parents outside of Canada and US - any experience with the Freestyle Libre?

We live in Finland and libre its not availible here, we bought it in england. In 2 months we have not seen big diference betwen freestyle and blood test. I would say that if this acuracy will continue i would start to give insulin without checking his fingers when the line its staying staight.(at least sometimes )

 

Very nice to know. thanks,
is germany the only country currently having it in mg/dl!?

 

some related links i had bookmarked and thought should share:

product overview
https://youcandoit.freestylediabetes.co.uk/product-overview/

lengthy forum thread discussing it ever since is became available
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/freestyle-libre-on-sale.65900/

techie accuracy blog post
http://type1tennis.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Freestyle Libre

a diatribe post
http://diatribe.org/classdevice-typetopic-area/flash-glucose-monitoring

receiving the CE
http://diatribe.org/issues/69/new-now-next/1

another diatribe article
http://diatribe.org/abbott-freestyl...itoring-through-utter-simplicity-fingersticks

Libre Sensor Straight From A Smartphone
http://diatribe.org/librelink-scanning-freestyle-libre-sensor-straight-smartphone

 

There is a very active Libre FB page ..

 

Italy has it also in mg/dl

 

cool. really thanks guys.

 

We used it for a year before moving to Dex....finally needed the alarms. I don't think you can compare the accuracy between Dex and Libre...as the Dex is calibrated to your meter...if your meter reads on the lower end...then dex will also read o nthe lower end but will look on paper like it matches you BG results more closely. We used it to bolus from we found the difference between the libre and bg meter to be similar as if you were testing on 2 different meters which we all know will give varying results. It worked well for us but when puberty hit full force and I was getting up to scan in the night multiple times we realised we finally needed Dex alarms. Application and sensor size is so much better on the Libre compared to Dex but the G5 mobile phone graph and alarms mean i prefer Dex for other things.

 

How much do u think its the difference in price betwen libre and dexom( taking into account the last of a dexom sensor in average) is it worth switching from libre to dexom if self founded ?

 

We self fund Dexcom now G5. We've just had cheaper prices in the UK and there is now very little price difference as we on average get 2.5 weeks out of a Dex sensor.

 

thanks for the very informative hands-on insight.

 

You can now have Libre upload to Nightscout, I don't know how cumbersome the setup is, but the option is out there for alarms.

 

Yes there are 2 things out there, basic nightscout so when they scan you can see what their levels are remotely, though if they don't scan you obviously won't see anything, this set up doesn't alarm. There is currently a test underway where someone has built something that you can strap to your arm that keeps scanning it but it's huge at the moment.

We won't be moving back from Dex to libre but there is definitely a place in the market for it for those that can't afford Dex.

 

The alarms will give me a peace of mind, and better sleep . We love the acuracy in libre. But soon we will try dexom , with a 3 year old and a blood glucose that is changing so much im not getting to much sleep while i get up so often to scan libre .

 

I have been using Freestyle Libre the last 2 months and now we are with dexcom g5. I think it really depends on the age of the person who will use it.
My son has 2 years old, so the dexcom with the alarms and remote access is a better choice for us. The freestyle was very nice, the interface, accuracy and usability in general are great, much better than the dexcom. Dexcom g5 looks like designed in 1980, god. Dexcom app is really bad, and the reciver is a pice of expensive old technology, the statistics are not easy to extract or interact...you have to go to the clarity website to look at them with a delay of 3 or 4 hours, and well...the insertion of the sensor and transmitter is incredible unfriendly, with that horrible syiringe and all the steps you have to do...well is not user friendly for a 2 years old kid. And for last, the dexcom loose data, if you are out of range that data will be lost....the freestyle stores up to 8 hours in the sensor.

The freestyle don't have all that problems. The insertion is very easy and without pain, my son never complained when we inserted the freestyle sensor but he screams and is terrified with the dexcom. With the freestyle you have all the patterns, statistics and numbers in the receiver. The interface and design are nice and looks like something from this age...not the '80s. The sensor is very thin and small....the dexcom sensor+transmitter are quite big.

I hope Abbott will develop some add-on bluetooth gadget for thouse who want something more like a CGM. I really don't like dexcom, but is the only one with alarms and remote option, if you don't need thouse two options...go with the freestyle.

 

So we have managed to track down a Freestyle Libre and I have been testing it on myself this week. We will be ordering and shipping to my daughter next week.

All I can say is that for anyone not using a CGM, the Libre is kind of like a cheaper and easier to use CGM and it has the potential to revolutionize your diabetes management.

The sensor goes in easily (on the back of the arm, with no more pain than a finger poke), and has so far survived 3 showers, an 11K run, and numerous inadvertent rough contacts by my hand when itching or drying myself or donning a shirt.

To get a blood sugar reading, you just pass the reader (which looks like s sleek, small cell phone) near the sensor and "bing!" you have a reading, as well as a visual graphic display of blood sugars for the past 24 hours. The sensor is measuring blood sugars all the time, and just needs you to take a reading every 8 hours to download all of that information to the reader.

There is software which you can download to generate graphic displays of your data and analyze it - I've left that to my wife. What I love is that unlike a finger poke which just gives you an isolated number which is a single reading in time, the Libre gives you that reading and then visually places it in the context of what your blood sugars have been doing the last 24 hours.

I think it will transform my daughter's ability to manage her diabetes. I'll report back once she's had a chance to use it. :cwds:

 

I was at a JDRF event tonight in North Carolina and I finally saw one in real life! the size of it is great! the dad that was using it for his kinder son said that they trust it from day one and are truley using it as a replacement to finger pokes. He is getting it from Germany at a cost of $80 per sensor and they last 14 days. Is that about the cost that you can source them for?

I really think it is silly that they are made in American yet I can not get one.

 

Here is a review from elsewhere on the CWD site:
http://childrenwithtype1diabetes.org/freestyle-libre-for-children-review-2016

I think we are paying more. It is maddening that they are not available here, and that we have to go through third parties overseas to get these excellent devices.

I am done my first week testing the device. It survived a 21K race today and is still going strong. If this had been available 10 years ago for my daughter I would have got one and never looked back.

 

thank you for your response. I have been trying to gauge the cost. we have dexcom, but do not trust it enough as a replacement to finger pokes.

Wilf, how do you feel about Libre as a replacement to finger pokes? Or how are you selling it to your DD? What would you want her to do with its info? trust it to tell you you are going low and watch? finger poke for a high BG?

Interested how others are adapting to this newer tech.

 

We love Libre.. We are now using it by scanning with a Sony Smartwatch 3 set up with Glimp to Nightscout. By using Glimp some people are getting 3 weeks rather than 14 days from a sensor.

 

I would be having her just use the graphical output and spot readings from the Libre to manage blood sugars. Maybe one random finger poke a day to confirm it's in the ball park.