Libre & Flying

[ClaireDiane]

Hello

I’m due to go abroad on holiday soon and letter I got to take from diabetes nurse said x-rays can affect the Libre sensor. I will have to take spare ones with me so do I need to take them out my bag before I put my bag in the baggage scanner at security? I only started on insulin and got my sensors last year so any tips or advice for going on holiday abroad would be most welcome.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Hello

I’m due to go abroad on holiday soon and letter I got to take from diabetes nurse said x-rays can affect the Libre sensor. I will have to take spare ones with me so do I need to take them out my bag before I put my bag in the baggage scanner at security? I only started on insulin and got my sensors last year so any tips or advice for going on holiday abroad would be most welcome.

I must admit I've never bothered, so the spares just went through the X-ray machines (without incident). I presume there'll be some advice on the website?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I presume there'll be some advice on the website?

I'm wrong. I don't see any advice on https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/

At least, searching for "airport", "airplane", "travel", "X-Ray" produces no hits. Which seems rather poor.

 

[Robin]

My spare Libre has always gone through the scanner and been fine, and the one on my arm has survived the walk through archway.

 

[PattiEvans]

Diabetes UK have prepared a very thorough document which covers all forms of CGM and pumps.

Libre is fine in any scanner - the arch thing you are referring to is a metal detector only. The full body scanner does use Xray, but once again the Libre is fine. I used to have an Accu-Chek pump which wouldn't go through the full body scanner, but my current Omnipod can.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

A month since diagnosed, insulin dependent and had my first meeting with the DCN. She offered Libre 2 which I readily accepted. The issue - it is not scanning despite installing, uninstalling and re installing the app. It did not work for the DCN either. I have an android phone. Any suggestions re what I am doing and wrong? Thanks.

 

[PattiEvans]

Does your phone have NFC? What phone and model do you have?

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

Does your phone have NFC? What phone and model do you have?

I have Sansung Galaxy A35+.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

I have Sansung Galaxy A35+.

Sorry, it is A32 5G.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. This model does have NFC. Make sure it is switched on and also Bluetooth for alarms. Does anything happen at all when you hold the back of the phone against the sensor? The phone should beep and show a message 'Starting up etc'.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

Hi. This model does have NFC. Make sure it is switched on and also Bluetooth for alarms. Does anything happen at all when you hold the back of the phone against the sensor? The phone should beep and show a message 'Starting up etc'.

Thanks. I checked for nfc, it's there and switched on along with the Bluetooth. Nothing happens ... ...

 

[Martin62]

Thanks. I checked for nfc, it's there and switched on along with the Bluetooth. Nothing happens ... ...

I have the same phone and it works no problem, I position it with the back of the phone just below the camera, I have Bluetooth, nearby share and location turned on , hope you get up and running soon.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I have the same phone and it works no problem, I position it with the back of the phone just below the camera, I have Bluetooth, nearby share and location turned on , hope you get up and running soon.

Yes, positioning is really critical. Can take me half a minute or so to find the right place (on a different Android phone) and I've been using it for over a year now.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

I have the same phone and it works no problem, I position it with the back of the phone just below the camera, I have Bluetooth, nearby share and location turned on , hope you get up and running soon.

No joy.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

No joy.

Wish somebody could go over each and every step with me. So frustrating having a kind of dead device stuck to me.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

Wish somebody could go over each and every step with me. So frustrating having a kind of dead device stuck to me.

Libre 2 update: I called Abbotts Customer care services. Got the right advice. Applied the spare one and after an hour, got my very first reading. Way to go ... ...

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

Libre 2 update: I called Abbotts Customer care services. Got the right advice. Applied the spare one and after an hour, got my very first reading. Way to go ... ...

Finger prick test showed BG levels at 9.1 and Libre 2 read 8.2 at the same time. Any explanation any one?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Finger prick test showed BG levels at 9.1 and Libre 2 read 8.2 at the same time. Any explanation any one?

That's fine. If you did a finger prick test twice (on two fingers) you might get that kind of variation. Libre 2 is measuring fluid just under the skin, and the glucose levels in that fluid lag blood glucose by a bit (15 minutes or so). Anyway, nothing to worry about: you can expect much bigger variations between the two if your BG is varying quickly for some reason.

 

[Purls of Wisdom]

That's fine. If you did a finger prick test twice (on two fingers) you might get that kind of variation. Libre 2 is measuring fluid just under the skin, and the glucose levels in that fluid lag blood glucose by a bit (15 minutes or so). Anyway, nothing to worry about: you can expect much bigger variations between the two if your BG is varying quickly for some reason.

It just did. Bedtime finger prick reading spiked to 16.4 where as it read 15.2 on the sensor. Mind you I am late in taking Lantus by an hour knowing it lasts less than 24 hours before tapering off. Trying to make some sense of the big numbers. Thanks.

 

[helli]

@Purls of Wisdom , if you are using Libre, be aware (very aware) of its limitations. These have been mentioned many many times on the forum although DSNs rarely mention them and Abbott never do.
The key ones are
- many people find their body needs time to get used to a foreign object embedded in their arm. For this reason, the first couple of days, the Libre readings can be off. Some people apply their sensors a day or two before activating them.
- sensors do not measure blood sugars, they measure interstitial fluid and then apply an alogirithm to convert this to blood glucose. Interstitial Fluid Readings tend to be 15 minutes behind blood sugars. The algorithm predicts the last 15 minutes by extrapolating the current trend. This works pretty well if the current trend continues but, if the trend changes direction in those 15 minutes, the algorithm does not know. Therefore, if you treat a hypo or do rigorous exercise or something else which changes the direction of trend, the Libre reading will be inaccurate. Hypo treatments will always appear to take longer to recoved so always check hypo recovery with a finger prick
- sensors are calibrated to be most accurate when in a "normal" range. This is around 4 to 9 mmol/l. Outside oft his range, Libre can be very inaccurate. Unless you are clearly experiencing a hypo, all highs and lows should be checked with a finger prick before treating.
- libre is "factory calibrated" and you have no way to officially overwrite this. Some people find they are different to "factory man" and the sensors are always off. There are third part unofficial apps which use a different algorithm which allows calibration so are more accurate
- LIbre sensor accuracy can drift so it is recommended to check with finger pricks at least once a day, Always check when levels are in the normal range and when not changing fast.
- Some sensors are too far out or just fail. Abbott are pretty good at replacing these. However, some people are more susceptible to failures than others.

This may all sound daunting but Libre are a great tool ... if you know how their limitation and how to use the data they provide.