Freestyle Libre - Sensor failure rate of 40%

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I had three sensor failures was down to fitting them incorrectly.it is very easy not to fit them correctly you have to be very careful On fitting them.
 
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Totalwar said:
I had three sensor failures down to fitting them correctly very easy not to fit them correctly have to be very careful.
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Should that read "incorrectly"? Otherwise I am struggling to understand what you mean?
 
mark king said:
This alleged sensor failure does seem to be a bit hit and miss.
There seems to be 2 camps, either they stick on your arm and work well or they drop dead and fall off.
From memory I never had any L1's fail and so far only 1 L2 gave me issues with the catheter breaking up on attempted assembly prior to attachment.
Abbots did say they had some issues with L2 but L3 had sorted them all out.
Trouble is L3 is not yet available in the UK and nobody seems to know when they might be.
From reading these posts it seems the same people get the falling off problem which to me makes it more likely it's the person not the unit that causes the issues.
If it was the sensor everybody would be seeing it and not individuals.

Let's hope L3 arrives soooooooooooon.
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Not necessary - you assume manufacturing processes are 100% repeatable all the time and Abbott's QA procedures are functioning well. Application is pretty damn simple - not sure how you can get that bit wrong, and if you can, then that in and of itself is a design failing at £50 a unit, 10p to manufacture. My last failure was something to do with the electronics in the unit. But to be fair to Abbotts, at least the sent me a postage paid jiffy bag so I could return it to them for inspection.
 
The only thing I find with application is that the applicator never comes off cleanly and always needs quite a wriggle to get it free. As a result I always hold the applicator firmly against my arm for about a minute after application before I try to remove it, to give the sensor adhesive the best chance or holding whilst I wriggle the applicator clear. I have never yet had an applicator lift off without a few seconds of anxious wiggling. Not sure if everyone experiences that but so far in over a year of use, I haven't had a single applicator lift off without a struggle.
 
rebrascora said:
The only thing I find with application is that the applicator never comes off cleanly and always needs quite a wriggle to get it free. As a result I always hold the applicator firmly against my arm for about a minute after application before I try to remove it, to give the sensor adhesive the best chance or holding whilst I wriggle the applicator clear. I have never yet had an applicator lift off without a few seconds of anxious wiggling. Not sure if everyone experiences that but so far in over a year of use, I haven't had a single applicator lift off without a struggle.
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Agree, I always hold mine there for a few seconds, then lift it off really slowly and carefully. I sometimes wonder if people click and pull away straight off, and if that doesn’t give the adhesive time to bond.
 
I must admit I don't understand the level of problems some are having. The problem with them not sticking is due to different skin types. Mine stick 'like glue' and no hint of them falling off. You can't attach them incorrectly with the applicator; just push, click and it's on and a little jiggle and you can remove the applicator. I'm sure some of the problems will be with the underlying flesh which must vary from person to person and how it affects the filament.
 
Hello @rebrascora just a plus from me re the L2 sensor. I've not had any frequent problems with it and as with the L1 it stays "stuck on me".
The only real difference for me is that I get alarms on me going LO or HI which is very useful particularly for me as I tend to drop through my sleep so I tend to over carb before bed.
Having the alarm allows me to take less carbs at bed time knowing the alarm will call me if i drop to a predetermined setting, 4.0 in my case.
So don't worry about the L2 it's worked fine for me.
 
Hello @BlueArmy, what I expect is that any production line will have agreed manufacturing tolerances and they will do a predetermined quality check on the finished products. Then anything outside of that would be spread through the market subject to batch Nos. What seems to be happening on here is the same people get problems while also the same people DON'T get problems which for me tends to point it more at it being another reason, maybe application or skin type.
Anyway it is always a little difficult trying to discuss finer points on here but certainly would be a great pub discussion point. 😛o_O😉
 
helli said:
I feel I'm missing out - I've never jiggled when applying my Libre 🙂
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Does that mean your applicator just lifts straight off cleanly without any snagging? Starting to wonder if I am doing something wrong or just very unlucky but I hate the applicator removal part as you can see it trying to lift the sensor and my skin adhered to it of course when I try to lift it away and I have to incorporate a careful wiggling technique to get the applicator free and then gently but firmly press all around the sensor with my fingers to ensure it is well stuck down still.
I haven't had any issues with my sensor adhering (or getting caught on clothing or knocked off) since I started using an arm strap, so that has definitely sorted any problems on that front but the removal of the applicator is a "heart in mouth" moment every time I apply a new sensor.
 
