Fed up of Libre2 CGMs not working.

D

DancingStar

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 3c
For the 3rd time in 6 weeks my Libre2 has stopped working after a few days. I've been able to get new ones from Abbot but I'm tired of phoning them and am sure they'll be getting suspicious that I'm requesting so many replacements.
 
Just fill in the online form if you don’t want to ring them. Google libre sensor support form and it will come up.
 
DancingStar said:
For the 3rd time in 6 weeks my Libre2 has stopped working after a few days. I've been able to get new ones from Abbot but I'm tired of phoning them and am sure they'll be getting suspicious that I'm requesting so many replacements.
Click to expand...
Are you using with a phone or reader? If phone, IOS or a type of Android?
 
What problems are you experiencing? Have you considered that it might be a phone issue rather than a sensor issue. I am unlucky if I have one sensor fail a year and I have been using them for 4.5 years. The last one to die was only 2 days short of the full 14 days and I suspect that might have been the battery or a contact come loose in the sensor.
I mostly use a reader and find that much more reliable than my phone was for the few spells I have used my phone.
The other option is to ask for a swap to Dexcom One+ which should be a simple straight swap if you explain your problem to your doctor.
 
The problem I'm having is that after a few days - 5 days in the latest case, I get a message saying the sensor is not working and I need to replace it. It has been as little as 24 hours between applying the new sensor and it stopping working. I'm not knocking them to dislodge them etc - today I'd been sitting in a chair reading for about an hour when I got the message.

My phone is Android - Samsung Galaxy. I have wondered whether its a phone problem, maybe I'll go back to using the reader. I just hate phoning Abbot and having to try & explain things because I struggle to hear and understand the accents of the people I'm speaking to.

I'm just feeling very defeated about my health at the moment & this is one more thing on my list :(
 
I'm definitely a fan of the online form - I've always used it - have had a couple of them fail with connection issues (probably 3 out of the last 15) - even with just a couple of days to go (I have a Libre 2+ one which is supposed to last for 15 days) they will still replace them - it is a bit of a pain, but as long as you have a spare (If you have one which fails with 2 days to go, you should have one!) then it's not too much of a problem - it is frustrating though I agree and as @rebrascora says if it really is an issue ask if they'll swap you on to a Dexcom One+ (The cost to the NHS is the same, so should be ok for a straight swap) - Good luck
 
@DancingStar Don’t feel guilty of contacting them, and if you don’t want to phone them just report it on-line
I actually accidentally dislodged mine last night (whilst taking my jumper off) it just kind of lifted of the adhesive which was well stuck to my arm, and then obviously it failed
I reported it on their website & this morning I got their usual email apologising & informing me they were sending a replacement one, OK it’s annoying if you get a failure
the Abbot on-line sensor failure reporting is https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk-en/support/sensor-support-form.html
 
There are a number of reasons why a sensor may stop working.
As @rebrascora mentioned, it maybe the phone app is unable to receive the Bluetooth signal from the sensor transmitter.
It maybe a faulty sensor.
It maybe a dodgy sensor placement. The most common issue when I first started using a CGM was that I placed it on a "curved" part of my arm which meant it started coming off or dislodged slightly
More recently, I realised I did not have enough fat where I placed my sensor (my arms are quite muscly). This meant the filament was unable to get enough interstitial fluid to work
 
Hello @DancingStar, I had a total pancreatectomy in Feb '20 and was given Libre 2 in Feb '21. After 12 months of dreadful highs and lows my Libre was brilliant - WHEN IT WORKED. I had over 50% outright failures and my phone was a Samsung Galaxy 5.0. Abbott replaced every one. I fully understand your distress at having to constantly question if Libre is working today and the hassle of changing it so frequently.

At first I thought it was rubbish quality control by Abbott and I had a rant (or 2) about this. After NICE amended their CGM Guidance and made other manufacturer's devices available I got Libre 2 changed for the original Dexcom One. My Consultant enabled that; my GP and the Surgery had no understanding or empathy with my concern and the stress of an unreliable CGM. I also had come to realise that the problem was not really Libre 2, nor my Galaxy phone, but ME. My body was not compatible with Libre 2.

Dexcom One was more reliable, but a more clumsy set up and with variable accuracy. Nevertheless encouraged by this improvement and the possibility of even better performance from Dexcom in general I self- funded the G7. Initially I purchased 3 x 10 day sensors. A noticeable financial struggle, but WOW. Accuracy, not a single sensor failure; unbelievable. I committed to buying quarterly. Shortly after starting that contract my Consultant saw the evidence of greatly improved Time in Range (TIR) along with no failures and (most thankfully) made a business case for the Hospital to fund G7 on the basis that I was demonstrably incompatible with other sensors. I became the 1st patient in that Hospital Trust to have G7; others had the G6 (also very good but a slightly more clumsy setup).

Now, almost 2 years with G7, my failure rate has been tiny. There was a problem with the app on my Samsung A5 and still is on my A52. The G7 sensor has a "geolocator" built in which tells the app what country you are in. On 3 out of 4 trips into France and this year Jersey, and always when not under wi-fi cover but needing mobile roaming data, the app has been triggered by the geolocator which has told it I'm not in UK and therefore unlicensed to use it, with an unlockable default setting of blocking my app and insisting I reinstall the app. Which I couldn't do because G7 wasn't licensed for France or Jersey. After the first app failure I had a lengthy dialogue with Dexcom tech support. A senior manager was adamant that this shouldn't happen; but Dexcom did provide me with the excellent hand held Receiver at their expense (Dexcom's equivalent of Abbott's Reader) (marketed at £250). Subsequent overseas failures have been fine because the Receiver has been a very acceptable compromise, until the sensor has routinely been replaced as it became time expired.

Today, @DancingStar, the Dexcom One+ is a junior version of G7, produced by Dexcom to compete with Libre2+. The NICE Guidance approves Dexcom One+ and places it in the same cost bracket for the NHS as Libre 2. That Guidance Note also authorises GPs to prescribe either device, without needing the GP to be given "direcction" by a Hospital Consultant. If I was in your position today I would ask my GP to let me try Dexcom One+ for at least a month and see how that works out for you personally. Be aware of the geolocator problem when overseas, which I think is also in the Dexcom One+; I got the Hospital to provide a 2nd Receiver when they adopted my self-funding contract. I interchange my use of phone app and Receiver constantly; they operate independently and the G7 Receiver is small, modern, convenient and pleasant to use; I'm guessing that the One+ Receiver is similar - it's cheaper and can be prescribed by a GP from the NHS listing.
 
Sorry to hear about the faff you are having with sensor failures @DancingStar

Hope you manage to find a solution that works for you - even if that’s just the end of a dodgy batch.
 
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