Where can I get a Libre 3 sensor?

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MarinaDE

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I live in Europe but am in the UK until the end of next week. A couple of weeks ago I felt sick and went to a Harley St GP and was diagnosed with diabetes. I went straight to an endocrinologist, who put me on the Freestyle Libre 3 system. I got two sensors.

I'm going home to Europe shortly, but it will be several weeks until I see my own doctor, by which time the remaining sensor will have given up the ghost. But the UK endocrinologist is on holiday, so I can't get a new prescription from him.

Does anybody have any suggestions about how I can get new sensors?
 
You can buy libre 2 sensors online on abbot site or at a pharmacy
 
Libre 3 sensors are not generally available to buy in the UK.
If you got a couple from the private doctor, your best bet is to ask there.

Alternatively, Libre 2 are more readily available.
They are bigger but do the same thing.

I assume you also have a finger prick meter. CGMs have known limitations so you need the ability to double check the Libre readings.
 
MarinaDE said:
I live in Europe but am in the UK until the end of next week. A couple of weeks ago I felt sick and went to a Harley St GP and was diagnosed with diabetes. I went straight to an endocrinologist, who put me on the Freestyle Libre 3 system. I got two sensors.

I'm going home to Europe shortly, but it will be several weeks until I see my own doctor, by which time the remaining sensor will have given up the ghost. But the UK endocrinologist is on holiday, so I can't get a new prescription from him.

Does anybody have any suggestions about how I can get new sensors?
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Where are are you heading to Europe?
From my knowledge Germany is where the Libre 3 is more available. (Like it was when the L2 first came out? )
 
MarinaDE said:
Thanks. Do you know if the Libre 2 sensors work with the Libre 3 system?
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Not sure what you mean by system. It’s just a sensor and an app. Use the libre (not 3) app for libre2 sensors.
 
Lucyr said:
Not sure what you mean by system. It’s just a sensor and an app. Use the libre (not 3) app for libre2 sensors.
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I have the Libre 3 app, which is connected to my endocrinologist's computer, so I was just asking if the Libre 2 sensors were compatible. (I imagine they're not?)
 
MarinaDE said:
I have the Libre 3 app, so I was just asking if the Libre 2 sensors were compatible. (I imagine they're not?)
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You can download the libre app to use with the libre2 sensors
 
Lucyr said:
You can download the libre app to use with the libre2 sensors
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I think they both upload to LibreView in the same sort of way. (And I guess if you download LibreLink in the UK then the (UK) Libre 2 sensor will work very much like Libre 3.)
 
Hi @MarinaDE, I think your simplest option is to ask your Harley St Endo for extra sensors. (NB I suspect he's a Consultant and not a GP - but that is semantics on my part).

Otherwise as already said, if you purchase Libre 2 somewhere over the counter (most pharmacies - they might need a couple of days notice) you'll need to download and install the basic LibreLink app for your phone. Then check with your Endo if he is still able to see the LibreView data that is being transmitted directly by wi-fi and the Internet to his Practice - assuming he is still providing the medical overview of your BG; if he can't continue to monitor you seamlessly then he'll provide you with a code that rejoins your LibreView to him. Very few of us in UK even have visibility of Libre 3, never mind actually using it - because there is some control that stops those of that would like to self-fund Libre 3 from doing that. Abbott won't sell it over the counter, it can only come from the NHS as best I know and I was pleasantly surprised when you told us you even had L3. So I am far from sure about exactly how similar L3 is to L2 and therefore what else you might need to slightly 'relearn' with the step backwards.

When are you returning to Gernany and how quickly are you expecting to be fully reintegrated with your own Dr and Specialist?
 
@Proud to be erratic I return to Germany at the end of this week, and can't get an appointment with my own GP until 12th September, so I am loading up on supplies. I don't expect to start seeing a specialist for at least a few weeks.

My London endocrinologist came back from holidays today, and I can tell, because he emailed me about my Tresiba dose. I would love to know how he can look at the wavy line on the Libre app and see that I'm eating low carb, that I need more Tresiba etc etc. I guess that's his many decades of professional experience versus my three weeks of Dr Google.

