Cyborg Times (new BG meter)

why would you do it ? Because there is no better way, you can't test BG continuously in a cost effective manner. You can, almost, do it with these kind of devices. The fact that it may be 10 mins out from your actual BG is largely irrelevant because we can't accurately test BG anyway. All a finger prick does is give you a rough estimate, so why not use something that is no worse BUT lets you view post meal spikes and the general pattern of your BG. I'm not entirely sure why it confuses people, but then I have been lucky enough to be able to use one for two weeks and seen the benefit.

On the negative side, abbott don't see that holding all the data on the meter only as being a problem, they confirmed this to me in an email this week. Personnally I find this amazing and very poor, they might have a great new device but their software support is worse than rubbish in my opinion and is putting me off using the device in the long term. Manybe the next company to release one will be more enlightened.

Lastly the response on injecting near the sensor site was 'I am not aware of any specific research done on injections around the area of insertion of the sensor. It should be discussed each time with a healthcare proffessional each time before injection. It seems to be advisable to inform HCP before any medical procedure that such a sensor is been placed.' Not a very good response in my opinion. Others have praised the Abbott support, my experience is that its not very good at all but maybe I'm asking the wrong questions

you have all sold quite well actually........it does make sense about the accuracy of a finger test too.........

I think a lot of people would find the change daunting and want to stick to the blood glucose as it's all so new with relatively little knowledge around it. marke has mentioned being in IT as am I so I think we're naturally attracted to playing with the latest gadget

At the end of the day it's given us all more choice in how we look after ourselves which must be a positive.

I have found this kit such a great help, for me the devices we have had over the years has always changed, and on the most part improved our care, from glass syringes to plastic ones and urine testing to blood montering. This kit is allowing more help, when at the gym and wanting to check while on the cross trainer, or in a meeting and wanting a quick check . However the best thing is tthe indication the direction your glucose level is going it is by far the best improvement to my control. As for accuracy, all equipment has a tolerances ,I have found the new kit to read slightly lower than my traditional kit, I am like most users i am testing traditionally for driving and before bed, but my fingers are really enjoying the break for the pre meal times and pre and post gym checks. I hope that over time the problems that people have had with new kit will be ironed out.

I have just played with the software for the first time so thought I'd do another update.

I wasn't expecting much from it really but it's pretty swish, easy to use, some interesting reports and they're nicely presented. They can be easily saved as pdf files to email, or print and show your HCP.

As previously stated, you can only view the reports with the reader connected and cannot save the historical data in the software. However,I'm very pleased to say you CAN export the data to a text file and open it up in Excel. I was desperate to see this option as I wanted to be able to do my own analysis but to be honest now I've seen the software I'm not sure how much value I can add.

On a personal note, the best thing I saw was the estimated HbA1c figure at the top of the page. I've had problems with my mental health and even when feeling well I have really struggled not to hide from my glucose levels. This machine has come along at the perfect time for me, as I get back to work and something approaching a routine and began trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing! Anyway, the cold hard facts are that my last HbA1c was 13%, yes that's right 13% According to these reports, after 8 days of properly monitoring, it's estimating 7.1% . I know this is due to me getting my a@#$ in gear and doing all my injections etc. and not just getting a new monitor but I really do think the Libre has been a massive catalyst and has made me feel more in control of my diabetes than I ever have been.

Maybe we need to start a campaign to make personal data available in useable formats? I just started with an OmniPod last week and one complaint I have so far is that their fancy software which displays the data on a PC will only export to pdf. Whilst their graphs and reports are pretty good, the other thing you can easily do is to record comments about what's been eaten, what exercise taken etc. I'm still doing that in the dafneonline app, but am struggling to combine that data which can be exported in csv format, with the pdf from the pump.

To my mind the data gathered by these devices belongs to the user not the manufacturer and should therefore be made readily available outside of their applications.

Hi Guys,

A huge thanks to all of those who have provided in-depth reviews on your experiences with the Freestyle Libre monitor. It's been very helpful (so helpful that I am in the process of trying to get one myself!) However, when I've tried to purchase my Abbott Freestyle Libre starter pack it is telling me that because I'm not an existing customer I won't be able to order one until the new year

I am just wondering if anybody knows a way around this, or if this has been the case for other people, as I am dying to get started!

Thank you.

Hi Tom

Sorry to hear, that you are having trouble will getting your order I have been using the kit for 3 weeks now, and still finding it very good, I was thinking of doing there subscription, so I will see what they say when I phone tomorrow, I will let you know if I can order more. I wonder if the kit has proved more popular than they thought

Sorry to hear of your problems with obtaining it, Tom. I've been on the system for over 3 weeks and have found it an enormous help and well worth the expense. I recently ordered my next month's supply which took almost 1 week to arrive but there was no problem with getting the order accepted even though I have not signed up to an ongoing subscription yet; I felt I should give it a fair trial before commiting myself to 12 months subscription. I do hope Sarah will be able to shed light on the current situation.
Every good wish, SB

Hi Sarah and Stephen,

Thank you for your responses. It does seem strange that the website wouldn't let me order a starter pack just because I'm not an exisiting customer

Have either of you used abbott's products before? (or have an online account with them?)

Stephen - when you say you have been on the system for 3 weeks, do you mean you've had an online account with them for 3 weeks, or you have been using the freestyle libre for 3 weeks?

Look forward to hearing how you get on Sarah.

Thanks, Tom