hello from newbie Grandad Andy ☺

[Andy777]

Hello everyone. Happy New Year ! Hope you are all well.

I'm new here. I'm Andy. My wife and I are octogenarians and I have had diabetes for 14 years but it is not my main disease. I have a rare genetic neurological disease which began to cause walking difficulties some 20 years ago and has since rendered me immobile. I've been in a powerchair for 4 years and now have other illnesses.

With the help of doctors, carers and nurses, everything is manageable and we are enjoying life, though presently restricted by Covid.

I am here to ask your advice and views, please, on the Freestyle Libre reader that I have been loaned. My wife and I want to purchase our own reader & sensors but we find that both the reader and the sensor are expensive to buy. The sensor needs to be replaced every 2 weeks, making the ongoing cost £25pw.
Can anyone suggest a cheaper technology than Freestyle, or a longer-lasting sensor, and if not, do you consider it value for money? Do many of you use it? If not, why not?

My wife and I like the equipment because
a) it works. My stubborn bs dropped from the high 20s within 10 days of using the reader.
b) I am able to take my own reading anytime.
c) it saves repeated attempts to draw blood by finger-pricking.

Please place my post where it belongs if this is not the correct place. Thank you.
Andy

 

[Windy]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I don't know much about the Libre2, but from reading the forum, I believe you can use a smartphone to read it, instead of the reader. Hopefully someone with one can confirm.
Good news how it's helped to get your BS down. I hadn't realised how expensive the sensors were.
Sarah

 

[Leadinglights]

Hello everyone. Happy New Year ! Hope you are all well.

I'm new here. I'm Andy. My wife and I are octogenarians and I have had diabetes for 14 years but it is not my main disease. I have a rare genetic neurological disease which began to cause walking difficulties some 20 years ago and has since rendered me immobile. I've been in a powerchair for 4 years and now have other illnesses.

With the help of doctors, carers and nurses, everything is manageable and we are enjoying life, though presently restricted by Covid.

I am here to ask your advice and views, please, on the Freestyle Libre reader that I have been loaned. My wife and I want to purchase our own reader & sensors but we find that both the reader and the sensor are expensive to buy. The sensor needs to be replaced every 2 weeks, making the ongoing cost £25pw.
Can anyone suggest a cheaper technology than Freestyle, or a longer-lasting sensor, and if not, do you consider it value for money? Do many of you use it? If not, why not?

My wife and I like the equipment because
a) it works. My stubborn bs dropped from the high 20s within 10 days of using the reader.
b) I am able to take my own reading anytime.
c) it saves repeated attempts to draw blood by finger-pricking.

Please place my post where it belongs if this is not the correct place. Thank you.
Andy

It may be a long shot but you could try getting then on prescription given your circumstances. If you can collect some evidence as to how useful it is for managing your condition.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Andy777

Yes we have quite a few members who use various different sensor technologies including Libre2, though it is more often our T1 members who have access to sensors via the NHS (or self fund like I do).

As you know, the benefits of continuous sensors are significant, but these do come at a premium cost. It has not been easy to get sensors funded on the NHS in the past, but as trial evidence of their use increases this looks to be gradually changing, so it would certainly be worth your asking if a special case could be made for you, given your circumstances?

Let us know how things go 🙂

 

[Andy777]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum. I'm afraid I don't know much about the Libre2, but from reading the forum, I believe you can use a smartphone to read it, instead of the reader. Hopefully someone with one can confirm.
Good news how it's helped to get your BS down. I hadn't realised how expensive the sensors were.
Sarah

Thank you, Sarah, for sparing the time to reach out to me. It was very kind of you.
We do not own a smart phone but, thanks to you, I now realise my daughter could easily check my bs reading on her phone every evening. I would need to have a more independent and more frequent testing routine in place so I will continue to retry to find a cheaper version of the Libre.
Andy

 

[gll]

you might be cheaper to get a smart phone and not have it for phone purposes but just for scanning 🙂

 

[Bruce Stephens]

We do not own a smart phone but, thanks to you, I now realise my daughter could easily check my bs reading on her phone every evening.

Better than that: when you scan the sensor it gives you 8 hours of readings (4 an hour). Unfortunately, the sensor only remembers 8 hours, so ideally you want to scan at least every 8 hours. Even so, seeing the graph of how your day has gone might be of value.

 

[Windy]

Does anyone know if it needs a particular model/make of smartphone? I'm wondering if Andy's daugher has an old one that could have the app loaded, and use that to save a bit of cash?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

so I will continue to retry to find a cheaper version of the Libre.

There's one that looks like it's £40 a fortnight: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/new-cgm.97535/ (link is https://www.glucorx.co.uk/our-products/glucorx-aidex-cgm-system/), but that also requires a smartphone. (And a transmitter, but they say the transmitter lasts for years.)

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Does anyone know if it needs a particular model/make of smartphone? I'm wondering if Andy's daugher has an old one that could have the app loaded, and use that to save a bit of cash?

