Libre 2

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I know I can wing it without a sensor. Hell knows I remember the days I had no BG monitor.(& I was just a kid.)
I’ve personally had BG monitors screw up more than sensors? Cold weather can mess with a blood test monitor’s function.
 
Just to balance the thread, Libre and Libre 2 have both been really reliable and accurate for me in the 3 and a half years I have been using them. I don't think I had a single failed sensor last year. I use the reader so I am not plagued by the software issues many have with their phones. I believe that Abbott have on occasion replaced sensors when it was actually the app that was the issue, judging by others' posts on the forum, so I consider using the reader as part of my success and having a good application technique and my trusty arm strap. I do however accept that there is clearly an issue where the body chemistry of some people does not agree with it.
My sensors almost always read just less than 1mmol lower than my Caresens BG meter and I can bolus from it and do corrections without any anxiety at all. I very, very rarely get the "sensor error, try again in 10 mins" message and when I do it is because I have eaten something high sugar and of course jabbed insulin for it and my levels have become erratic as a result.
 
rebrascora said:
Just to balance the thread, Libre and Libre 2 have both been really reliable and accurate for me in the 3 and a half years I have been using them. I don't think I had a single failed sensor last year. I use the reader so I am not plagued by the software issues many have with their phones. I believe that Abbott have on occasion replaced sensors when it was actually the app that was the issue, judging by others' posts on the forum, so I consider using the reader as part of my success and having a good application technique and my trusty arm strap. I do however accept that there is clearly an issue where the body chemistry of some people does not agree with it.
My sensors almost always read just less than 1mmol lower than my Caresens BG meter and I can bolus from it and do corrections without any anxiety at all. I very, very rarely get the "sensor error, try again in 10 mins" message and when I do it is because I have eaten something high sugar and of course jabbed insulin for it and my levels have become erratic as a result.
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Maybe there's a lack of balance because people tend not to come on here to report that everything is hunky-dory! But my experience has been much the same as yours, Barbara. Yes, I've lost maybe 4 or 5 sensors over 4 years, but due to my own carelessness. None have ever just fallen off. I can recall only 3 that had to be replaced by Abbott due to failure. In the past few months I've noticed a marked increase in accuracy, too. I only use my phone to get readings, and apart from having to reinstall the app once, have had no software issues. Now it has CGM capability I don't think anything could persuade me away from my Libre (except Libre 3 I suppose)!
 
More people are on libre, so there are more likely to be libre complaints.
Also, most start on libre, so those on dexcom will have tried libre first and had a reason to move onto dexcom...and so they, by definition, advocate dexcom.
Fewer will move in the other direction, ie start on dexcom then move to libre and sing its comparative praises.

Which i love my g6, the libre was a lot nicer to look at it, and the 14 day wear time was great. Plus 2 hours is a long time for warm up!
 
I have just switched to Dexcom One from Diabetes Nurse do you still request via prescription and pick up from Pharmacy as with Libre?
 
Brava210 said:
I have just switched to Dexcom One from Diabetes Nurse do you still request via prescription and pick up from Pharmacy as with Libre?
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Yes. (Almost certainly, anyway. It's a regular prescribed thing just like Libre 2. Transmitters too, now.)
 
Bruce Stephens said:
Yes. (Almost certainly, anyway. It's a regular prescribed thing just like Libre 2. Transmitters too, now.)
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I agree. Presumably the Diabetes Nurse you are referring to is from your GP'ss Surgery. Anyway can you not now see this on your NHS repeat prescriptions?

When I got Dex One I ened up receiving a box of 9 sensors and one day previously I got 2 sensors to get me started. Weird arrangement but I think we'd just got the ICB to break their mould and treat me as an adult and give me enough sensors to go with the one 90 day transmitter. I already had a 2nd transmitter (for my 2 starter 10 day sensors). I then received after c. 80 days another box of 9 sensors, but no transmitter - but by then I'd started self-funding G7 so I never followed that up. I also moved house and into a different County.

But you might want to hold a completely spare transmitter?

