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Libre 2

J

JonathanGi

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Pronouns
He/Him
Are they getting worse?
I've not had one last for 2 weeks since the 11th February. Two have failed within 24 hours. They can be incredibly inaccurate, sometimes dangerously so. For example, sensor said 3.9 and fingerprick gave me a 5.7. I knew it wasn't as low as that as I get good hypo signs, even after 58 years. But, of course, it's ok to drive at 5.7 but not at 3.9.
 
Is that the Libre 2 + Jonathan, I’m still on the ordinary Libre 2 and have not had any problems for a your so
 
I've had the Libre 2+ since last May I think, and you do sometimes get a dodgy batch - sent back a few for chronic signal loss after a couple of days, one fell off, and one was giving ridiculously low readings - all were replaced immediately by Abbott - it's just the nature of the technology, that some will go wrong - generally they are ok though, and I wouldn't be without one
 
mashedupmatt said:
I've had the Libre 2+ since last May I think, and you do sometimes get a dodgy batch - sent back a few for chronic signal loss after a couple of days, one fell off, and one was giving ridiculously low readings - all were replaced immediately by Abbott - it's just the nature of the technology, that some will go wrong - generally they are ok though, and I wouldn't be without one
Click to expand...
Snag being "When can I trust it?"

Which speaking personally is still a constant worry for me.
 
And for me. I am usually about 20 minutes ahead of silly sensor.
I sometimes feel I rely too much on it and trust less on my own perception. An example - a couple of weeks ago I was running with club and felt low but sensor gave me a reading of 4.7. It was a sprint session which usually puts my BG up as it is mostly anaerobic. I then had a proper wobbly-legged hypo. Extraordinarily rare for me!
I run with 2 GP's and a diabetic practice nurse none of whom had noticed. I then had one glucose tablet and recovered enough to complete session (and for BG to climb!)
 
Just started my first Libre 2+ and currently in the warm up period. Generally Libre and Libre2 have been brilliant for me over the last 5 years. The system has been very reliable for me but yes, it does lag occasionally which is why I rarely worry if I see a 4.3 with a vertical downward arrow because a couple of well chewed jelly babies will usually turn it around before I am hypo, although Libre will show that I go into the 3s, when it eventually gets it's act together usually 40 mins later and realises that I have treated the drop, the graph doesn't go into the red.
I am very happy to calculate all my bolus and correction doses from it without any real problems. And sometimes I can go 2 weeks with just 1 or 2 finger pricks. Hoping that Libre 2+ continues this reliability trend.

I do think using the reader rather than the phone app, eliminates a lot of issues that other people experience like loss of connection and issues when there are operating system updates and I believe there is another one just released, so perhaps we will get another glut of complaints about Libre on the forum in the next few weeks. Meanwhile my reader continues to be as reliable as ever.
 
My biggest frustration with Libre is that it is factory calibrated and I am not like "factory man" so it is always out by 1 mmol/l or so.
Other CGMs allow calibration yet LIbre "sells" this limitation as a benefit.
Being able to calibrate it gives me added confidence.
I know you can use 3rd party apps to do the calibration (and more) but why should I?

It is one of the reasons I self fund an alternative CGM. Albeit not the main one.
I do a finger prick morning and night and haven't needed to do any calibration for the last week. But for peace of mind, I still prefer to check and hate that Libre takes that check away from me.

Both Libre and my chosen CGM have phone apps which are really important for me.
As someone who very rarely used a handbag until I was diagnosed with diabetes, I want to minimise how much stuff I need to carry around with me. My phone needs to be with me for other reasons so very happy to use it for diabetes.
I have always had an Android phone and never experienced any issues with operating system upgrades although I upgrade (for security reasons) as early as possible.
 
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I've been using the Libre 2 for quite some time now and occasionally get the sensor error message, try again in 10mins but mostly it's good; definitely wouldn't want to go back to finger-pricking all of the time! Anything that simplifies managing my condition and allows me just to get on with my life is great!
 
mashedupmatt said:
I've had the Libre 2+ since last May I think, and you do sometimes get a dodgy batch - sent back a few for chronic signal loss after a couple of days, one fell off, and one was giving ridiculously low readings - all were replaced immediately by Abbott - it's just the nature of the technology, that some will go wrong - generally they are ok though, and I wouldn't be without one
Click to expand...
During 2021 I had over 50% failure rate with my (then) Libre 2. None fell off. Initially I convinced myself that the quality control of the tech was simply dreadful and was mystified how Abbott could afford to supply and replace at such a high failure rate.

