Monday, March 12, 2018

FreeStyle Libre: Review 5 Months Later


Photo from https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/

It’s been 5 months that I’ve been wearing Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre, and I wanted to do an updated review as I’ve had more time with it. So the question, am I still in love with it? Yes.  I recently went a week without it, and while it was able to live without it, I didn’t like living without it, and couldn’t wait to get it back on.

So as I’ve talked about before, I have extremely sensitive skin. When I trialed a pump, I had a skin allergy to the adhesive, and the same happened with the Dexcom. I can say with the Libre I have no itching. When I take it off, the look of my skin under it varies. Usually it looks pretty good. Occasionally it’s a bit red, but it heals in a day or two.

How well does it stick for me? Incredibly well. Everyone’s skin is different, but for me this thing sticks like a magnet. The adhesive around the edges lifts, but the sensor itself stays stuck and I have to carefully peel it off after the 2 weeks.

Accuracy? Out of all the sensors I’ve used, which is 1 every 2 weeks since October, I just had my first faulty sensor. It was 7 days in and the numbers compared to my meter were way out of range. So I had to change it. But other than that one incident, it’s been in range and very close to the numbers on my meter. The particular sensor I’m wearing right now is so accurate. So faulty sensors are out there, but in my personal experience, I’ve only had one, and the rest have been within range and I’ve treated based on those numbers.

I hope this has been helpful to anyone curious about the Libre or others experiences with it!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Michelle!! The freestyle libre sounds so good. Does your healthcare cover it?
    I live in Argentina and it's not yet included on any plan. And it's a bit expensive for me.

    ReplyDelete