Freestyle Libre - Sensor failure rate of 40%

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Derrick Baughan

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1.5 LADA
Has anyone else kept a track of the failure rate of the sensor?

I have just started with the system. A 'trial' where I was issued a reader and one sensor, at the hospital but by a company rep. Clearly not a trial in the true sense of the word. More a marketing ploy to create demand. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with that. I am now self-funding the sensors until my CCG (Cambridgeshire) approve the use.

The system is a step change in how I manage my diabetes and I find it extremely useful. However, I now have my 5th sensor on and, after 4 days, it looks like it is failing. I keep getting the error message that glucose readings are not available, try again in a few minutes.

This will be the 2nd of 5 sensors to fail, a rate of 40%. Tomorrow I ring Abbot up to see what they have to say. Anyone else had a similar experience or am I just the unlucky one to get the Friday afternoon sensors?
 
I've probably only used 4 or 5 sensors, not had any issues at all.
 
I have been using Libre off and on since 2014, though not all the time, maybe 6-10 a year, though fewer in recent years.

In all I think I have had only two sensors that I have had replaced as they were not giving results within Abbott’s expectations.

I have never had any fall off or stop working, and all have lasted the full 14 days.

Seems like you have had an unfortunate experience. Certainly worth calling Abbott who can troubleshoot application etc. I am aware of some people for whom the system just doesn’t work (as seems to be the case with all the different continuous monitors), so hopefully this is just an unfortunate glitch rather than an indication of anything more long-term, since you are finding Libre useful.
 
I've used about 25 sensors since 2015, and I've only had to send one back ( it was consistently reading 3.0 or nothing at all right from the start, Abbot thought the sensor filament had probably kinked on entry)
I really feel for people who don't find them a success. As you say, Derrick, it's an extremely useful management tool, and frustrating when it doesn't work.
 
We are just coming up to 2 years of continuous use, so about 50 sensors. Out of all of those we have only had 2 which failed completely, right at the beginning of use, and got free replacements for those. One my daughter managed to knock off her arm, I didn't send that one back because it wasn't Abbott's fault. All the rest have lasted the full 14 days and worked pretty well right from the off; occasionally we get one which isn't quite as accurate as normal, but if you are aware of that you can work round it, e.g. if you know it always reads low then add a couple on to whatever it says and you'll be pretty close to the blood reading. The one we had on over Christmas was probably the dodgiest, and I don't know if it was a duff sensor or if I hadn't positioned it well on her arm and she was leaning on it more than usual. We activated it just before she went to bed, and for most of the night it was reading hypo when her finger pricks were consistently reading 8.5; by the morning it had settled and was much better although still not as close as usual (2-3 mmol out often and occasionally more). I know a lot of people would have sent it back for that but we just did a few more finger pricks than normal and used it primarily for the trends, and apart from the first few hours it was always reading high when she was high and low when she was low so that was good enough for me. (We always do finger pricks to calculate boluses anyway, and just scan in between if she thinks she might be low or to see whether any pump adjustments might be necessary.)
 
I’ve been using the Libre for well over a year. The only problem I’ve ever had was one sensor coming loose the day before I was due to change it. I occasionally see the “try again in ten minutes” message, but that has never been terminal. I couldn’t imagine going back to finger pricking regularly (I always do when correcting hypos). I love it🙂
 
I’ve been using the Libre full time for a year. I’ve had a couple of try again in 10 mins, I’ve knoced a off a couple , my last sensor was 4.0 above or below a meter reading for two days then became very accurate.

What I have noticed is that fo r most of last year the sensors I recieved only had a 3 or 4 months shelf life and though I was happy with them they were not as accurate as the ones with the much longer shelf life that I have now, this last batch have an expirey date of August 2018 and once settled down in my arm ( I normally apply them a day or two before activating them, the ones I activate immediately are often not as accurate) are no more than 0.4 difference between meter and Libre.

I think it’s a good idea to contact Abbott, from what I have read on here, they are very good about replacing faulty sensors but they do want the faulty ones back to check them.

I hope Abbott can sort the problem out for you, as imo the amount of extra info the give is wonderful it’s been a game changer for me.
 
100% fail rate for me, from not working to reading very low compared to finger pricking even allowing for any time lag, gave up using it.
 
They are expensive so after having one fall out, with no sticky on the back of it, I then used a tegaderm over the sensor. At 50p a time it is well worth it to keep the sensor in for the full 14 days. After that no problems, although I always find my BG readings are a bit different from the Libre, but they are reading different things so that is not a surprise. When they are further apart I use that as a reminder to stay more hydrated.

The information that I get from the sensor is regarding patterns rather than specific readings, and for that it is invaluable, especially for heading off highs and lows.
 
I’ve had two sensors mess up. One was caused by the scan thing you get when you enter libraries and shops. My local library shut the sensor off. My first ever one fell off. And they replaced them both.

