Freestyle Libre 2 problem

[JudeandJack]

Hi, my son uses the Libre 2. I had to replace a sensor this morning and the new one bleeps once when I hold the monitor on it, but then nothing happens. No second bleep, no reading, no matter how long I wait. Has anyone else found this? I suppose I’ll have to get onto Abbott again.

Thanks and happy new year

J

 

[workaway32]

I am so sick of the Libre 2. I have had to request a new one every month on average due to it not working. Whenever I contact Abbot they send me a new one instantly so they must know it's an issue. After reading this I have pushed and been approved for a Dexcom one (although I haven't got it yet as they need to do some other budget approval). Could be worth asking?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

although I haven't got it yet as they need to do some other budget approval

Which is insane: they're the same price. (Actually Dexcom ONE may be ~£10 cheaper annually.)

 

[JudeandJack]

Thanks. The sensor started working for no reason that I can tell. It gets on my nerves too, before this I'd had to return two sensors, one that gave an error message that it needed replacing although it'd just started, and the other giving consistent readings of 3.4 regardless. Abbott do replace them after asking questions, but I ran out because of this and had to do finger-tip readings. This wasn't popular with my son.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thanks. The sensor started working for no reason that I can tell. It gets on my nerves too, before this I'd had to return two sensors, one that gave an error message that it needed replacing although it'd just started, and the other giving consistent readings of 3.4 regardless. Abbott do replace them after asking questions, but I ran out because of this and had to do finger-tip readings. This wasn't popular with my son.

Commiserations. My failure rate with Libre 2 is over 50%; I've never had one fall off. They usually start and then either stop part way through the 14 days or become so erratic that they are no longer fit for purpose. Abbott have replaced each one - but that doesn't overtake the hassle and stress of this inconvenience.

At first I strongly felt that this was a Freestyle problem. But many users have very little or no hassle with sensor reliability. I have reconciled myself to the reality that my body and Libre don't work well together!

I also absorb a lot of inconvenience and do my best to accommodate the hassle of unpredictable sensor readings - rather than getting to the point of being without a sensor for a few days. When this is happening I don't pay so much attention to the actual number BUT do take notice of the trend arrows. I find even when the reading is simply false in relation to a fingerprick reading (and how I actually feel) that the trend is generally accurate. So I respond and monitor much more diligently when my BG is falling, diagonally or vertically. I let the alerts (prefer to think of alarms as alerts) guide my responses, particularly low alerts - which I generally keep at the top limit of 5 6. I'm (smugly) proud that I RARELY get into hypo and if I am hypo it is very, very shallow. I get near, towards low 4s; and will snack on fairly high glucose foods such as dried fruit to nudge myself up. I reserve pure glucose, such as Jelly Babies or Haribos for when I'm truly hypo.

About Dexcom One: My Consultant has asked my GP to prescribe Dexcom One as a "no-cost" alternative to Libre 2; my GP has courteously written to me telling me that because our regional Integrated Care System (ICS) [which in July 2022 replaced the former CCGs] has not yet approved the prescribing of Dexcom One, a prescription cannot be written. I'm now wrestling with this stupid bit of bureaucracy. I can see my GP's dilemma, and at the heart of this is a NICE Guidance Note (NG 19) amendment in spring 2022 that recommended this no-cost change - but along with a recommendation to prescribe sensors more freely, which has significant cost implications to regional ICSs. The latter is affecting the former.