Freestyle Libre....Good, Bad Or Indifferent?

[Diabeticliberty]

I currently use a Roche Accuchek Mobile device. I find them generally ok but I don't completely trust them. I spend a lot of my weekday time around large chunks of dirty metal. I spend most of my weekend and evening time in and around water in the rivers of Northern England. My lifestyle is pretty hectic. I drive about a million miles per year. I test with an extremely high frequency due to lifestyle and driving. Since joining this here forum I notice a fair number of using Freestyle Libre. I have just briefly looked on their Website and it appears to be a fairly good idea in principle. So can you please tell me - Good points, bad points, how do they compare to Accuchek (if you have ever used one of these of course), reliability, how are they around water, accuracy, did you have any issues with your doctor when moving to one, can you move to one yourself or does it take an act of God to get yourself transferred???????????? Are they worth a punt for somebody who has never used one?


Thank you all,
Geoff

 

[Robin]

First up, they are not currently available on the NHS, so I fund mine and use one when I can afford it. My diabetic nurse at the surgery who does my annual checks knows I use one, and mentioned it on my notes, ( she'd never heard of them) but I've never discussed it with my GP.
I find them really useful. They don't replace finger prick tests, you still need to do them for driving as the DVLA doesn't recognise the Libre yet.
I use mine to spot trends, and overnight lows.
I've found after the first 24 hrs they bed in well and are as accurate as my Accucek Aviva. (You can get accuracy earlier by inserting the sensor and not activating it for 24 hrs)
Touch wood, I haven't had a duff sensor yet, but I l some people have had problems, but Abbot have replaced them.
They are supposed to be OK for swimming, showering etc for up to half an hour.

 

[HOBIE]

Love my Libre. Every time I have tested with blood test strips its very close.

 

[Diabeticliberty]

First up, they are not currently available on the NHS, so I fund mine and use one when I can afford it. My diabetic nurse at the surgery who does my annual checks knows I use one, and mentioned it on my notes, ( she'd never heard of them) but I've never discussed it with my GP.
I find them really useful. They don't replace finger prick tests, you still need to do them for driving as the DVLA doesn't recognise the Libre yet.
I use mine to spot trends, and overnight lows.
I've found after the first 24 hrs they bed in well and are as accurate as my Accucek Aviva. (You can get accuracy earlier by inserting the sensor and not activating it for 24 hrs)
Touch wood, I haven't had a duff sensor yet, but I l some people have had problems, but Abbot have replaced them.
They are supposed to be OK for swimming, showering etc for up to half an hour.

If I may ask, you suggest that you use them to spot trends and overnight lows. Do I take it then that they offer a permanent 'real time' reading? Does the sensor have a needle which is inserted into your bloodstream? How long do the sensors last? What do sensors cost?

Sorry to overburden you with stupid questions. The thing is however if they are offering a permanent real time reading then I think I would buy one just on that basis.

 

[shirley]

For us, it has been simply life changing. My son cannot manage his diabetes at all. It makes lots of testing, even at night, a doddle. They don't always produce accurate results but when we have had a faulty one it has always been replaced and we don't fingerprick more than once a day, except when we have an unexpected high or low and when the sensor first goes on. It has reduced our HbA1C too but that is just an aside for us.

 

[Diabeticliberty]

Just been back on the Freestyle Website and they are asking for £58.00 for a sensor which they suggest lasts for UP TO 14 days. The up to makes me a little bit unsure.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

If I may ask, you suggest that you use them to spot trends and overnight lows. Do I take it then that they offer a permanent 'real time' reading? Does the sensor have a needle which is inserted into your bloodstream? How long do the sensors last? What do sensors cost?

Yes, that's pretty much right. There is a small flexible filament inserted under the skin that reads interstitial glucose and converts that to reflect plasma (blood) glucose readings. Sensors last 14 days before they need to be replaced (they cannot be extended). The sensor holds up to 8 hours of data, so whenever you scan you see a trace of the last 8 hours, a current reading and also an arrow that shows direction and speed of travel over the last few minutes.

The handset also doubles as a traditional BG and blood ketone meter and can take Optium blood strips or Optuim ketone strips. It also has an in-built bolus calculator if you use the unlock code (caa1c)

I find mine very helpful. If I could afford sensors full time I would wear them much more than I do.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Just been back on the Freestyle Website and they are asking for £58.00 for a sensor which they suggest lasts for UP TO 14 days. The up to makes me a little bit unsure.