But during those 12 months I came to realise and accept there were plenty of people NOT having big problems with Libre 2 and in fact the answer to my inner question "Is it me?" was YES. My body was not compatible with Libre 2. At that time there simply was no alternative choice of the lower cost CGMs on the NHS tariff. The NICE Guidance NG17 had a significant revise, which not only improved the prescribing rules, making it easier and within the direct gift of all GPs in England. A Consultant's recommendation was no longer required. Also there was within the revise a choice of 4 lower, equal cost CGMs introduced to the NHS inventory.

I moved onto the original Dexcom One and "magically" I had a CGM that was reliable and accurate, confirming my incompatibility with Libre 2. My Hospital then prescribed the G7, which provided me with superior alerts (=Abbott's alarms). Failures with my G7 sensors are extremely infrequent and Dexcom's tolerance for difference between fp and interstitial readings is significantly superior.

So I challenge the observation - it's just the nature of the technology, that some will go wrong. If you have unreliable sensors ask your GP to switch you to a different manufacturer and try that. NICE recognised in their amendment there were people who were incompatible with a particular type and accepted that some providers simply could not provide the medication solution that others can.
 
I dd ask the DSN about going onto a Dexcom One+ but she said that whilst that is absolutely possible, the data you get from a Libre is better, plus I've got the Libre set up on several 3rd party apps and on my smartwatch, so I guess I've just become a bit reluctant to change, and am happy (for now) to accept that some will go wrong (the one that fell off is the only one in nearly 3yrs) as long as they are happy to replace them
 
helli said:
My biggest frustration with Libre is that it is factory calibrated and I am not like "factory man" so it is always out by 1 mmol/l or so.
Other CGMs allow calibration yet LIbre "sells" this limitation as a benefit.
Being able to calibrate it gives me added confidence.
I know you can use 3rd party apps to do the calibration (and more) but why should I?

It is one of the reasons I self fund an alternative CGM. Albeit not the main one.
I do a finger prick morning and night and haven't needed to do any calibration for the last week. But for peace of mind, I still prefer to check and hate that Libre takes that check away from me.

Both Libre and my chosen CGM have phone apps which are really important for me.
As someone who very rarely used a handbag until I was diagnosed with diabetes, I want to minimise how much stuff I need to carry around with me. My phone needs to be with me for other reasons so very happy to use it for diabetes.
I have always had an Android phone and never experienced any issues with operating system upgrades although I upgrade (for security reasons) as early as possible
Click to expand...

helli said:
My biggest frustration with Libre is that it is factory calibrated and I am not like "factory man" so it is always out by 1 mmol/l or so.
Other CGMs allow calibration yet LIbre "sells" this limitation as a benefit.
Being able to calibrate it gives me added confidence.
I know you can use 3rd party apps to do the calibration (and more) but why should I?

It is one of the reasons I self fund an alternative CGM. Albeit not the main one.
I do a finger prick morning and night and haven't needed to do any calibration for the last week. But for peace of mind, I still prefer to check and hate that Libre takes that check away from me.

Both Libre and my chosen CGM have phone apps which are really important for me.
As someone who very rarely used a handbag until I was diagnosed with diabetes, I want to minimise how much stuff I need to carry around with me. My phone needs to be with me for other reasons so very happy to use it for diabetes.
I have always had an Android phone and never experienced any issues with operating system upgrades although I upgrade (for security reasons) as early as possible.
Click to expand...
Hi Hello, before I had a libre , I self funded one called GlucoseRX Aidex , which I found to be very accurate. When I mentioned it to my diabetes consultant at the time, he had never heard of it.
It didn't seem to get taken up by any health trusts and you rarely see any adverts for it. I just checked and it is still being sold , don't know why it never took off , it seems that Abbott and Dexcom have monopolised the cgm market keeping the smaller companies out.
 
rebrascora said:
Just started my first Libre 2+ and currently in the warm up period. Generally Libre and Libre2 have been brilliant for me over the last 5 years.
Click to expand...

Let us know how the 2+ works out for you @rebrascora
 
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