The whole thing cracks me up. If a teenage girl was spending as much time checking social media as my endo does on scrolling bloodwork, we'd call her an internet addict and worry about her mental health. It's really clear that he is just doomscrolling blood results from all over the world because he got hooked on that rather than Twitter. Not that I'm not grateful.

How weird that the Libre 3 is blocked from purchasing. It's not like you can do anything with it, apart from check your blood sugar. I suppose there are a few people who might use it inappropriately (e.g. eating disorders) but it seems odd.
 
MarinaDE said:
How weird that the Libre 3 is blocked from purchasing. It's not like you can do anything with it, apart from check your blood sugar. I suppose there are a few people who might use it inappropriately (e.g. eating disorders) but it seems odd.
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It is not blocked from sale. There is no one who sells it in the UK. This is not due to safety reasons.
i believe it is due to minimising supplies as the factory in the UK is not able to provide many Libre 3.
 
In my experience the Libre 2 is acting as a CGM n the UK on Android. I just need to open the app for a reading?
No “widget” on the Home Screen or lock?
 
Just a thought, when you return to Germany and get set up with an endo here, you'll probably need to download the DE version of the FreeStyle Libre 3 app.

The FreeStyle Libre apps are region-locked (at least the Android version was a year ago). Everything else is pretty much the same. I think the region lock in the app store is because it's a medical app and needs country-specific approval.

I have an Android device and needed to create a DE Google Play Store account to download the app (my main Play Store account was UK and a search in there wouldn't give the DE version of the app).

Just a heads up because it caused a lot of headaches trying to figure out how to get the app here in Germany. Luckily I had a FreeStyle Libre 3 reader, so the app wasn't critical.

The DE app will be in mg/dL. My endo doesn't view my readings except at my appointments when they either plug in my reader or look at my phone. Your endo might want to, but don't be surprised if they aren't constantly looking at your graphs. Once you get settled in a routine, you won't need (and might not want) someone paying that close attention, especially when you just really want a Brezel. ;-)

Best quote from my endo at my first appointment after diagnosis: What's the point of living in Germany if you can't enjoy a pretzel sometimes? 🙂

Oh, and if you need one more FreeStyle Libre 3 sensor to tide you over, you can request a free test sensor to be sent to you in Germany:

FreeStyle Libre | Das Glukosemesssystem der nächsten Generation

Unterstützt Ihr Diabetesmanagement ohne routinehaftes Fingerstechen – sicher, diskret, einfach. Behalten Sie Ihre Zuckerwerte und -trends immer im Blick. Jetzt testen!
www.freestylelibre.de www.freestylelibre.de
 
Finn said:
Just a thought, when you return to Germany and get set up with an endo here, you'll probably need to download the DE version of the FreeStyle Libre 3 app.

The FreeStyle Libre apps are region-locked (at least the Android version was a year ago). Everything else is pretty much the same. I think the region lock in the app store is because it's a medical app and needs country-specific approval.
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@Finn When I got it at the London clinic, they made me log out of my phone so they could log in and load the app, because of precisely this region-locking issue. The wifi wasn't working very well and it took a long time to download, so the nurse asked me to remember to log out. Apparently many people don't, and their phones automatically start sending the photos they're taking, so the secretaries are overwhelmed by pictures of international diabetic patients on holidays.
 
MarinaDE said:
@Finn When I got it at the London clinic, they made me log out of my phone so they could log in and load the app, because of precisely this region-locking issue. The wifi wasn't working very well and it took a long time to download, so the nurse asked me to remember to log out. Apparently many people don't, and their phones automatically start sending the photos they're taking, so the secretaries are overwhelmed by pictures of international diabetic patients on holidays.
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Ah, it sounds like downloading the DE app should be easy then if your Play Store is set to DE already. It sounds like that's why they had you log out.

You could have also made a separate UK account to get the app (and can still do if you ever need to redownload the UK FreeStyle Libre app later). I did that instead of switching my account region to DE so I wouldn't lose access to UK apps I have downloaded.
 
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