Well... if you knock it off on a door frame I will stop reading 😉

If the sensor malfunctions before the 14 days are up, you can generally contact Abbott who will run through some troubleshooting and more than often will replace the sensor for free if it has failed or is not reading within expected tolerances (sensors and fingerstick BG are measuring different things so they can't be directly compared, but there is an expected level of performance)

£58 is the price inc VAT - if you sign the exemption form it will be more or less £50 exactly (plus delivery)

 

[Diabeticliberty]

Yes, that's pretty much right. There is a small flexible filament inserted under the skin that reads interstitial glucose and converts that to reflect plasma (blood) glucose readings. Sensors last 14 days before they need to be replaced (they cannot be extended). The sensor holds up to 8 hours of data, so whenever you scan you see a trace of the last 8 hours, a current reading and also an arrow that shows direction and speed of travel over the last few minutes.

The handset also doubles as a traditional BG and blood ketone meter and can take Optium blood strips or Optuim ketone strips. It also has an in-built bolus calculator if you use the unlock code (caa1c)

I find mine very helpful. If I could afford sensors full time I would wear them much more than I do.

I found this interesting. I considered buying one and asking my doctor to supply me with standard test strips for it and buying sensors myself. The only problem with this is a consultation with Dr. Google shows the test strips at £23.00 per 50 units. A dispensing pack of Accuchek Mobile cassettes costs him £38.00 and for that you get 100 tests. This is of course minus the 15 - 20 that you frequently lose because the meters screw up at all too regular intervals.

 

[Sally71]

I think it's brilliant, as long as you don't expect it to exactly match your blood glucose meter. After all it is isn't reading blood so you can't expect it to be the same! (Although we did have one this morning that was bang on with the Combo - first time!). Mostly we find it accurate to within 1-2 mmol, blood readings can be out by that much anyway so that's pretty close; the few occasions where we have had a bigger difference have been either when the blood sugar is very high or when it is changing quickly.
Everydayupsanddowns has just pipped me to it - when you order make sure you tick the VAT exemption box and the sensor cost is then just under £50, the starter pack (reader + 2 sensors) is £133.
I think it's well worth it if you can afford it. I love just knowing if BG is rising or falling, so useful, and overnight basal testing is a doddle now, all you have to do is remember to scan it!

Oh and regarding swimming, cover the sensor in Tegaderm and that will hold it in place and keep it waterproof, daughter was in the pool for an hour on Sunday and sensor is still working fine - Abbott only guarantee them for half an hour in water so I was a bit nervous but the Tegaderm worked brilliantly!

We use Accu Chek Aviva strips at the moment as they go with the Combo test kit, we are due for a new pump soon though and depending which one we get I might change our prescription over to Optium strips to go in the Libre so that will only be one gadget for daughter to carry around.

 

[Robin]

Just been back on the Freestyle Website and they are asking for £58.00 for a sensor which they suggest lasts for UP TO 14 days. The up to makes me a little bit unsure.

Ive never had one that's lasted less than 14 days, maybe they are covering themselves for the bedding in time at the start.
If you click on the 'Yes I am diabetic' box during the ordering process, it takes off the VAT, so they come down to just under £50 per sensor.

 

[Diabeticliberty]

I have just ordered a starter pack. I might have been better to establish whether my doctor will allow me Optium test strips on prescription. Oh well bugger him. If not I can always change doctors again!!!!!

 

[Robin]

I have just ordered a starter pack. I might have been better to establish whether my doctor will allow me Optium test strips on prescription. Oh well bugger him. If not I can always change doctors again!!!!!

When it arrives, before you insert the sensor, lie down and check which bit of your arm you're likely to be lying on in the night, and avoid placing the sensor there. Firstly, it's a bit uncomfortable til you get used to it, and also, I find if I lie on the sensor, the readings drop, so it looks like I've had a couple of hypos in the night. I gather this is a problem with all CGMs, not just the Libre.

 

[Northerner]

I have just ordered a starter pack. I might have been better to establish whether my doctor will allow me Optium test strips on prescription. Oh well bugger him. If not I can always change doctors again!!!!!