rebrascora said:
Does that mean your applicator just lifts straight off cleanly without any snagging? Starting to wonder if I am doing something wrong or just very unlucky but I hate the applicator removal part as you can see it trying to lift the sensor and my skin adhered to it of course when I try to lift it away and I have to incorporate a careful wiggling technique to get the applicator free and then gently but firmly press all around the sensor with my fingers to ensure it is well stuck down still.
I haven't had any issues with my sensor adhering (or getting caught on clothing or knocked off) since I started using an arm strap, so that has definitely sorted any problems on that front but the removal of the applicator is a "heart in mouth" moment every time I apply a new sensor.
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Mine definitely gives a bit of a pull on the sensor as I lift the applicator clear too. Not very hard, but as you say, it lifts the sensor, with the flab on my arm attached a bit before it detaches with a definite bit of reluctance. If I were to let go, the applicator would definitely hang on my arm, not just drop away.
Maybe I’ve just got flabby bingo wings, but I imagine you to have rock solid muscle!
Perhaps if people pull theirs sharply away straight way they don’t notice the tug, but I never dare do that in case the whole sensor comes off with it.
 
rebrascora said:
Does that mean your applicator just lifts straight off cleanly without any snagging? Starting to wonder if I am doing something wrong or just very unlucky but I hate the applicator removal part as you can see it trying to lift the sensor and my skin adhered to it of course when I try to lift it away and I have to incorporate a careful wiggling technique to get the applicator free and then gently but firmly press all around the sensor with my fingers to ensure it is well stuck down still.
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Yes, it does just lift off.
I've never thought about it before but as a bread maker who kneads by hand and as a climber, I am missing bingo wings (although I don't have the "rock solid muscle" @Robin mentioned).
 
Thanks for that @Robin That exactly describes the situation.... apart from the rock solid muscles 🙄 I feel better knowing I am not the only one. I definitely feel that this part of the application process puts the adhesive under duress at it's most critical time and could be responsible for some people having adhesion problems or filaments being disturbed... ie the sensor maybe lifts a bit on one side as the applicator is being removed and then gets firmed back into place possibly kinking the filament.

There is no mention of this snagging in the application instructions and I really feel that something needs to be done either to advise people how to cope with it or ideally, the snagging problem overcome. If I just tried to lift the applicator straight off without holding it firmly in place for a minute first and didn't wriggle it I am pretty certain I would have a lot of failures.
 
I don't have bingo wings either but the applicator snags on the sensor not on the skin so I am not sure if the tension of the tissue is relevant. The applicator doesn't snag all the way around the sensor either, just in one or two places. The shape of the arm or location where the sensor is placed may be relevant but I have varied that and still find it snags every time.

I know you @helli have talked about finding a "flat spot" on the arm on us ladies with a smaller circumference of arm, so that the sensor edges are at less risk of lifting and I think maybe the pressure of applying the sensor pushes those edges higher into the applicator than they should go, making them tight or jammed. I also wonder if how you position your arm when you apply it is relevant. I tend to put my hand on the opposite shoulder so that I can see the site easily in the mirror but perhaps this flexes a muscle which causes the problem.

Interesting discussion. Maybe we will solve Abbott's problems for them if we continue!
 
Well all, ref stick the sensor to your body, "if i said you were a beautiful sensor would you stay stuck to me".

1/ I just assemble the sensor and prime it for application.
2/ I then press it quite hard down onto my body and hold it there for a short time. Body = arm - tummy - thigh
3/ After the short time laps I wiggle and ease the injector off the sensor, the sensor does resist this, once off I palm press the sensor down just to make sure. [it's the injector that wiggles not me. 🙄]
4/ I then activate my reader followed by my Android phone, that's it job done. 🙂
 
@mark king Pleased to hear you are another wiggler
 
I just pull it straight off with a good pull and no wiggling. The sensor is glued to my arm so no need to worry about it coming off, it always stays stuck.
 
helli said:
I am another long term user with very few failures.
Some have fallen off due to bad placement (user error) and one has given up the ghost and failed to scan
I can't comment on the accuracy because I use a different app to read which allows calibration
I do not use the reader as my phone is an extension of me so always around and I hate carrying extra stuff unnecessarily.
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Hi Helli, what app do you use that lets you calibrate your freestyle?
 
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