• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Questions About Libre

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Thanks Robin; I had actually put a piece of tape over it a couple of days before it went wonky, but the tape didn't stick very well (except to the sensor itself)! I'll try a better brand of adhesive tape and see if that helps. Didn't know about the hydration, though that makes intuitive sense now that you mention it: I assume that when you're dehydrated your interstitial fluid is reduced.

Just got done playing squash, was getting 'sensor unavailable', so drank a big glass of water. Will see if that fixes it!
 
Hi Dave and welcome to the forum. I'm only an occasional Libre user but here's my thoughts. I've had the sensor not available message on occasions and also more frequently but in general it has then either righted itself or gone on to only work intermittently. As Robin mentioned if the sensor has lifted then you could tape the sensor more firmly and see if it improves but I think if the filament has come out then it's a goner.

The filament is inserted by the retracting needle on the applicator. I don't know if you can but I think it would be next to impossible to try and re-insert the sensor, the adhesive would need replacing and the applicator would need re-assembling if that's even possible. The sensor's electronics may disable themselves when it's removed.

Dehydration can affect readings and although I don't think Abbott mention it, anecdotal evidence is to try and stay well hydrated, obviously of greater significance when doing sports and exercise. I have noticed this myself and try and make a point of drinking more water when wearing a sensor particularly when doing exercise.
 
I am with others on the hydration, and look on that as another benefit of wearing the sensor as it prompts me to keep myself better hydrated.
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
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.
Click to expand...
I use a Mac so Windows not strictly necessary.
 
@TheClockworkDodo - people do put sensors elsewhere, but there are research data that show that this may give less accurate results (more variable with likelihood of greater errors). Some people on the FB Group still prefer that though, and seem to get on OK so you’d have to try and see I guess.

For software - I’m not sure if there is anything ready-made in Linux, but Diasend/Glooko also downloads (and saves) Libre results if that gives you another option?

@Robin (and other overtapes) do bear in mind that if you choose to overtape you need to keep the centre hole in the sensor open to the air. The underside of the sensor is engineered with grooves to allow moisture to escape (both from skin and also if any water creeps under when showering etc). Officially I believe covering/overtaping with anything voids the warranty.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
@Robin (and other overtapes) do bear in mind that if you choose to overtape you need to keep the centre hole in the sensor open to the air. The underside of the sensor is engineered with grooves to allow moisture to escape (both from skin and also if any water creeps under when showering etc). Officially I believe covering/overtaping with anything voids the warranty.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Mike, I'm always careful of the hole! I use two strips of narrow micropore tape, one each side of it, or I snip out a bit in the middle of a wider piece of tape. ( I knew those old embroidery scissors from school would come in useful)
 
Thanks Mike, I'll get R to investigate for me. Am getting fed up with waiting for hospital CGM, tbh (was waiting to try this before getting Libre, partly because DSN thought a proper CGM would be of more use to me than a Libre) so I might just get myself a Libre.
 
Here's another newbie question: I just took off my first sensor, and was surprised to see how long the filament was - about 1/4 inch. Since it just measures the interstitial fluid glucose level I assumed it didn't go in deep enough to contact the blood supply, but this would definitely go well into the subcutaneous layer and probably into the muscle. However the filament was somewhat bent, so I'm wondering if it gets inserted at an angle, so it only goes in laterally through the skin. Anyone know how this works? If it's supposed to go straight in then the bending could explain why I started getting wonky results about a week in.

Looking forward to dismantling the sensor this weekend to see what the guts look like... 🙂

-Dave
 
I shouldn’t worry, dasnider. It probably gets bent as you remove the sensor. Just make sure you don’t sleep with your weight on the sensor, because that can cause interruption in readings. So position it so that won’t happen.

It’s quite tricky to dismantle, by the way, and utterly boring when you do. Sorry for the spoiler:D

I should add, if the sensor needle went into muscle, you’d know about it. It would hurt.
 
Thanks Mike. Still confused about how the sensor could go straight in and still only be in contact with IF. Even my skin isn't a quarter-inch thick (though my wife might disagree), and if the sensor went straight in I think it probably would go into the muscle, or at least deep into the blood supply.

The Abbot website says the sensor is inserted "just under the skin", which makes it sound like it must go in at an angle or even laterally... No big deal either way, mainly just trying to understand how it inserts so I can try to mitigate the effects of exercise, accidental knocks, etc., and know what to try if it starts registering wonky again.

It was fun taking it apart, and I now have some cool little parts skittering around my kitchen table. Tempted to replace the little hearing aid battery, glue it back together and then try to reinstall it. (Joke!)

-Dave
 
Does anyone know how a Libre would react to hot water bottles?!