My argument for Optium strips was that I use them in my spare meter, which also doubles as a ketone meter (Freestyle Optium). My Countour Next doesn't read ketones. I only order Optium strips about every 6 months though - haven't switched entirely over to them as I prefer the Next as my main meter 🙂

All the main brands of meter cost the NHS around £15 per 50 strips, except the Mobile which is more expensive as it is in cassettes 🙂

 

[Matt Cycle]

So far I've only used the two sensors that came with the starter pack. The first sensor malfunctioned on insertion (the needle didn't retract back into the applicator and was sticking out of the sensor 😱). Abbott were pretty good and sent a replacement sensor. I found some variation between the sensor readings and the meter. I use a Freestyle Optium Neo meter anyway so the strips can be used in the Libre reader as a direct comparison. I found the higher the readings the bigger the difference but most of the time they were pretty close.

I would also recommend keeping well hydrated which I did more when using the second Libre sensor and found the sensor and meter readings to be much closer. The clinic are loaning me a genuine, proper CGM on Thursday but it's only over the weekend and I then have to give it back. The letter they sent for the appointment advises drinking plenty of fluids on the day it's fitted and the day before.

 

[Diabeticliberty]

My argument for Optium strips was that I use them in my spare meter, which also doubles as a ketone meter (Freestyle Optium). My Countour Next doesn't read ketones. I only order Optium strips about every 6 months though - haven't switched entirely over to them as I prefer the Next as my main meter 🙂

All the main brands of meter cost the NHS around £15 per 50 strips, except the Mobile which is more expensive as it is in cassettes 🙂

Pocketscan strips now cost more than the AccuChek stuff. I think a number of manufacturers whacked their prices right up when the AccuChek cassettes started selling. A lot of doctors wouldn't prescribe cassettes when they first introduced but now that prices are more comparable they seem less resistant and I have been using them for quite a few years now. I quite like the idea of having results available without being concerned with how many actual tests I have left. That is really what appeals to me about the Libre. Can I ask what you don't like about it as a 'standard blood test meter'? I would have thought that having one unit for both types of testing would be more practical than dragging 2 around with you.

 

[Sally71]

I have tried the Optium strips (and occasionally use the ketone ones) and do actually prefer Accu Chek; the Accu Chek ones come in a handy tub, need only a small drop of blood and give the result very quickly. Whereas the Optium ones come in a box and are then individually wrapped so they are fiddly to get out and create lots of rubbish, and they need a much larger drop of blood and take longer to give the result. I am probably biased though, at the moment we have to use the test meter which comes with the pump so I am used to the Accu Chek! When we change pumps it makes sense to carry just one meter around if possible, so I guess I will get used to the Optium ones in the Libre if that is what we decide to do.

 

[Bloden]

If I may ask, you suggest that you use them to spot trends and overnight lows. Do I take it then that they offer a permanent 'real time' reading? Does the sensor have a needle which is inserted into your bloodstream? How long do the sensors last? What do sensors cost?

Sorry to overburden you with stupid questions. The thing is however if they are offering a permanent real time reading then I think I would buy one just on that basis.

It's not a 'real time' reading unfortunately, DL. As Robin says, they're excellent for tracking trends and mapping overnight BGs. Abbott recommends finger pricks if you think you're hypo, or for meal-time dosing and correction doses. So you still have to prick if you want a 'real time' reading...so you'd still need to prick before driving. I look fwd to the day that a BG 'watch' is all we need to wear - my fingers are fed up!🙄

 

[Northerner]

As Sally says, the Optium strips are individually wrapped (which I like when using them out on runs, saves carrying a tub and having to manipulate that with cold, wet fingers 🙂 - not at other times though) plus they need approx. 1 gallon of blood and take about an hour to give the result (OK, maybe slightly exaggerated 😱)

 

[Bloden]

I have tried the Optium strips (and occasionally use the ketone ones) and do actually prefer Accu Chek; the Accu Chek ones come in a handy tub, need only a small drop of blood and give the result very quickly. Whereas the Optium ones come in a box and are then individually wrapped so they are fiddly to get out and create lots of rubbish, and they need a much larger drop of blood and take longer to give the result. I am probably biased though, at the moment we have to use the test meter which comes with the pump so I am used to the Accu Chek! When we change pumps it makes sense to carry just one meter around if possible, so I guess I will get used to the Optium ones in the Libre if that is what we decide to do.

You're right, Sally, the Freestyle strips ARE a faff! And it took me a good few minutes to find the finger prick option on the Libre - it's hidden somewhere in Settings if I remember rightly. If I was trying to use it when hypo it'd be a real challenge! 🙄
From what you and Shirley say, the Libre sounds like a parents' dream, especially for overnight checks.😛
Good luck with your new toy when it arrives, DL.🙂