Edit: this should be for @Brava210; apologies to @Bruce Stephens
 
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Fletch100! said:
Hi, has anyone found that sensors are failing after 8-10 days & not lasting the claimed 14 days?
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Yes, and failing for hours at a time and NOT sending an alarm when I go out of range. It’s a nightmare. Especially as I am visually impaired so I do rely heavily on the alarm
 
Author23 said:
Yes, and failing for hours at a time and NOT sending an alarm when I go out of range. It’s a nightmare. Especially as I am visually impaired so I do rely heavily on the alarm
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Wonder if it may be time to try another sensor then- because failing for hours is not inevitable, nor acceptable
 
Agreed. I replace the sensor each time and alert them but they can’t solve the problem.

What’s worse, I have checked and all alarms are on … but it doesn’t alert . At best my sugar is sky high before the alarm sounds. Been set for 13 … I’ll lucky if alarm sounds at 20. Usually MUCH higher. That is definitely unacceptable.

Last year the sensor stopped working for 8 months!!! I didn’t get a single reading in that time. Libre blamed my phone and my phone blamed Libre. It was the phone at fault! I had to spend £500 I didn’t have to get it fixed.
 
Author23 said:
Agreed. I replace the sensor each time and alert them but they can’t solve the problem.

What’s worse, I have checked and all alarms are on … but it doesn’t alert . At best my sugar is sky high before the alarm sounds. Been set for 13 … I’ll lucky if alarm sounds at 20. Usually MUCH higher. That is definitely unacceptable.

Last year the sensor stopped working for 8 months!!! I didn’t get a single reading in that time. Libre blamed my phone and my phone blamed Libre. It was the phone at fault! I had to spend £500 I didn’t have to get it fixed.
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It would have been much cheaper to get a reader for the Libre and in fact you could have requested one from Abbott since they were telling you that your phone was the problem and you didn't have any other means of reading the sensors.
I love my Libre reader and even though I have an iphone that works with the Libre which I ued for a couple of months when I lost my reader, I have now gone back to using the reader as it is just so much easier and more reliable and the battery lasts the best part of a week between charges, whereas my iphone needs charging pretty much every day. The reader is more basic than the phone app and I have to scan for readings rather than the full CGM that the phone app was upgraded to last year, but so much more reliable and no software issues every time there is an update on your phone. And it is small and fits comfortably in pockets etc.
 
I had the Libre 2 not reading for hours at a time, and always stopped reading after a shower, no signal etc
I have had a Dexcom One in since Tuesday without a single issue as yet
And readings have been within 1 unit of BG test
 
I've had issues with my last 2 libre sensors. One was failing to read for about half an hour which would happen every few hours
My last one also kept reporting I was at 3mol glucose which was incorrect. It was 6

I've changed sensor and the new one says I'm at 10+mol and a finger prick test says 5.6

Maybe the quality had changed at libre or they have sent out some bad batches
 
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Try dexcom...i've had very few issues with dexcom compare to libre. 1 sensor died a couple of hours early and most recent gave iffy readings but thats it, in over a year. They replace the iffy ones with less hassle than libre too. The majority of replacements were due to my error, to be honest (i tend to get muddled when i have to change the tramsmitter as well as sensor - doh!)
 
For NHS patients which dexcom devices are available. Is it just dexcom 1?
I just don't trust the libre 2 at the moment it has had some really bad readings, I'm better off just guessing based on how dizzy or hyper I feel at any point in time
 
Just started using the libre sensor 2. I’m concerned to why it won’t track my hypos especially the last two sensors I’ve used.
Is this normal ?

Thanks
 
Explain your use of the word 'track' - what are you expecting what device to show you?
 
I have been using Libre 2 for ~10 months. I have only had 2 sensors fail, both were from the same manufacturing batch. I complained to Abbott about the first, and then again when the next one failed. They ended up sending me 3 replacements, so I now keep a spare just in case!
 
Haynsey said:
Just started using the libre sensor 2. I’m concerned to why it won’t track my hypos especially the last two sensors I’ve used.
Is this normal ?

Thanks
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When you say it won't track your hypos, what do you mean? Sometimes the sensor seems to report low readings and dropping, but in fact it is trying to predict what is happening (this is a 'clever' mechanism to get past the fact that there is a lag in the sensor reading). This can mean you see levels dropping (or rising) but then the graph adjusts and hypos don't seem to be recorded - can that be what is happening? Lots of more experienced users have posted some great explanations of this aspect ... also Abbott can be quite helpful if you ring their helpline!
 
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