Questions About Libre

[TheClockworkDodo]

I know there have been several threads about Libres, but I thought it would be useful to have a general thread for questions for Libre users from those of us who are thinking of getting one, or have recently got one - please feel free to chip in with different questions!

My first one is - do you need Windows to run the software?! I have a Linux machine and, what with R being an internet security specialist, we wouldn't have Windows in the house (that sounds a bit funny, but you know what I mean 🙄). Only just thought of it when I realised that my spare meter - which I don't normally use, but is much fancier than my normal meter - has software I'm not using because it requires Windows or a Mac.

I also wondered about alcohol wipes - on other threads people have mentioned using alcohol wipes before applying sensors. I'm allergic to alcohol - would I be able to use an alternative (I have alcohol-free, scent-free handwipes if they would do)? Are they just to clean the skin, or what?

 

[Ljc]

Hi. This thread is a great idea.
1. Yes you do need Windows 😉 to run the software.
2. I believe the alcohol wipes are to clean , remove oil and kill germs on the skin. Why not phone abbott' helpline
0800 170 1177

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Thanks, Lin 🙂
Oh dear, that would mean R would have to set something up on the computer which pretends to be Windows for me, he's not going to be too happy!
Can't use phone, but I could email Abbott, thanks - I've got their email address.

 

[grovesy]

Thanks, Lin 🙂
Oh dear, that would mean R would have to set something up on the computer which pretends to be Windows for me, he's not going to be too happy!
Can't use phone, but I could email Abbott, thanks - I've got their email address.

I am sure people have more success ringing Abbott than emailing, from what i have read.

 

[Ljc]

I am sure people have more success ringing Abbott than emailing, from what i have read.

Yes I've heard several people say they've never received a reply to their emails.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

That's odd, I have emailed them several times and they've always got back to me.
I can't use the phone because my cognitive dysfunction is so severe - people ask me things like my postcode or my date of birth, and I can't remember them 🙄

 

[grovesy]

That's odd, I have emailed them several times and they've always got back to me.
I can't use the phone because my cognitive dysfunction is so severe - people ask me things like my postcode or my date of birth, and I can't remember them 🙄

Maybes you have been lucky then, as I have read it many times.

 

[trophywench]

The actual reason for the wipes is to enable the sensors to adhere and stay stuck, for a fortnight at a time, I'd think However - the two I used, one with the wipe and the other without (though I applied it soon after a shower, so had deliberately not put any body lotion on that bit of me) - the first one ripped off and out completely and painlessly after 9 days as I caught the protruding edge of it on the edge of a thinnish wooden (might not be wood, but looks like it LOL) door in our motorhome whilst walking into the bathroom, but the second one which stayed firmly stuck throughout was the very devil to remove, and also quite painful - neither of us could get any of the narrow protruding edge loose, to get hold of, to pull the thing. The pain was more from the scraping fingernail actions than from the sensor itself I suppose.

No idea whether either of these is typical.

 

[trophywench]

Neither bore any resemblance to my pump meter readings (whereas my HbAic always does) nor showed any patterns and if I'd treated any of the deep and very long lasting hypos it said I had - or the alternative long-lasting over 20s - I'd have been in VERY severe trouble.

I have also to say - I am actually the only person I've come across so far, who has had such consistently ridiculous readings.

 

[mikeyB]

The fun comes, as I've done, is when you compare results using Optium test strips in the reader when emerging from a hypo. The scores are 2-3 out on the rise, but come together after about 15-20 minutes. I don't use the software at all, that's one obsession too far for me. That's just me, mind.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Interesting, thank you both. Would be good to hear from a few other people about the wipes - has anyone else used a sensor without using a wipe first, and did you have the same result as Jenny?! Has anyone tried their own wipe rather than an official alcohol one?

@mikeyB - good to know I wouldn't actually need to use the software. What can you do without it, and what can you only do with it, can anyone tell me? Presumably I could scan the sensors and see a graph of the results without having to connect anything to a Windows machine?

This may be a daft question, but how does the scanner work - it doesn't need a wifi connection or anything like that does it?

 

[Robin]

I always use a wipe, just because they're provided and it tells you to! So some sensors have prised off easily at the end of the fortnight, some I've had to scratch and scrabble for ages to get a start on them.
I reckon the sensors are read by magic. ( though strictly speaking it probably has its own Bluetooth or something new fangled) Provided the reader battery is charged ( plug and lead supplied with the starter pack), you just activate the sensor by swiping the reader over it, wait an hour, then swipe again and it starts giving you readings. No external wifi or anything like that required.

