Libre 3 available in UK from 25th March

[Proud to be erratic]

I am not sure what difference having no pancy is compared to having a pancreas that produces no insulin.

It's not just the missing insulin hormone, it's all the other missing hormones, vitamins and enzymes. I have to micromanage all of those, as best I can. My GP didn't understand either when there was an attempt to stop me from finger pricking more than 4 times daily; no appreciation of how complex it all is when new to it.

I have definitely experience the type of plummeting blood sugars you mention when exercising with too much insulin onboard.
This is why I like the predicted hypo alert you get on xDrip. It takes into consideration the slope of the trend as well as the current value so I don’t get the annoying 5.5 but almost flat alerts. An alert at 6.8 would be incredibly annoying for me as my target level is. 5.6.

Fair enough, you can choose whatever alarm setting you want. You don't have to select 6.8, or 5.6; you mighr prefer 5.0 or 4 2.

I'd like to choose closer to 6.8 and have a 2nd alarm closer to 4, then I get a warning that change is happening after dropping below 6.8, can reset it to, say, 5.6 and still have the Urgent alarm nearer 4.5. My target level was 7, as directed by my Endo and he's recently suggested I can lower that towards 6. That worked for me, in conjunction with Diabox alarms, allowing me to intercept almost all potential hypos; and if I failed, such hypos were always high 3s and short-lived, rarely becoming low glucose events.

What I don't understand is why Abbott mandated 5.6 as their upper threshold. What is the significance of that limit? Also, as I gain a better sense of what is happening overall and understand my body signals, I don't need alarms quite so much. As a newbie alarms were a huge psychological aid and for me to be constrained to just 5.6 was a handicap until I got Diabox and appreciated how much better my management could be. The people writing the Diabox software clearly had a better understanding of what helps, within the tech limits, than Abbott do. Abbott, by removing the Reader from L3, haven't appreciated that this is a useful subsidiary aid for some people in some circumstances. It's not just a matter of not having a smart enough phone; I find the reader invaluable in places where my phone is just a nuisance.

By any definition the NHS are a big customer for Abbott and they have clearly abrogated their responsibility for this significant contract. They are passive recipients, not involved in the failure rates and not involved in getting an improved product.

 

[rayray119]

I agree but if Abbott is claiming that their device can now track blood glucose with 1 minute intervals without sacrificing from accuracy, why not use it ? Gives you the chance to see your body's response to sugar more instantly.

Unfortunately it's not an option for everyone to use the app as it's not compartable for all phones so even if I wanted to give libre 3(once allowed) a shot after the problems I had with libre 2 I can't by getting read of the reader there stoping some people being able the use it.

 

[BadaBing]

I agree but if Abbott is claiming that their device can now track blood glucose with 1 minute intervals without sacrificing from accuracy, why not use it ? Gives you the chance to see your body's response to sugar more instantly.

My understanding is that the Libre 2 works by tracking every minute the levels of glucose in a diabetic's cells (rather than the blood itself) where the sensor needle has been inserted.

At present those once-every-minute readings taken by the Libre 2 are used only to trigger high and low alarms on the Libre 2 reader or a compatible smartphone. Otherwise the information is stored until the sensor is scanned by the user.

The Libre 3 upgrade sends those once-every-minute readings from the sensor (which the FSL2 is collecting anyway) to the Libre app on one's compatible smartphone.

I also welcome the extra information. Knowing what to do with the extra data is simply a function of (a) experience of one's own body and the device and its limitations and/or (b) how good or bad one's education from clinicians has been about using the data produced by the Libre wisely.

 

[BadaBing]

By any definition the NHS are a big customer for Abbott and they have clearly abrogated their responsibility for this significant contract. They are passive recipients, not involved in the failure rates and not involved in getting an improved product.

I read recently that the market for these products is worth £7 billion (or is it $7 billion, I cannot remember) annually. The main players compete vigorously against each other for market share. Indeed, there is currently patent litigation going on in the US, Germany and the UK between Dexcom and Abbott concerning the technology in their blood glucose management products. So they are pushing each to innovate.

 

[Craig92]

Thank you for all of your answers. I have one more question. I need to do occasional blood pressure measurement on the upper arm using traditional inflating cuffs. If I do the measurement over the L3 sensor, does it damage it ? The cuffs, when they fully squeeze your arm, it really hurts. I don't think it will crack the sensor but I wonder if it changes the accuracy of the blood glucose readings. Thanks

 

[BadaBing]

Thank you for all of your answers. I have one more question. I need to do occasional blood pressure measurement on the upper arm using traditional inflating cuffs. If I do the measurement over the L3 sensor, does it damage it ? The cuffs, when they fully squeeze your arm, it really hurts. I don't think it will crack the sensor but I wonder if it changes the accuracy of the blood glucose readings. Thanks

I don't use the Libre 3 so you would need to ask Abbott or someone on this forum who is using the Libre 3 and taking their blood pressure.

