I must be missing something because the Libre 2 reader works absolutely fine for me and does everything I need it to..... maybe it's because I have never used a phone with LibreLink which I believe has more features, but you don't miss what you have never had. 🙄
True - about not missing what you've never had.
But L2 still needs one to scan to get a reading, yet the sensor is radiating a reading almost every single minute - only interruptedcwhen too much change confuses the algorithm. That signal could have been captured and made Libre 2 a real-time CGM, rather than intermittent / flash scan. There are unofficial apps that can (and do) read that emission - which Abbott have ferociously tried to stop (Why?). I use Diabox on my android phone and the difference between real CGM rather than flash scan is arguably superior to the difference between no CGM and flash CGM.
But that is just the start of my criticism. Admittedly my D is fairly brittle, so I can plummet from 7 to 4 very quickly. Why is the low alert capped at 5.6? Sometimes that is already too low, when I'm crashing. I accept that my needs could be unusual - but so what? Why is that threshold unnecessarily low? Diabox allows me to have the low alert from 6.7 AND I have the opportunity to have a 2nd Urgent low alert/alarm. So even when my normal low threshold has been triggered, I get a 2nd chance! This is still well adrift of the multiple alert (alarm) choices that most smart phones can provide.
The choice of sounds for alerts is generous from the Diabox settings - but (as with my fairly smart phone) I can choose other tunes from any music on my phone. There are sound alerts for both rising and falling BG and I've chosen for when falling the note sequence that is going down and of course the notes that are rising when going up; there is no doubt in my mind that a change is occurring and in which direction. I have the alert set to warn me when the rate of change is greater than 0.3. But that's not all - Diabox shows rates of change from 0.1 to 0.7. None of this diagonal or vertical guessing with Libre 2; clear trend diagnosis and numerically depicted. Libre could have done that, but both the LibreLink app and the Reader are lazy providers.
But why is Libre 2 underwhelming? Well the Diabox app has been written by a T1 geek (he unashamedly calls himself that) with a clear understanding of what would any insulin dependent user want to see on the app. His work is regulated by a small Committee of people who are each insulin dependent. They receive feedback from Users and direct what upgrade the geek should work on next; they are the equivalent of a configuration control committee that would normally be found for any IT project.
Does Abbott have such a process? If they do it is totally invisible and will almost certainly be controlled by the financiers. It explains how Abbott can force an upgrade of the LibreLink app on every single user (no choice) that didn't work properly, clearly wasn't appraised by any responsible Configuration Control process.
Why does the Libre Reader display a graph only in Portrait, with no option to see more detail in Landscape mode? Why only in grey and white - not always easy in difficult light; have Abbott never seen a colour screen? Yes, of course they have, but what they provide is a cheap upgrade of the original Libre Reader with scant regard for what a real user might appreciate and what today's tech can so readily provide.
Why can data only be sent through a cable to a PC or laptop that has a USB port? Not many laptops still have that capability and increasingly people don't bother with or need a PC these days.
I could go on. CGM sensors are a brilliant concept. For Libre 2 they are woefully under-delivered by a lazy provider who doesn't have to compete for much of its business: they could have done so much better with Libre 2 from the original Libre. And notwithstanding that there is a Yellow Card Scheme: who in the NHS manages this contract for relatively high priced single items? From my previous incarnation such neglect would simply not be allowed or tolerated for any of the purchases I ever made using the public purse and my budget was up to £25m annually. All scrutinised, accountable and managed through a Contracts Branch that had to adhere to Treasury Procurement Rules. Very bureaucratic, but very transparent and reassuring that there was a visible procurement process, which accepted observations and criticisms about the delivery of the end product. There was even a modest reward, actively promoted, for ideas that led to greater efficiency.
I would attach snapshots from my Diabox front screen. But right now that photo capture tech is defeating me! Currently I am displayed a fair bit higher than I might wish at 11.2, but this c.1 hr after dinner and this Libre 2 sensor is running c.2.7 pts above actual BG in mid range and nearer 3.5 when Libre and thus Diabox is displaying in the 11s. The differential gets worse as my BG rises - all part of why I sometimes struggle with interpreting the numbers from Libre 2; the trends seem fine and reliable.
So that's what I think you are missing,
@rebrascora.
www.bloomberg.com
www.theverge.com