It's possible. (I'm using a (now old) Pixel 2, and that works fine.)

They have a list, but it's possible that phones not on that list will also work. But not a phone that doesn't have NFC: those definitely won't work.

Tutorials & Downloads | Freestyle Libre | Abbott

Explore video tutorials and downloadable resources for the FreeStyle Libre 2 and 3 systems, LibreView, FreeStyle LibreLink and FreeStyle Libre 3 app.

freestylediabetes.co.uk

 

[Andy777]

It may be a long shot but you could try getting then on prescription given your circumstances. If you can collect some evidence as to how useful it is for managing your condition.

Thank you for offering advice.
LOL who said that!! Who suggested getting it on a prescription? Our village surgery likes to change all my many medical requisites to a generic version. I would not dare ask for the sensor on prescription. The Libre was given to me by the diabetes nurse consultant who said it was donated. When the sensor needed replacing 2 weeks later, she said they would not be replacing the sensor. BTW, please do you know if a sensor marked Libre 2 will work with my original reader model, marked Libre?
Andy

 

[Lily123]

Thank you for offering advice.
LOL who said that!! Who suggested getting it on a prescription? Our village surgery likes to change all my many medical requisites to a generic version. I would not dare ask for the sensor on prescription. The Libre was given to me by the diabetes nurse consultant who said it was donated. When the sensor needed replacing 2 weeks later, she said they would not be replacing the sensor. BTW, please do you know if a sensor marked Libre 2 will work with my original reader model, marked Libre?
Andy

I believe the Libre 2 is compatible with the Libre reader and you could check on the box of the reader as I think it may say .

 

[Bruce Stephens]

BTW, please do you know if a sensor marked Libre 2 will work with my original reader model, marked Libre?

Probably, though particularly old ones won't (since they can't support the new software update). You'd miss out on the Libre 2 alarms, but likely those don't matter to you.

Older readers can be replaced: https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/fsl2Replacement.html

In terms of cutting the ongoing cost, you're not required to wear a sensor all the time. If you're reasonably stable, you could wear one half the time (so one a month) or less often, and that might be enough for what you want? (You can't wear it for one day a week or anything: once it's been activated it's dead after 14 days, so you may as well continue using it.)

 

[Andy777]

Probably, though particularly old ones won't (since they can't support the new software update). You'd miss out on the Libre 2 alarms, but likely those don't matter to you.

Older readers can be replaced: https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/fsl2Replacement.html

In terms of cutting the ongoing cost, you're not required to wear a sensor all the time. If you're reasonably stable, you could wear one half the time (so one a month) or less often, and that might be enough for what you want? (You can't wear it for one day a week or anything: once it's been activated it's dead after 14 days, so you may as well continue using it.)

Hi Bruce,
popped back to let you know that I got myself sorted out sharpish, thanks to all the help I received here. Thanks to y'all.
I'm using the donated old reader with the older type Sensor and now have permission to trade this reader for the newer model Reader 2, (thanks for your tip!) so will do that when present sensors expire. After that, I'm hoping to buy new sensors every other month, providing my readings are average and steady.

I was thinking that maybe others might want to try to obtain a free donated old reader via their diabetes nurse. It has saved me the price of a new reader and made it much easier to keep a check on my bs levels. There must be a lot of spares around, now that there is a newer model.

I don't suppose anyone could tell me the cheapest place to buy Censors 2 or if they are sold in 4s and discounted?
take care. goodnight Andy

 

[grovesy]

I get mine direct from Abbott and you tick a box saying Diabetic to get the VAT deducted.

 

[Andy777]

I get mine direct from Abbott and you tick a box saying Diabetic to get the VAT deducted.

Thanks, Grovesy. Music to my ears. I had been wondering about vat.
btw, sensor ended 6 days ago but is still firmly stuck to my arm.
I'm amazed to have been recording 6.7 or thereabouts every morning, even with no sensor.
cheers,
Andy

 

[Lucyr]

Thanks, Grovesy. Music to my ears. I had been wondering about vat.
btw, sensor ended 6 days ago but is still firmly stuck to my arm.
I'm amazed to have been recording 6.7 or thereabouts every morning, even with no sensor.
cheers,
Andy

Why is the sensor still inserted in your arm if it ended 6 days ago?

 

[trophywench]

Cos he hasn't got round to removing it - clearly! I very often don't bother immediately I have to say - but not as long as that, perhaps overnight though. And if still stuck like a blasted limpet, it will most likely sting a bit if I try and get it off too soon. Because it won't be that arm's turn again for a fortnight there's no urgency - but OTOH with all the lousy cannula sites that won't absorb for very long if at all, for that reason I wouldn't leave it a week - asking for trouble.

@Andy777 - get if off, mate! Might get it off a bit easier if it's soaking wet. If it's stuck to hairs though, ouch.

 

[Andy777]

my wife and my carers do not want to pull too hard and it is still stuck solidly. Daily showering has not shifted it so what else will?
Andy

 

[Windy]

You can use Baby oil apparently!