-opportunities-why-dont-you-join-us.112862/
Advice on requesting set days off at work for changing Freestyle Libre Glucose Monitor?
- Thread starter Bobalob93
- Start date
- Status
I understand your concern and there is no harm in asking.
However, I found it difficult to predict the change over day when I got a sensor failure: if you change it on Sunday and then it fails on the Wednesday, would you wait until the next Sunday to put a new one on or ask that you have future Wednesdays off work?
It is annoying that we have to work around these failures and, in my experience, they are not that common. But they can happen and, for me, the stress of having to change work schedule if it did happen would make it worse.
Could you change the time you change the sensor to aim for after work?
Working in retail, Sunday is best for this because I hours are shorter. But you need to be prepared to change that day.
The other thing I consider is what my colleagues would think. I imagine a Sunday is busier than a Tuesday, for example. So would it look like an excuse to get a quiet day? Diabetes is considered a disability so your employer has to make "reasonable adjustments" but I try to keep these at a minimum so my colleagues will treat me as an equal.
However, I found it difficult to predict the change over day when I got a sensor failure: if you change it on Sunday and then it fails on the Wednesday, would you wait until the next Sunday to put a new one on or ask that you have future Wednesdays off work?
It is annoying that we have to work around these failures and, in my experience, they are not that common. But they can happen and, for me, the stress of having to change work schedule if it did happen would make it worse.
Could you change the time you change the sensor to aim for after work?
Working in retail, Sunday is best for this because I hours are shorter. But you need to be prepared to change that day.
The other thing I consider is what my colleagues would think. I imagine a Sunday is busier than a Tuesday, for example. So would it look like an excuse to get a quiet day? Diabetes is considered a disability so your employer has to make "reasonable adjustments" but I try to keep these at a minimum so my colleagues will treat me as an equal.
Sally71
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent
Please forgive me if I am missing something here, but it only takes a few minutes to replace a Libre sensor, why do you need a whole day off for that? Is it because shift patterns change and you are working at different times on different days? In which case, why not insert the new sensor before you leave for work but leave the old one in and active, then just activate the new one when the time comes and remove the old one at a convenient moment later. Presumably you are allowed your phone or reader on you all the time to be able to use the Libre, so it would only take a moment to start the new one.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Why not just apply the new sensor on Saturday night before bed and then start it when the old sensor runs out on Sunday. Most of us apply our new sensor a day early because it gives our body time to recover from any reaction caused by firing a foreign item into our tissue. That way you get more consistent readings when you start the sensor up a day later and there is no application when you are at work, just a scan of the new sensor when the old sensor expires, plus of course your 60 min warm up time, but if you can't manage 60 mins without Libre then there is something amiss and perhaps you need to go back to not using Libre for a while and just finger pricking, to reset your perspective.
I definitely would struggle to make a case for having a day off or rescheduled just to change a Libre and can't really think of a situation where it would be appropriate. Can you explain in more detail what your difficulty is?
I definitely would struggle to make a case for having a day off or rescheduled just to change a Libre and can't really think of a situation where it would be appropriate. Can you explain in more detail what your difficulty is?
Tdm
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'd just change it outside work and if the readings are a bit off, fingerprick for first day, but it helps inital accuracy if you insert a day or 2 before you start it.
After all, cgms are recent and people used to work every day just relying on fingerprick so it should be more than doable for a short amount of time, especially if you are hypo aware
After all, cgms are recent and people used to work every day just relying on fingerprick so it should be more than doable for a short amount of time, especially if you are hypo aware
Lucyr
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Sounds like you’re letting diabetes rule your life if you say you need the day off to change your sensor. It shouldn’t take a whole day to change a sensor. Put the sensor on within a day or so of when the old one runs out and just scan the new sensor when you’re ready to start it
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I just change my sensor (Dexcom) before or after work if the change day falls on a work day. I also insert the new sensor while the old one is still running.
If you get an unexpected shift on a Sunday, just put in your new sensor before you go to work and activate when needed/you chose. I really don’t think you’d get a whole day off for this. I’ve changed pump cannulas and sets at work before after a mishap and I was just given 5 or 10 minutes to do it.
- Status