I remember asking both Abbott and the manufacturer of my blood pressure machine the same question about the Libre 1 sensor. I was told by both that I wouldn't damage the sensor nor my blood pressure machine if I placed the cuff over the sensor to take readings.

However, I still don't place my blood pressure cuff over the sensor. I prefer to use the arm that doesn't have a sensor on it because I want to eliminate the possibility that my blood pressure readings might be off if I placed the cuff over the sensor. My GP prefers me to do it this way too.

 

[Lucyr]

Thank you for all of your answers. I have one more question. I need to do occasional blood pressure measurement on the upper arm using traditional inflating cuffs. If I do the measurement over the L3 sensor, does it damage it ? The cuffs, when they fully squeeze your arm, it really hurts. I don't think it will crack the sensor but I wonder if it changes the accuracy of the blood glucose readings. Thanks

It won’t crack it but could give a compression low briefly. Do you have a second arm that you could use for the BP?

 

[helli]

Thank you for all of your answers. I have one more question. I need to do occasional blood pressure measurement on the upper arm using traditional inflating cuffs. If I do the measurement over the L3 sensor, does it damage it ? The cuffs, when they fully squeeze your arm, it really hurts. I don't think it will crack the sensor but I wonder if it changes the accuracy of the blood glucose readings. Thanks

I do not have Libre 3 but have used Libre 1 and 2. I place it quite high up on my arm and not where I would place a cuff for blood pressure test.

 

[N1ckyW]

HI, how do we order the libre 3 if self funded? since people are paying out of their pocket, I don't understand why it's not available for purchase at the launch date..

 

[Lucyr]

HI, how do we order the libre 3 if self funded? since people are paying out of their pocket, I don't understand why it's not available for purchase at the launch date..

You can’t order it for self funding, only the 1 or 2

 

[grovesy]

It does not even appear on Abbott website!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

HI, how do we order the libre 3 if self funded? since people are paying out of their pocket, I don't understand why it's not available for purchase at the launch date..

Yes I do find it slightly odd, given that other rtCGM options (Dexcom, Medtronic, Medtrum) are available for self-funding purchase. But currently the Libre3 only seems to be available under CGM criteria through a hospital clinic.

Do you know if self-funders can purchase Libre3 in Germany @Paulbreen ?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Do you know if self-funders can purchase Libre3 in Germany @Paulbreen ?

Sure can: https://www.freestylelibre.de/produkte/freestyle-libre-3-sensor.html

 

[Matchless]

Yes I do find it slightly odd, given that other rtCGM options (Dexcom, Medtronic, Medtrum) are available for self-funding purchase. But currently the Libre3 only seems to be available under CGM criteria through a hospital clinic.

Do you know if self-funders can purchase Libre3 in Germany @Paulbreen ?

The are for sale here in france 59.90 euros but i shall wait till i need them for closed loop when they are free.

 

[JohnMacP]

If it's thinner as well, there's a potential for the weight to reduce faster than the sticky surface area. I presume they've tested it well enough to decide it'll be sticky enough.

I think I'd like to try one before changing from Libre 2. I'm finding it quite convenient to use it with the Libre 2 reader (so that gives the alarms), and presumably with Libre 3 I'd just have the phone. (And presumably I'd need the phone near enough all the time or I'd get gaps in the history. But I'm not sure about that and even if it's true maybe it would be OK.)

I use the Libre 2 all the time with my phone rather than the reader, it doesn't loose history if the phone is away from it

 

[Robin]

I use the Libre 2 all the time with my phone rather than the reader, it doesn't loose history if the phone is away from it

The thing with Libre 2 is that when you scan it, it downloads the last 8 hours of stored info from the sensor. The extra feature of the Libre 3 is that it’s meant to send real time readings to your phone all the time, without the need to pick your phone up and scan. So for that purpose, your phone would need to be close enough to be receiving the constant signals. Wouldn’t be any good for me, I’m always going to the far end of the garden leaving my phone in the house. (It’s not much good for receiving phone calls either, when I do that!)
Oh, and welcome to the forum, btw!

 

[helli]

The thing with Libre 2 is that when you scan it, it downloads the last 8 hours of stored info from the sensor. The extra feature of the Libre 3 is that it’s meant to send real time readings to your phone all the time, without the need to pick your phone up and scan. So for that purpose, your phone would need to be close enough to be receiving the constant signals. Wouldn’t be any good for me, I’m always going to the far end of the garden leaving my phone in the house. (It’s not much good for receiving phone calls either, when I do that!)
Oh, and welcome to the forum, btw!

Most CGM do "backfill". So if you are separated from the reader/phone it will catch up, filling in the gaps, when you reconnect.
This is standard behaviour for all CGMs I have used including two different Dexcom versions, Medtrum Nano and unofficial Libre apps such as xDrip and Glimp.