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Libre Support - Abbott feedback

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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AndBreathe

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
In remission from Type 2
Just a heads up fellow Libre users, it looks like Abbott may be tightening up, or maybe I just got the party line this morning.

I finally got a response to an email I sent several days ago (I'll spare you too many details, as it has been a painful process), and this is an extract from Abbott's response:

"....We have worked on your case and we would like to kindly inform you about the fact, that in situations where there's a discrepancy between the readings of the sensor and test strip, we always require a comparison of the sensor and an Abbott meter readings - as we can only be responsible of readings of the meters produced by our company....."

I will respond to Abbott fully in due course, but thought it worth a heads up for anyone potentially affected. In this articulate instance the sensor degraded to a point where it flat-lined at 2.2 for three days. I'm tightly controlled, but even I could never achieve that, and be living!

Happy days.
 
Eek, indeed, that's not a discrepancy, that's a blatant mechanical malfunction. You certainly wouldn't have been in a fit state to email a complaint to them if they really were the correct readings!
 
Hmm...they should accept the readings of any meter that has qualified to the same standard. It would be interesting to know, now that their field testing phase of the devices and sensors is complete (!) what percentage of sensors have failed and for what reasons :confused: 😉
 
Robin said:
Eek, indeed, that's not a discrepancy, that's a blatant mechanical malfunction. You certainly wouldn't have been in a fit state to email a complaint to them if they really were the correct readings!
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To be fair (and I usually do try to be fair) when I initially contacted them, it was just erratic and low, the grinding to a halt came as I waited 3 days for a response from them.

To clarify; I usually telephone, but from where I currently am, that would have cost me £2 a minute to sit in the albeit usually shortish, queue.
 
This was bound to happen as more people started to use them. Essentially they are saying if you buy a Libre you also need to use Abbott strips. Luckily I use a Freestyle Optium Neo meter - the strips work in the Libre reader so I have a direct comparison between strips and sensor.
 
Yep sounds like they're revving up to steal the market there, I mean everyone wants a libre so if you make it difficult for people to use non abbot strips you get a good chunk of the market....clever.
 
Matt Cycle said:
This was bound to happen as more people started to use them. Essentially they are saying if you buy a Libre you also need to use Abbott strips. Luckily I use a Freestyle Optium Neo meter - the strips work in the Libre reader so I have a direct comparison between strips and sensor.
Click to expand...

I can appreciate all the commercials in play. I'm a business woman, but for those of us self funding both Libre (as everyone is), and testing supplies, I pay £50 per two week cycle,mother another £5-10 to help Abbott understand their product has a defect. There's something just a bit wrinkled there.

Of course, I may just have to suck it up, but today's response could encourage people to be economical with the truth. The email states an Abbott meter, not,THE onboard Abbott meter, so some will simply fib bout the meter they use, surely?

I find that prospect somewhat distasteful, to be honest.
 
When I phoned them they did ask for a comparison, as they had just sent me a insulinx I was able to compare my readings against that and my normal meter. Since my call to them where they sent the replacement sensor, I have just been sent 10 strips for the libre. Will save these strips for any problems with the two sensors I have left.
 
pav said:
When I phoned them they did ask for a comparison, as they had just sent me a insulinx I was able to compare my readings against that and my normal meter. Since my call to them where they sent the replacement sensor, I have just been sent 10 strips for the libre. Will save these strips for any problems with the two sensors I have left.
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That's one of the reasons I posted this - so that others can best manage their options to ensure a decent outcome should a query be raised.
 
AndBreathe said:
I can appreciate all the commercials in play. I'm a business woman, but for those of us self funding both Libre (as everyone is), and testing supplies, I pay £50 per two week cycle,mother another £5-10 to help Abbott understand their product has a defect. There's something just a bit wrinkled there.

Of course, I may just have to suck it up, but today's response could encourage people to be economical with the truth. The email states an Abbott meter, not,THE onboard Abbott meter, so some will simply fib bout the meter they use, surely?

I find that prospect somewhat distasteful, to be honest.
Click to expand...

I would imagine they'll be asking for meter serial numbers to prove it is an Abbott meter.
 
It'll be interesting when a competitor device emerges. I doubt it'll be very far off. The competition will be healthy.
 
Well I certainly wouldn't want to cart 2 meters about with me and I can't operate half the functions on my Roche pump at all, without using the Roche meter/handset that comes with it, so of course I also use that one to test my blood ! Can't see the NHS supplying me with two makes of strips either, can you? Why the hell should they be expected to, FFS?
 
You wouldn't need a second meter or serial number though - the Libre's a 2-in-1 meter that also reads standard Abbot blood testing strips.

I'm not defending them but I understand their position - how do they know your other meter isn't defective? If they want to find out what's going wrong with the Libre sensors, they need control of the variables to narrow it down.

The simplest option is as Pav suggests - blag a small pot off of them. Throw them a line along the lines of you're looking to use the Libre as a permanent meter solution but you won't be doing that if you can't be sure of its accuracy. I'm sure you'll find a pot in post within about 30 seconds of telling them that.
 
DeusXM said:
You wouldn't need a second meter or serial number though - the Libre's a 2-in-1 meter that also reads standard Abbot blood testing strips.

I'm not defending them but I understand their position - how do they know your other meter isn't defective? If they want to find out what's going wrong with the Libre sensors, they need control of the variables to narrow it down.

The simplest option is as Pav suggests - blag a small pot off of them. Throw them a line along the lines of you're looking to use the Libre as a permanent meter solution but you won't be doing that if you can't be sure of its accuracy. I'm sure you'll find a pot in post within about 30 seconds of telling them that.
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As a businesswoman, With a background in Change Control, IT and Product Launches, I totally understand the issues at play, and am not wholly unsympathetic to all parties, including Abbott.

I am also in contact with the Abbott UK head honcho, as a result of the support service complete "radio silence" over email and Twitter, so I'm gathering information and feedback for a considered, and hopefully balanced response to him in due course.

Many would say my use, albeit on a very part-time basis, of the Libre is a complete indulgence, and therefore it's could be considered I pay an additional margin (additional Abbott strips), for that indulgence. My internal jury remains out on that particular point.

I have a few ideas brewing.........
 
Yes but I do think making it more cumbersome by having to cart 'yet another' device round with you when you are already on a pump with a required handset/meter that communicates with that pump so that every bloody BG test requires TWO tests on different meters - makes it's actual appeal/usability rather less appealing and less usable for quite a number of potential clients! Of which I am but ONE.

Surely not in their best commercial interests????
 
I believe whilst they have 100% of the market for this specific style of device, and a more affordable price point to more conventional CGMs, and seem to be struggling supplying demand again, they could be commercially forgiven for taking the low hanging, compliant fruit. The odd potential user falling by the wayside may seem unimportant.

Of course, I could be horribly wrong.
 
I did phone Abbott today with some trepidation after reading these posts and others similar elsewhere. Having used the Libre for almost a year, we have had 3 failures in as many months. Last night put on a new sensor, it worked for a few hours, the readings then plummeted and were way out. We use accucheck reader to keep tabs. By this morning it refused to function at all. Called and few questions asked and new sensor being sent out. So, so far, no problems with replacements.
 
Well, I've emailed them, given the line about wanting to test the reader as a meter, and how can I get trial strips? Will update you on a response...
 
Annette Anderson said:
Well, I've emailed them, given the line about wanting to test the reader as a meter, and how can I get trial strips? Will update you on a response...
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Annette - do you usually seek support via email? If so, do you usually find it satisfactory?
 
I've never emailed them before. Never had to. Will report back...
 
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