Hi, so I've spoke to my diabetic team this morning and they have recommended i get the free style libre blood glucose reading system and she's asked my GP to write a prescription. Does anyone use this device and is it more or less accurate than finger pricking? How well does the sensor stick to you can i stick it anywhere or does it need to go in a special place? How noticeable is it? can you use it through a long sleeved shirt or jumper? How does it actually work and does it read my blood sugars all day? What's everyone's opinion on this system, it sounds really high tech!
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freestyle libre
- Thread starter James B
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CharlotteH
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- Type 1
Hi there, I've had one for about a year now. I think it's great. It has to be on outside of Upper arm. I always have mine on my left. It's small about the size of a 2p coin. I wear short sleeve tops now and u can't see it cus I have it high up. U can use it threw any long sleeve tops, jumpers and jackets, coats if you out. It's great u forget its there. You just quickly put the tester machine by it and it tells you your sugar or you can also use smart phone as well. It's very accurate apart from its got about a 10 minute lapse. So it will tell you your going low before you will feel the symptoms, so check using your finger one then to get an accurate. Great as you can test as many times as you like without pricking your fingers.
Kaylz
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- Type 1
some find it doesn't work for them but the majority find it a great tool in managing their diabetes, you can iron out spikes in bg by spotting trends and learning when to prebolus further in advance etc, I'd say a £2 coin size and it depends on skin type how well it will stick, I put a Tegaderm film patch over mine to make sure it will last, it ideally has to be put on the back of the upper arms and best alternating arms with the change every fortnight, there are those that break the guidance but should any problems arise with accuracy Abbott don't have to replace it if you weren't wearing it on the upper arm, the same if any other type of problem were to arise Abbott wouldn't be responsible for it, depending where it's placed on the upper half of the arm then yes it may be below the sleeve and on show with a short sleeved top, I've worn a t-shirt, jumper and thick Superdry jacket and can still get a reading through all those layers, as long as you scan at least once every 8 hours then yes you will build full 24 hour graphs of your BG, I use my phone mostly so here's a screenshot of what you will get, also in the app you can view - Daily Patterns, Time In Target, Low Glucose Events, Average Glucose, Daily Graph, Estimated A1c and Sensor Usage xx
James please search the forums for Libre and you will find loads of us have them, and personally I would not be without mine ever!
Instant view of how you are doing, especially after anything like an injection or a meal where if you wanted to track for instance how quickly the insulin or food starts to have an effect, it is so easy without pricking your fingers and using up test strips.
Some people do not get on with it, but until you’ve tried you won’t know.
When I first had mine, I did inadvertently scratch my arm and knocked it off but once you get used to it you won’t notice it’s there.
As charlotte says back of top of your arm and can be read though quite thick coats, so great on long walks in the middle of winter,!
Instant view of how you are doing, especially after anything like an injection or a meal where if you wanted to track for instance how quickly the insulin or food starts to have an effect, it is so easy without pricking your fingers and using up test strips.
Some people do not get on with it, but until you’ve tried you won’t know.
When I first had mine, I did inadvertently scratch my arm and knocked it off but once you get used to it you won’t notice it’s there.
As charlotte says back of top of your arm and can be read though quite thick coats, so great on long walks in the middle of winter,!
I find the Libre a marvellous tool, because it tracks and records readings 24 hours a day. We have to recognise that it is not reading blood glucose, it measures glucose in the interstitial fluid, so measurement with a finger prick may well be different. I have experienced divergences of up to 7mmol (!!!) but usually for a very good reason (actually in the process of correcting a hypo, the blood comes up before the interstitial). Most of the time the two are quite close.
trophywench
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I was only thinking last night James that had you been using a Libre, when your BG was 5, the Libre reader screen has an arrow on it so it's easy to see if your BG is heading upwards, downwards or the arrow is horizontal, ie rock steady - it would have been of real help rather than instinctive guesswork.
You'll never avoid the latter entirely, and your instinctiveness skills will develop as you learn to live with your D - but as the advert for something else says, 'Every little helps' !
You'll never avoid the latter entirely, and your instinctiveness skills will develop as you learn to live with your D - but as the advert for something else says, 'Every little helps' !
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Hope you get on well with it @James B
It can be a real help to see what’s going on ‘between the dots’, and to get 3 bits of information each time you check (sensor glucose level, direction of travel, and speed of travel) but as folks have said it seems to work better for some people than others, and it can take a bit of getting used to.
As for accuracy, you have to remember that fingersticks are not that ‘accurate‘ either, and as @CharlotteH says, there is a slight time lag between capillary blood glucose and interstitial glucose (which is what the sensor measures).
You might find these videos a helpful introduction: https://abcd.care/dtn/flash-glucose-monitoring
It can be a real help to see what’s going on ‘between the dots’, and to get 3 bits of information each time you check (sensor glucose level, direction of travel, and speed of travel) but as folks have said it seems to work better for some people than others, and it can take a bit of getting used to.
As for accuracy, you have to remember that fingersticks are not that ‘accurate‘ either, and as @CharlotteH says, there is a slight time lag between capillary blood glucose and interstitial glucose (which is what the sensor measures).
You might find these videos a helpful introduction: https://abcd.care/dtn/flash-glucose-monitoring
I love this device! When I don’t feel great I can tap it for example yesterday I didn’t feel great hadn’t eaten since th morning but didn’t really feel that hungry scanned my app and was at 4.3 prompted me to eat and went back up to 7.2 it’s gunna make things so much easier
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megga
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I find it brilliant it gives you a better picture of what's happening rather than normal snap shot testing. For instance I have always struggled with my overnight blood sugars, even though I have done multiple overnight testing, I suspected that waking up to test affected my blood sugars. But with the Libre I just wake up in the morning and can see what's been happening, its led to better over night controls
As for working through cloths, I still use mine through my motorcycle jacket, and that's thick with heavy padding and armour in it
As for working through cloths, I still use mine through my motorcycle jacket, and that's thick with heavy padding and armour in it
nonethewiser
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Went from 10 bg tests day to 1 since using libre, time in range feature is best to determine how well diabetes is controlled, be lost without device now, so handy.
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