FreeStyle Libre experiences

Yes, I’m on my 3rd sensor now - I’m planning to post more in depth summary when life calms down (husband in hospital, he’s out and ok now; weaning a teething baby, flare up of other health issues for me, etc). Haven’t had a lot of spare time, but I have been so grateful to have the Libre (and Afrezza!) during this crazy life period. The second sensor remained spot on until the end of the 10 days. I applied the 3rd sensor a little later than planned (was on me a little less than 24 hrs before it started reading, as opposed to the ~36hrs with the previous sensor), and while it’s been mostly accurate, there have been some wider differences between meter and Libre at times, particularly, again, showing lows when I’m not low. Overall, though, I’m still happy with it and able to rely on it rather than doing as many finger sticks.

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@Sam, that’s odd - you have Caremark, right? My CVS was able to get the sensors in within a day.

No, there’s no CVS anywhere near here. The only chain pharmacy in this town is safeway, then about 100 miles away there’s a Walgreens… the only other ones nearby are small privately owned mom and pop pharmacies… definitely non participating

They don’t generally list safeway as a participating pharmacy but when I enter my zip code on the freestyle website the local safeway is listed… however they have no idea how to get one… best option is to send rx to Walgreens and sweet talk them into mailing it to me. Quickly losing interest though, info it’s going to be a logistical nightmare every month… not worth the energy

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You don’t have to set talk them. It is part of their standard service.

Standard from any Walgreens retail location? Or just if you order through their mail order program?

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Standard from any retail location. On refills, you can order online and the retail location will fill by mail.

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Ah, sorry. I know what you mean about losing interest because of the hassle…hopefully Walgreens can ship to you with no problem. The Libre is great, even keeps up (for the most part) with the fast Afrezza/BG shifts for me.

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@Sam, if you have Caremark, why not order from their online pharmacy? You can actually order “online” by phone, it is a 24 hour number.

I do for everything else, for some reason it appears to not be possible for the libre… I look it up on their website and it just says “not covered / not available” or something like that…

Then safeway tells me my insurance covers it then they tell me my copay which appears to be exactly the same as the cash price, and they can’t actually get them anyway. My docs assistant tells me Walgreens is only place within hundreds of miles that’s worth messing with in this case

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With my first Libre sensor, I used Skintac and covered with Opsite. For second sensor, I went bare and applied direct with no covering Opsite. It stuck great and is not loose on Day #6.

On the second sensor, I had some bleeding and a circular bruise around the site but that did not seem to affect the BG readings. I’d post a pic but it’s not attractive.

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I called Walgreens. They can get it in, but they can only mail it to me if I’ve physically swiped my credit card there in that store before so that their computer system has it on file. (Which I don’t think I have, most likely) so worst case is I might have to drive up there once…

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That is better than no solution!

Yesterday I had my first experience with the Libre sensor losing signal for a bit - I took a shower (which of course I’ve done several times with these sensors…), and the Libre read 183 with a check BG icon when I got back to the kitchen. Checked with meter - 120. Checked Libre again in a few minutes, 180 (with check BG). Went about whatever it was I was doing in the kitchen, and checked 10 minutes later - Libre had completely stopped reading for a few minutes, then had picked back up again at 123. It was fine the rest of the day. Weird. I understand CGMs can get a little noisy in the shower; it was just odd to me that it hadn’t happened with the 3 sensors I’ve used before this one (or with this one until yesterday). I’m just glad I really hadn’t shot up to the 180s! :laughing:

ETA: oh, and I had my first “major” low - 46, and whew, it was not fun. Ate 12 carbs (8 carbs of jelly beans followed up by 4 peanut butter - I could barely refrain from eating the whole kitchen, so that was my compromise) which landed me in the 120s, which once again shows me the standard 15g recommendation is just too much if I want to level out around 100.

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Remember to be somewhat conservative when lowering your carbs for low treatments. The first goal should be to get out of the low quickly, then worry about where you land. We would consider a landing at 120 to be a big win.

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I don’t think I could lower it more if I tried LOL I tried to stick to the 8g carbs, because I knew that would get me out of it, but I was still in that eat-everything-in-sight place. I was also home alone with the kids, so was more concerned about it not coming up than overtreating, which is why I ate more.

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There’s an app called social diabetes that’s licensed by Abbott for the Libre sensors

You, my friend, are in luck! Assuming you’re still looking these answers… if not, you’re just in for it. :grin:. I just got my new Libre up and running today (thanks to you!), I ALSO use a Relion as my meter, AND I track all of my numbers because I’m also mentally ill (that last “also” was meant as an addition to my own list and was not to imply that you are… also).

My point is you and I should talk. If I haven’t scared you away. I do think there’s a lag, and I do think the arrows, unfortunately, still reflect the lag as often as they reflect the present trend. I also think this sensor is faster than my guardian so it’s chipping away at that delay faster than my guardian can.

I’d be happy to share my logs if there is a way to upload an image onto this??

So after my first 12 hours in, I can say my Libre seems to be quicker to close in on my higher BGs, even moving ones, than it is with the lower ones. I can already see some strengths and weaknesses here, and I’m already starting to see it as a great tool for when my blood sugar is relatively stable and, not unlike my Guardian, a less reliable tool when I’m on the move.

All in all, my Libre and I had a great time today. :slight_smile: i absolutely love scanning it for a reading although, in the wrong hands, it can quickly become a boundary violation. I got scanned today by at least 6 different family members… like in drive by fashion. That’s gonna get old quick.

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You can upload images, there is an upload button on the writing interface, or you can copy/paste a screenshot as well.

Got it. Thank you!