 

[pav]

It's best to phone Abbott as they are not very good in replying to emails, from the times I have phoned them about the Libre I found them helpful.

While the Libre is very helpful to a vast amount of people, for me it never worked reliably and had to have sensors replaced, always read very low compared to finger prick tests even allowing for the time lag difference between strips and sensor. What I did find useful was it showed very well my trends of highs and lows over the 14 days. According to the Libre I spent most nights permanently in the hypo region

 

[Ljc]

You don't have to use the software if you don't wish to. I've downloaded it but so far I haven't used it. TBH The scanner holds all the info I need and it's easy to scroll back and forth. You don't lose all the info when a sensor runs out either sorry I can't recall off hand how much info the scanner can hold.
My last sensor was the devils own job to remove, I did eventually prise the thing off, only to find the sticky pad was still well stuck to me.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Thanks for your replies everyone 🙂

What I did find useful was it showed very well my trends of highs and lows over the 14 days. According to the Libre I spent most nights permanently in the hypo region

That's the thing I most want it for, tbh - I hypo so much during the day, I really want to see what I'm doing at night. Just had a chat with diabetes nurse at my surgery and she thinks it would be a really good idea for me to get one. R could scan me when he gets up in what he fondly imagines to be the morning (and I consider to be the middle of the night), as that could be anything from 4-6 hours before I would wake otherwise.

I really can't use the phone at all, @pav, but I have been emailing Abbott regularly ever since I've been diabetic - I ask for diaries and control solution, which they send me - and I've never had them not reply. I've also emailed them about various issues and with various questions over the years, and they've always replied and been helpful.

 

[mikeyB]

I think the problem lies in the adhesive technology. I've learned from experience that when I apply the sensor, I wait for ten seconds or more before removing the applicator, and they then stay on for the duration. I think the adhesive is activated by body heat. I tend to leave old ones on for two or three days over their time. It makes it easier to get them off.

With regard to using a wipe, why bother? Stick the thing on after a shower, dry off with a clean towel and you'll be fine. Fiona at the surgery never uses an alcohol wipe before blood tests. The thought that the back of your arm is teeming with bacteria waiting to kill you is ridiculous. All the wipe is doing is removing grease from the skin that could affect adhesiveness. Washing does the same.

 

[Ljc]

Long as you scan every 8 hrs the graph will have no gaps in it.
I was wondering if your nurse could arrange for you to have a trial of the Libre. I expect the answer would be no , but as your having so many hypo's it would be a good idea or a CGM.

 

[trophywench]

I think Abbott reps are pretty good at responding to DSNs for a few trial sets, or at least have been, cos odd folk on forums have had them from all sorts of different hospitals all over the country. You can but enquire of yours if they've thought to ask!

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

I was offered a place on a Libre group trial, but because I wouldn't have been well enough to do the group thing, I had to decline. DSN said then she'd try to get me a free Libre from the Abbott rep to trial on my own, but nothing came of that. Doesn't matter anyway, I can afford one, so better the free ones go to people who can't.

I've been on waiting list to borrow hospital CGM for over a year. I was sent an appointment for May this year but that was for 9.30am, so again I had to explain I wasn't well enough to get there at that time (this must be on my records, but they don't seem to be very joined up about these things round here - I suspect partly the penalty of cross-county medical care, partly having annual review with surgery diabetes nurse rather than hospital DSN - surgery nurse is lovely, but I've never actually got to meet the DSNs here). DSN said she would get back to me with an afternoon appointment instead, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

With regard to using a wipe, why bother? Stick the thing on after a shower, dry off with a clean towel and you'll be fine. Fiona at the surgery never uses an alcohol wipe before blood tests. The thought that the back of your arm is teeming with bacteria waiting to kill you is ridiculous. All the wipe is doing is removing grease from the skin that could affect adhesiveness. Washing does the same.

Thanks, Mike - I just wanted to know that it was feasible not to use the thing. I have blood tests in back of hand, but they don't use a wipe for those either - I just make sure I wash my hands before I go to surgery.

My first half-unit insulin pen came with detailed instructions about how it should be cleaned out with alcohol - impossible for me. I pointed this out to DSN who gave it to me and she said "oh, we don't bother with that any more - you already have your germs!"