Hello

[JGH]

Hello
I’ve just joined the forum and received an email suggesting that I should introduce myself.
I’ve been type I diabetic since 1979, an eighth birthday present, and just received my first Freestyle Libre four days ago; I am having a few problems with “try again in ten minutes”
John

 

[Windy]

Hi John, welcome to the forum. I don't know anything about Libre, I'm afraid, but there's a forum on diabetes technology which may be of use.
I suspect someone with better knowledge of Libre will be along soon and will be able to assist,
Sarah

 

[snowball12]

Hi and welcome

 

[rebrascora]

Hi John and welcome.

Funny how many of us got diagnosed around birthdays or Christmas.... such a lovely present! Thankfully mine didn't arrive until I was 56 which has perhaps made coming to terms with it a bit easier I think.

So pleased you have got Libre and once you get used to it and understand it's limitations then you will hopefully find it a game changer, as most of us do.
The "try again in 10 mins" is often due to levels changing very rapidly. The sensor reads the glucose level of the interstitial fluid around cells rather than blood glucose and interstitial fluid lags about 10 mins behind blood so the Libre app has an algorithm which tries to predict what your reading will be 10 mins from when you scan by extrapolating from previous readings. If levels are changing very quickly, it realizes that this may not give an accurate or safe result so it will buy some time by giving you that message, so that it can collect more data to work from...... OR..... it may be an indication that the senor is failing if it happens very frequently.
Sadly there have bee reliability issues with the Libre 2 for some people. Abbott are very good at replacing faulty sensors so do contact them if the problem persists, but if you think it is likely that your levels are changing rapidly or suddenly changing direction due to an insulin correction or carb intake then that will be the reason why.
Do also be aware that if you lie on the sensor at night, it may give you what is called a "compression low" when it will indicate you are hypo when you may not be, so it is always important to check very high or low (hypo) readings with a finger prick before you treat them with carbs or insulin, unless you obviously feel hypo, in which case take hypo treatment and then check with a finger prick.

I hope it isn't a duff sensor but if it is, do contact Abbott customer services and they will talk you through how to obtain the error codes they may need. They will also want the serial number which is on the packaging if you still have it but will also be recorded on the app in your phone/reader and is printed in tiny characters around the edge of the sensor which you may be able to read when you have removed it but probably not whilst in situ unless you are a contortionist with impeccable eyesight! 🙄

Anyway, I hope it settles down and starts giving you some useful info but do ask more questions if you aren't sure about anything.

 

[Lisa66]

Hi and welcome

Just before my 12th birthday for me 🙄

Has your sensor settled down yet? As has already been mentioned, the try again message often pops up when levels are changing rapidly.

Abbott are really very helpful, so don’t hesitate to ring them with any issues.

If you aren’t a contortionist with fantastic zoom vision, as Barbara suggested, then the serial number is in the foil lid and on the box that your sensor came in. All the information that you’ll need (incl the sensor number) for your call is on your reader, or phone if using. I think it’s under the help section in the drop down menu, have a look and I, sure you’ll find it. It will have software numbers too. It’s handy to have this info ready, but if you can’t find it you will also be talked through how to find it…they our very patient…I know this from experience 🙂

Hopefully it’s already settled down. I think (hope) you’ll find it really useful, it’s quite a novelty to begin with…I sometimes wonder how I managed for all those years without it.

 

[Martin DUK]

Welcome John 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @JGH

Hope you find the Libre as helpful as many forum members have.

The ‘wait 10 minutes’ thing is usually because the sensor is a bit unsure about the feed of information it is getting.

If it is not seated properly, or hasn’t quite inserted right the filament may not be consistently delivering reliable readings (for example a sudden burst of high and low values in quick succession), so there is a safety feature which means the reader/app doesn’t just continue providing any old random glucose values, it waits until it starts to get what it thinks is more expected data.

Of course sometimes blood glucose actually does wobble quite erratically, so if you’ve had a period where things have been zig-zagging rapidly, then your sensor might also throw a precautionary wobbler.

If it keeps happening I would call the Abbott helpline, who will be able to troubleshoot the sensor and will replace it if it isn’t behaving as expected.