TYPE 1''s WHO FINGER PRICK AND DON'T USE THE LIBRE

[mum2westiesGill]

Hi, I'm just wondering apart from myself if there are any Type 1"s who does finger pricking instead of using the libre?

 

[Inka]

I finger prick 🙂 A Type 1 friend does too.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

I finger prick 🙂 A Type 1 friend does too.

Thanks @Inka - so that makes 3 of us - do we have any more?

 

[SB2015]

Hi Gill
I use a sensor but still use finger pricks at each meal and before bed to calibrate my sensor. It also ensures my bolus is based on current BG rather than sensor glucose with the time lag.

 

[Lisa66]

Same here @SB2015

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Hi Gill
I use a sensor but still use finger pricks at each meal and before bed to calibrate my sensor. It also ensures my bolus is based on current BG rather than sensor glucose with the time lag.

@SB2015 if your finger pricking and basing your bolus on the finger pricking/current BG why do you use a sensor?

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Same here @SB2015

@Lisa66 please can I ask the same question ie if you're finger pricking and basing your bolus on the finger pricking/current BG why do you use a sensor?

 

[miguel81]

I only finger prick, I read on here of the number of problems people have with Libre which I can do without, also the expense. Better the devil you know.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

For the first 18 months we used finger pricks and injections for my daughter. She went on dexcom and pump in October of last year but has had a couple of months break in that time and back onto finger pricks and injections. It’s perfectly possible to manage diabetes well that way. Having a sensor gives you more data and more data can help you fine tune things but it’s not essentially better and can cause other issues.

 

[Kaylz]

if your finger pricking and basing your bolus on the finger pricking/current BG why do you use a sensor?

because using a sensor allows you to see when spikes occur so you can fine tune your prebolusing to stop it is just one of the reasons I do both, also I can see what's going on 24/7 where I wouldn't pick up on things with just finger pricking but as you don't use the data from a sensor it may just be better for you to completely put the idea to bed for now until you have a better understanding of things xx

 

[JJay]

Finger pricks only tell you what's happening at the moment you do them. The sensor tells you what's happening in between. The combined information can make bolus calculations more accurate. If you just finger-prick before a meal you get a figure, but without the sensor you don't know if you're coming down from a high, coming up from a low, or just keeping steady. This might affect your bolus calculation in that, for instance, you might want to add a unit or two to correct a high-ish FP reading but if you didn't know that your BG was already heading fast downwards, you could then end up hypo.

Yes, I still rely on FPs for bolus calculations, but I wouldn't be wihout my Libre for anything - it's not so much about the figures but the "direction of travel".

 

[Robin]

@SB2015 if your finger pricking and basing your bolus on the finger pricking/current BG why do you use a sensor?

I think @SB2015 and other people who have technically advanced pumps use a sensor linked to their pumps, because the pump can read it and suspend insulin if it detects a low.

 

[Roozle]

Thanks @Inka - so that makes 3 of us - do we have any more?

Hello
I do finger prick testing. I’ve been on insulin for a month now, having been diagnosed type 2 last year but it turns out I’m actually type 1

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Finger pricks only tell you what's happening at the moment you do them. The sensor tells you what's happening in between. The combined information can make bolus calculations more accurate. If you just finger-prick before a meal you get a figure, but without the sensor you don't know if you're coming down from a high, coming up from a low, or just keeping steady. This might affect your bolus calculation in that, for instance, you might want to add a unit or two to correct a high-ish FP reading but if you didn't know that your BG was already heading fast downwards, you could then end up hypo.

Yes, I still rely on FPs for bolus calculations, but I wouldn't be wihout my Libre for anything - it's not so much about the figures but the "direction of travel".

@JJay
You still do finger pricks for bolus calculations so you do finger pricks before your meals. Do you also do a sensor scan at the same time?
When would you add a unit or two on? I know from my finger pricks that if my BG is over 10mmol to do a correction and that's what my MySugr app advises too.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

because using a sensor allows you to see when spikes occur so you can fine tune your prebolusing to stop it is just one of the reasons I do both, also I can see what's going on 24/7 where I wouldn't pick up on things with just finger pricking but as you don't use the data from a sensor it may just be better for you to completely put the idea to bed for now until you have a better understanding of things xx

Do you do a finger prick and also a sensor scan before a meal?

 

[Kaylz]

Do you do a finger prick and also a sensor scan before a meal?

Yes, that's when I see how close they are too each other and I log the finger prick reading in the scan reading and also how much insulin I'll be giving, even the difference of 1mmol can mean an increase or decrease in bolus for me so it's safer for me to do it that way and my team are quite happy with me doing it the way I am xx

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Yes, that's when I see how close they are too each other and I log the finger prick reading in the scan reading and also how much insulin I'll be giving, even the difference of 1mmol can mean an increase or decrease in bolus for me so it's safer for me to do it that way and my team are quite happy with me doing it the way I am xx

When you log your finger prick reading in the scan reading do you mean on the LibreLink app diary in the notes section?
Re the 2 readings ie the finger prick reading and the sensor reading which do you go with for bolus advice?
If the readings aren't close which do you go with then?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

When would you add a unit or two on?

One of the videos (advising on understanding the Libre arrows, I think) suggests considering doing that if it shows you're going up before eating (and considering subtracting a unit or two if you're going down).

 

[mum2westiesGill]

One of the videos (advising on understanding the Libre arrows, I think) suggests considering doing that if it shows you're going up before eating (and considering subtracting a unit or two if you're going down).

Is that if you're going up or down fast or slowly?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Is that if you're going up or down fast or slowly?

I don't recall the details of the advice, and it'll depend how many units you were intending to use (adding a unit to a 14 unit dose is different to adding one to a 4 unit dose).

So really I take it as general guidance rather than anything specific: if I'm going up then I can expect to need a bit more insulin (or to go for a walk before or after eating), and if I'm going down then I'll need a bit less.