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irene1656865336

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Type 2
Hello everyone,

This is my first time on here. My journey to becoming a diabetic has had its ups and downs, it took awhile for me to get a correct diagnosis. I was treated as a type 2 to start only to find out I am Type 1 to develop it later in life has been a shock but a relief in some ways as I lost a lot of weight before getting an answer, although I struggle with insulin measurements sometimes and what to do with food, I am much better and am thankful it was nothing worse and it is something manageable.

But my question is, for those of you who are type 1 and have a Libra sensor, do you cover your sensor when you go in the sea or swimming pool and if so what do you cover it with please?

I have asked in different pharmacies and they do not have or provide anything. Thank you.
 
Hi Irene and welcome!

Your experience sounds very like my own. I had lots of unexplained weight loss and eventually a T1 diagnosis. Late in life too - I was diagnosed shortly before Christmas when still 62.

I don’t cover my Libre at all in the pool. Not been in the sea with it yet as only been through one winter but I think in general they are pretty resilient. They occasionally fail - I have had two give up the ghost, but nothing to do with water. One guy I met recently said he had trouble with his in last year’s heatwave.

On food - worth asking your healthcare team about seminars/courses to introduce you to carb counting and matching insulin doses to your food.

What insulins are you taking?
 
I don’t cover the libre in the pool at all
 
irene1656865336 said:
But my question is, for those of you who are type 1 and have a Libra sensor, do you cover your sensor when you go in the sea or swimming pool and if so what do you cover it with please?
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There's a wide variety of things you can use if you're worried. Stickers like these: https://shop.diabetes.org.uk/collections/cgm-patches

More generic Tegaderm (which are transparent). (6x7cm are about the right size. You might want to cut (or poke) a hole in the middle to match the hole in Libre sensors.) There are also straps and things to keep the sensors in place, usually with 3-D printed things to match the sensor. They're pretty cheap and (of course) reusable.
 
It can get you, couldn’t agree more. It has taken me some time to adjust to the relentlessness of it all. I’ve found that there is lots of understanding and discussion on here and that really helps.
 
Welcome @irene1656865336

Glad you were able to get an accurate diagnosis in the end. Unintended weight loss really should be more of a red flag to healthcare professionals - we have many members here who were assumed to be T2 initially, but we later reclassified as T1.

Hope you enjoy your holiday - remember to take plenty of spare supplies with you - running out of diabetes gubbins in foreign climes can be such a headache!

As @Bruce Stephens says, Abbott don’t recommend applying anything over a sensor, and they say it’s important for skin health to keep the central hole uncovered so that the skin under the sensor can breathe. So if you do try any overtape, cutting a little hole in the middle of the sticker might be a wise precaution?
 
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