I had to have my handset replaced in the summer. They said it broke due to extreme heat. They replaced it without charge.
 
Derrick Baughan said:
Has anyone else kept a track of the failure rate of the sensor?

I have just started with the system. A 'trial' where I was issued a reader and one sensor, at the hospital but by a company rep. Clearly not a trial in the true sense of the word. More a marketing ploy to create demand. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with that. I am now self-funding the sensors until my CCG (Cambridgeshire) approve the use.

The system is a step change in how I manage my diabetes and I find it extremely useful. However, I now have my 5th sensor on and, after 4 days, it looks like it is failing. I keep getting the error message that glucose readings are not available, try again in a few minutes.

This will be the 2nd of 5 sensors to fail, a rate of 40%. Tomorrow I ring Abbot up to see what they have to say. Anyone else had a similar experience or am I just the unlucky one to get the Friday afternoon sensors?
Click to expand...
Full marks to Abbot. I phoned them up and they did not quibble about sending me a new sensor. I also mentioned that the reader touch screen function was intermittent and they are sending a replacement reader as well.
 
Derrick Baughan said:
Full marks to Abbot. I phoned them up and they did not quibble about sending me a new sensor. I also mentioned that the reader touch screen function was intermittent and they are sending a replacement reader as well.
Click to expand...
That’s good to hear. I hope the new sensor and reader works well for you.
 
Amberzak said:
I’ve had two sensors mess up. One was caused by the scan thing you get when you enter libraries and shops. My local library shut the sensor off. My first ever one fell off. And they replaced them both.

I had to have my handset replaced in the summer. They said it broke due to extreme heat. They replaced it without charge.
Click to expand...

Not sure what is inside the sensor, but if it is a microchip of sorts, when I was a satellite tech on an aerospace program our chips could run in conditions up to 80 deg C, so Im not so sure about the heat excuse?? That being said Im not using a Libra yet so cant comment on much else. They will need to look at the heat issue if it is to be used in diverse countries as temperature in Africa, where I am originally from can hit up to 40 plus C and Im sure temps in the States and Europe in some places would get to around that.
 
The reader may struggle with extreme heat, for example being left on a sunny windowsill. This applies to ordinary meters as well - I have had temperature warnings in the past from various meters.

The sensors tolerate any temperature that you could, so there’s no problem in hot climates.
 
When I came in from an early morning walk last week, the sensor wouldn't work, said it was too cold. Was fine half an hour later.
 
Hi all, not been here for some time, but my reason for visiting is to post a question that is the topic of this thread - how spooky.

I am an occasional user of the Libre. About six months ago I fitted one, it worked for about 8 days then started to fail. I got the 10 minute messages, and many messages that the sensor was not available. Sometimes it worked for a bit, but there were many gaps in the records of minutes to hours. Eventually it stopped altogether. I contacted Abbott, and they changed it.

I am now wearing the replacement, I have 10 days to go, and it showing the same symptoms, also this is my fifth sensor, so this also is 40% reliability. I’ll be contacting Abbott in the morning.

My suspicion is that the fault is in the connector between the sensor filament and the sensor body, the part that is put together when assembling the sensor for use. I have probably knocked it about a bit today, and perhaps this connector is rather fragile. If it was a sensor controller problem then once failed, it would probably never work again.
 
It would appear that some folk just don’t get on with the Libre. It’s not a systemic problem with the kit, otherwise many folk, statistically, would at least get the odd duff sensor. But there are folk like me on the forum who have never had a problem that wasn’t their own mishap.

The problem, therefore must lie somewhere along the line of constructing the applicator, and the application itself. The technique I use is first of all, clean the skin thoroughly with the wipes provided to clear any oil, or residual dried shower gel. A quick wipe is not really sufficient. While that is drying, build the applicator taking care that the lines are accurately lined up. The pressure needed when applying the sensor is the pressure needed to trigger the mechanism. Don’t hold the applicator otherwise, or do anything that might reduce the pressure. Don’t immediately remove the applicator - wait for about ten to fifteen seconds for the adhesive to warm up, then carefully lift the applicator off. I always give the sensor a little press to reassure myself it’s stuck down, but that’s a touch paranoid.

As I say, I’ve never had a problem following that routine. And the old sensors usually take a week or more to drop off after their expiry.

I’m sorry for putting the blame on the user, but that’s the only possible explanation, unless folk are so unlucky that they are the only ones who consistently get duff kit. How likely is that? And Abbott are probably thinking the same thing. They just don’t produce stuff with an intrinsic 40% failure rate.
 
That’s interesting, Benny. I certainly don’t get wildly erroneous readings towards the end of two weeks, when I’ve checked with fingerpricks, and I don’t notice any gaps on the trace. For sure, it would be interesting if you sent your data to Abbott. I’d love to see what their response is.
 
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