Freestyle Libre in the US: 10-day vs 14-day sensor comparison

A Wiki?
I don’t see why not.
Glad I could help. I’ve learned so much since finding FUD, thanks to everyone’s willingness to share their own knowledge. It’s a good feeling to be able to give a little something back.

The Libre system can be a great addition to the fight to control diabetes, but it’s by no means perfect, and there is still a LOT of room for improvement, by Abbott, by 3rd party developers, and by the db community.

Once this little snafu of switching over to the 14 day sensors settles down, the next big HUGE hurdle is going to be to address the sizable number of folks that develop really NASTY skin reactions to the adhesive. This is going to become critical as more folks start using these devices, and the numbers of people that have a reaction continues to grow. Most disturbing, to me at least, is the fact that it’s possible to use the sensors quite successfully for an extended period of time, and then develop a skin reaction almost out of the blue.
By all accounts, once this occurs, you will always have that potential reaction with the current adhesive formulation. Folks that have been successful with incorporating the sensors into their self care regimen are devastated when this reaction strikes, and their only viable option is to give them up completely, and to go back to doing blood glucose finger sticks. I’ve made a conscious decision to hold off on even thinking about the addition of a transmitter accessory until I have some degree of confidence that I am not prone to this potential problem, or that it has been solved. They are much too expensive, for me at least, to invest in a device that I may have to give up using completely within a few months after acquiring one.

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I’ve been pretty fearful of this happening. I have a sensitivity to a lot of adhesives, but so far both the Libre sensors and the SimPatch do not bother me. There have been a couple times I’ve put a new sensor on and felt some irritation/burning, and thought a reaction was finally happening, but thankfully not.

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Understandable, when you see how useful a CGM is.

I am not familiar with skin reactions for the Libre, but I am very familiar with those for the Dexcom. We have a long wiki discussing how to deal with such reactions, and most people find a way to accomodate it, even with severe reactions:

My feeling is that the very large majority of people would be able to surmount the problem using some of the techniques discussed in this wiki! The simplest is SkinTac, which we use as a prevention and also as a way to withstand frequent swimming practices. But there are many layers and levels :slight_smile:

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OK, I just made it into a wiki, added the bottom limit, and put it into the TOC.

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2 posts were split to a new topic: Using the Freestyle Libre with third party transmitters

5 posts were split to a new topic: Freestyle Libre: allergies and skin reactions

I just send a message to Ambrosia and asked if the Nightrider is working on the 14 days sensors. They said they had never heard about any problems with the 14 day sensor and the Nightrider . Any comments ???

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Thanks so much for the info. My Endo appt is this afternoon and I was going to ask her for the Libra 14 day Rx so I could upgrade for free. Now I think I’ll stick with the 10 day and my MiaoMiao. I also had thought they would both use the same sensors, just a new reader. As I said, greatly appreciated info.

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All of the info presented above is based on a combination of either my own personal experiences, or anecdotal information from various online user groups that I frequent.

I do not personally have any experience with the Ambrosia NightRider transmitter.
If Ambrosia is telling their customers, or potential customers, that their equipment works with the 14 day sensors, then I have no personal knowledge to the contrary.

It is however, important to note that US 14 day sensors DO NOT perform in the same way that international sensors perform, so it is entirely possible for Ambrosia to be correct about 14 day sensors in some locations, but not in others.
In a nutshell, this exact difference in the specific US version 14 day sensors vs the 14 day sensors used all over the rest of the world is what has the whole situation in a “Who’s On First?” state of affairs right now.

As a US Freestyle user, I am not familiar enough with how the international version sensors work to even begin to have an opinion.

Hence, as specified in the original post-

Disclaimer

As in all things diabetes, your actual mileage may vary…

:smile:

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Will the glimp app work with the US 14 day sensors id the are started with the glimp S app. Has anyone tried

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At the current time, no 3rd party apps or transmitter devices will work with the newly released US 14 day Libre sensors. These units can only be read by the new 14 day Libre scanner or the Libre app for iPhone 7 or higher.
There is supposedly an Android version in development, but no firm release date as of yet.
The developers of the various 3rd party apps and transmitters are working on a solution, but there are currently no indications as to when, or if a solution is expected.

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Does anybody know where the best place to follow this particular issue is? I’m on the US 14-day sensors and I ordered, then cancelled the miaomiao, waiting for it to be usable with Glimp or XDrip+. I’d like to try to follow the development of the apps, and maybe even the hardware if it’s not a software related issue. Any one forum where these developers hang out?

Thanks!
MC

There are numerous Facebook groups that are oriented towards the Libre, MiaoMiao, and 3rd party apps.
For US users, which are the only folks having difficulties with the 14 day sensors, some of the best info can be found here:

USA users - Abbott Freestyle Libre

Miaomiao Smart Libre Reader

Abbott Freestyle Libre users

Abbott Libre Off Topic

Libre Geeks

Dexcom and Libre rash

xDrip

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@DaveJ, do you happen to knkw if LibreLinkUp is available in the U.S?? I have a friend whose 14 year old is starting on the Libre 14 day sensor and is looking for a way to follow. Do you have any ideas??

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With the LibreLinkUp app1, get glucose readings sent to your phone2 from family and friends who use the FreeStyle LibreLink mobile app. Ideal for parents and caregivers, the LibreLinkUp mobile app allows you to stay in touch, anywhere they go.3
Sent it both places.:grinning:

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Thank you, @T1john. :heart:

To the best of my knowledge, users of the U S 14 day sensors can either use the 14 day scanner, or an app that runs only on iPhone 7 and newer. Users of the international 14 day sensors have other options. LibreLinkUp does not currently give an option to create a U.S. based account.

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Would something as trivial as an off-shore proxy allow it to work for a US customer?

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That’s too bad. Thank you for responding.

@Thomas, Is that something that is easier to do than it sounds??

This is a very easy proxy to use:

NOTE: Although also trivial for a company to detect so it is easy for a company to block anybody coming through here. Some companies do block and some companies do not block.

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