Sore libre2 - should I take it off?

[StephanieMLW]

Hello all, and happy new year!

I have been on the Libre 2 for almost three months now, and am used to sometimes having some soreness for a day or two after application. I’ve had my current sensor on for six days and…ouch! If I put any pressure on the sensor (eg when leaning back on the sofa), it is really tender. The area around my sensor isn’t sore and there’s no redness, and my readings are accurate. It feels like it’s the insertion site itself that’s smarting - and this one actually felt a bit stabby when applied, whereas I normally find them painless.

Wondering if best practice here is to remove it and put on a new one? Or whether this is just one of those things that is a bit annoying, but unlikely to be a problem so best to just leave it on.

I have quite skinny arms and the sensor is lower down than I normally put them, so wondering whether it’s just particularly tender as it’s not got much fat.

Any advice or shared experience much appreciated 🙂

 

[Lucyr]

I take an antihistamine and leave it on if it’s painful but my painful is usually itchiness not pain. If you take it off presumably you’ll have to go back to fingerpricking since GPs should only be issuing 2 every 28 days so it depends which you’d prefer - putting up with the tenderness when it’s touched, or fingerprick?

 

[helli]

If you take it off presumably you’ll have to go back to fingerpricking since GPs should only be issuing 2 every 28 days

I always have a backlog of Libre. I always make sure I have at least one spare - just like with insulin, I put in a prescription request when I start my penultimate sensor. This becomes easier when you have had a few failures replaced by Abbott.

 

[void]

The area around my sensor isn’t sore and there’s no redness, and my readings are accurate. It feels like it’s the insertion site itself that’s smarting - and this one actually felt a bit stabby when applied, whereas I normally find them painless.

Sometimes I'll hit a nerve[1] and it hurts for a day. I didn't know what i was "meant" to do, so I left it in.
It worked for the duration; was accurate. A bit itchy, right up till when it expired.

[1] same with insulin. Usually painless but if i hit a nerve, it "burns"

 

[rebrascora]

Only you can decide if you can tolerate the discomfort for the duration. It is unlikely to be doing you any harm as the filament is so fine. Often it is just that it has trapped a fine hair in the adhesive which is pulling or as mentioned, you catch a nerve although those usually ease off after a day or two.
If you decide it is too uncomfortable and need to remove it you could contact Abbott and ask for a replacement. It is not your fault that it is causing problems, same as if you get a really bad bleeder. It is not supposed to be uncomfortable, so if you can't bear it, they should replace it in my opinion.

 

[Inka]

I’d remove it @StephanieMLW It’s not worth risking an infection or abscess. I do agree that trying to get it replaced by Abbott is a good idea though.

 

[Tdm]

If you think there is infection (ie heat, redness, swelling, aching etc) take it off. If it feels like your catching a nerve, eg hurts sometimes when you move your arm, and you can deal with that, keep it on. When it happened with me it felt better after a day or two

 

[nonethewiser]

Only you can decide if you can tolerate the discomfort for the duration. It is unlikely to be doing you any harm as the filament is so fine. Often it is just that it has trapped a fine hair in the adhesive which is pulling or as mentioned, you catch a nerve although those usually ease off after a day or two.
If you decide it is too uncomfortable and need to remove it you could contact Abbott and ask for a replacement. It is not your fault that it is causing problems, same as if you get a really bad bleeder. It is not supposed to be uncomfortable, so if you can't bear it, they should replace it in my opinion.

Quite agree, had couple feel uncomfortable first day only to ease off day later, don't think I've ever taken one off cause it was so uncomfortable.

 

[StephanieMLW]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I wasn't able to get hold of Abbott over the bank holidays, so decided to just bear with it for a couple more days as the skin around it looked normal and therefore hopefully not infected. It got really quite painful and I was very close to removing it, but weirdly enough I had a hot bath one evening and it seemed to be completely fine afterward?! So I've decided to keep it in but if it starts irritating me again I'll remove. I do have a couple of sensors as my GP orders them a month in advance, so thankfully no finger pricking if I do need to take it off! I will be interested to see what it looks like upon removal and if there's anything unusual.

As always, another diabetes learning curve 🙂

 

[void]

so thankfully no finger pricking if I do need to take it off!

I've always been told that the finger prick tests are the reference and the CGM is the guide in this sort of context. So I take fp tests about 4x per day as well as using the CGM.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I've always been told that the finger prick tests are the reference and the CGM is the guide in this sort of context. So I take fp tests about 4x per day as well as using the CGM.

If you like. I find Libre 2 is close enough to test strips that I feel generally comfortable relying on it. I'm fine with it not being exactly the same (indeed, now I'm running LibreLink, Juggluco, and xDrip+, xDrip+ offers a slightly different estimate for the sensor), so I'm fine with not having a precise reference value. When I check with a test strip I don't regard that value as a precise one either.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I find Libre 2 is close enough to test strips that I feel generally comfortable relying on it.

Not with the last one, though. I was walking home from the shops a couple of days ago and it was reading 3.2 and falling, and then LO. Which was (briefly) worrying, but since I wasn't falling over I guessed it was probably a failing sensor.

Anyway, Abbott's sending me a replacement sensor together with a replacement reader (I mentioned that I'd lost the old one but very much liked using it for test strips). So a surprise bonus!

 

[Inka]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I wasn't able to get hold of Abbott over the bank holidays, so decided to just bear with it for a couple more days as the skin around it looked normal and therefore hopefully not infected. It got really quite painful and I was very close to removing it, but weirdly enough I had a hot bath one evening and it seemed to be completely fine afterward?! So I've decided to keep it in but if it starts irritating me again I'll remove. I do have a couple of sensors as my GP orders them a month in advance, so thankfully no finger pricking if I do need to take it off! I will be interested to see what it looks like upon removal and if there's anything unusual.

As always, another diabetes learning curve 🙂

Infections and abscesses from cannulas and CGM/FlashGMs start deep and can take hold before you see the external signs of redness. A stabbing pain is one symptom, which is why I commented above. The rule is If in Doubt, Take it Out 🙂

 

[void]

If you like. I find Libre 2 is close enough to test strips that I feel generally comfortable relying on it. I'm fine with it not being exactly the same (indeed, now I'm running LibreLink, Juggluco, and xDrip+, xDrip+ offers a slightly different estimate for the sensor), so I'm fine with not having a precise reference value. When I check with a test strip I don't regard that value as a precise one either.

I mean accuracy{ii} (rather than precision, which is less important). Expecting exactly the same would be unreasonable. One (well at least, I) can have nearly 1mmol difference testing different fingers one right after the other in the same hand under some conditions

Don't get me wrong, I consider the libre2 very useful indeed. The reasons why i don't consider the libre2 a complete replacement:

1. it tests for a long time from the same place (contrast to the five digits on each hand). One test from one place might not be representative under some conditions. with a fp test i can test another finger and average out.

2. the tech (for fp testing) is older, less complex and better known and less likely to fail.

3. i have found that hydration{i} affects accuracy with the sensor much more than fp tests.

4. sleeping on or otherwise pressing the sensor involuntarily will make it under-read, sometimes for a long time.

{i}apparently i'm almost permanently dehydrated and till recently have never really noticed it.
{ii} "accuracy" means within 1.0-1.5mmol for fp test then sensor test +15 mins