My body doesn't regulate temperature properly (so I don't warm up or cool down naturally, I have to rely on things like hwbs to do it for me). When it's really cold I go to bed with 4 hwbs and often stick one under each arm, so it would be right next to the sensor.
 
Interesting question Juliet. The reader doesn’t like getting very hot, and the sensors should be stored between 5 and 30C, though once applied that temperature is easily exceeded, particularly in bed or a bath, without much problem. I suspect the sensor will tolerate any temperature that you can.

A theoretical point is that to warm yourself up, a hwb would be more efficient by the wrist rather than in an oxter because the blood vessels are much nearer the surface to convey heat round the body. As far as legs are concerned, some nice fat juicy blood vessels lie at the top of the leg in the groin, so a hot water bottle there would warm up the legs and the liver.

But the real answer is to try it. It will tell you if it’s too warm.

Or too cold, but if you’re lower than 5C, it’s just a hi-tech diagnosis of death:D
 
Thanks, Mike, that sounds hopeful.

With the bottles under my upper arms, I bend up my lower arms over them so the hwbs are next to my wrists and hands, lower and upper arms, and sides. The other ones go on my feet and either my abdomen or my knees, whichever feels colder at the time. Being female I tend to have cold extremities!

mikeyB said:
Or too cold, but if you’re lower than 5C, it’s just a hi-tech diagnosis of death:D
Click to expand...
:D
 
I have another temperature-related question. How does everyone store spare sensors in hot weather? The packaging says under 25c and our house has been going well over that for most of this summer. Even with an extra large Frio wallet I don't have space for the boxed sensor. Should I take it out of the box and put it in the Frio, put the box in the fridge, or just put it in the coolest room we have and hope the weather doesn't get hot again?!
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
I have another temperature-related question. How does everyone store spare sensors in hot weather? The packaging says under 25c and our house has been going well over that for most of this summer. Even with an extra large Frio wallet I don't have space for the boxed sensor. Should I take it out of the box and put it in the Frio, put the box in the fridge, or just put it in the coolest room we have and hope the weather doesn't get hot again?!
Click to expand...
It’s never occurred to me to worry about it as They aren’t stored for long and the temperature in my wardrobe is probably only above 25 by a very small margin for a short space of time. I reason that while in use the sensors must be ok at much higher temperatures. I think if I was buying the sensors in bulk I might need to think about it though. I think your suggestion of putting it in the coolest room is sensible.
 
Thanks Radders and Bruce for the reassurance about storing sensors. Now the weather has changed it doesn't matter anyway, but last month the coolest room in my house was regularly going over 28c so there wouldn't have been anywhere to keep the sensors under 25.

I have managed to read the instructions (a huge effort for me!) and I now have two more questions, and then I think I can start using the thing! :D

Firstly, can anyone tell me what happens if you don't scan for over 8 hours? If I scan when I go to bed, sleep for 9 hours, and scan again as soon as I wake up, will I lose the first hour of data, the last hour of data, or the whole 9 hours' worth? Usually I will be able to scan within the 8 hours, or get R to do it for me when he leaves for work (several hours before I'd expect to wake up normally), but I do sometimes sleep for more than 8 hours, and sometimes when I wake up I can't move at all for a while, so I might not be able to pick up the reader to scan.

Secondly, can anyone tell me how the phone app. works in terms of sharing the data with the reader? I know @mikeyB and @everydayupsanddowns were talking about this on thread about apps, so I'm hoping one of you might be able to help, or someone else who has the app. I don't have a smartphone, but R does, and we wondered whether we would be able to scan with both, so that he could use his phone to download the data for me at the end of the fortnight. I know the sensor needs to be started with the reader and then scanned with the phone app within the first hour, and that would be fine, but I don't know whether we'd need to scan with both the reader and with the phone at least every 8 hours, or whether we can scan with either and they will share the information with each other. R is away at work (with his phone) for 10 hours or more some days so we couldn't scan with both the reader and with the phone at least every 8 hours.
 
The sensor only holds 8 hours worth of data, so if you only scan after 9 hours you will get the most recent 8 hours and lose the one before that. So your graph will have a gap in it.

With the app, when you initialise the sensor you must do so with the actual reader first, and then scan it with your phone anytime during the 60mins startup phase, then you will be able to use either device. If you initialise it with the phone first then the reader won't be able to read it, it will say sensor is in use with another device. And if you wait until after the initial 60 mins with the phone I think you'll get the same problem. After that it doesn't really matter which device you use, except remember that the sensor can only download the last 8 hours of data, so if you want the complete information on both devices then you need to scan both of them at least every 8 hours (although not necessarily at the same time of course, you'll just get the most recent 8 hours on either device whenever you scan it). Hope that makes sense!
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top