Thinking of buying a freestyle libre

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Lindalou

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Type 1
Hi,
Looking at purchasing a Freestyle libre as I hate pricking my finger. Could anyone who has used one please give me an honest and frank rundown of their worth and any pros and cons.
 
Lindalou said:
Hi,
Looking at purchasing a Freestyle libre as I hate pricking my finger. Could anyone who has used one please give me an honest and frank rundown of their worth and any pros and cons.
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I've always had really good and useful results form mine, and I miss it when I haven't got a sensor on ( I only use them from time to time, because of cost) Not everyone has had such a positive result though. Have a look at this thread
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/the-libre.61166/#post-622564
where there was a good discussion of the pros and cons.
 
If you type it into YouTube there is lots of user reviews 🙂
 
I started to use one with the idea of only using it now and then when I noted to find out something specific. I now use one most of the time, as I usually want to know what is happening to my BG. The most useful bit for me, is that in addition to my BG it tells me the direction of travel of my BG, admittedly I have to factor in a bit of a time lag as the Libre measures interstitial Glucose and the fingerprick is doing BG, but it helps me so much, especially as no two days are the same for me.

We decided that it was so helpful that we would rejig things and afford it for use all the time. I know that we are fortunate to have that choice, and I hope that the more people use them the lower the cost will come, and there are suggestions that it could eventually get onto the NhS list, but I think that that is very unlikely in the current climate.
 
I never intended buying any after the starter pack but after using it for four weeks I was hooked.
For me, I love knowing what is happening between readings. So I could see for instance that I was having lows at 3 am, and a dawn phenomenon that I thought had gone away! I also found out that my levels are reasonably flat for large parts of the day when I was too busy for repeatedly doing finger pricks.
When my blood sugar is behaving itself, I find the readings pretty accurate. I suspect for those with erratic levels that it may be less reliable.
 
I guess that, in a nutshell, the Libre has helped me to be more confident - before, I had no idea what was going on between finger-pricks, which made me more anxious than I realised. I'm much more relaxed about my diabetes now.:D

Mind you, I didn't like the Libre at first, but I think that's because I just slapped it on and expected miracles! So, IMHO it's important to work out pretty quickly how to use it to your advantage. And, DEFINITELY, attach the sensor then wait (at least) 24 hours before activating it - the Libre's readings are much nearer to my BG meter's now that I do this. Good luck!😛
 
They give you graphs of 24hr bg. An excellent learning device ! Good luck 🙂
 
I've been T1 diabetic for 20 years, and the Libre has transformed my life. Like Bloden, I had no idea how my BG varied between fingerpricks, but now I know everything, and the arrow showing which way the BG is heading is a superb hypo predictor. (I've just done a check and got 3.9 with a downward arrow). 😱. I can now fix this without going off with the fairies first. I'm lucky, I can easily afford it, but I think this is the way forward, and hope that at some stage in can be provided on the NHS.
 
Radders said:
The starter pack which has two sensors is a relatively small investment and you don't pay the VAT in the UK so it's less than the listed price.
Very addictive though.
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There are worse things to be addicted to!🙄
 
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