01/11-Freckles PMPS 229 - First full day with Libre - DUD!!

[Judy and Freckles]

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First full day with Libre (Continuous glucose monitor) and totally not impressed. There is a consistent discrepancy of about 100 points (5.5 pts world) where the Libre is reading too high compared to the Freestyle Lite. I was sooooo looking forward to this gadget.

I'm still able to use it just looking at trends but ignoring the numbers. I like that it can fill in the gaps for when I'm not testing, plus it will give Freckles' ears a bit of a break from testing so often, but I will still be using the Freestyle Lite for AMPS and PMPS.

It looks like I really wasn't missing much with Freckles' curves according to the Libre. She does have very, very flat curves, so I I should be thankful that she's not bouncing to the moon and back.

The Libre Canadian office is closed over the weekend so I will give them a call on Monday and let them know of the problem. It would be really nice if the Libre and Lite start magically jiving with each other, then I could trust the Libre more. Not counting on that though.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Was that a blue preshot this morning?

Bummer about the Libre. You’d think meters between the same manufacturer should be consistent.

 

[Judy and Freckles]

Was that a blue preshot this morning?

Yes, indeed it was! I hope you were sitting down when you were looking at the SS!

Bummer about the Libre. You’d think meters between the same manufacturer should be consistent.

One would think! So I went out and spent another $80.00 on Precision strips which fit the Libre reader just to see if the problem existed with the sensor on Freckles' back, or the Libre reader, or my Freestyle Lite and..... non of them were consistent. The Lite read 189, the Libre read 286 and the Precision read 230 (my stuff actually reads in World numbers but I converted it for easy reference). So there you have it - I still don't know!!

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

The first time I dealt with a cat here using the Libre, I did some research to understand what to expect (human wasn't told much by vet) and the reviews from human users seemed to often complain it was reading high or low compared with their regular meter. With that particular cat experience, the manual meter being used was the Relion Prime and it seemed that the Libre readings were more in line with the meter as they got closer to normal range (under 100 or 5.5 mmol). Who knows? I wonder if the accuracy of the readings has anything to do with the way the sensor itself is situated in the tissue. There were also lots of complaints of sensors not lasting the 14 days or falling off etc.

 

[Judy and Freckles]

Thanks Linda for your response.

it seemed that the Libre readings were more in line with the meter as they got closer to normal range (under 100 or 5.5 mmol).

That would be nice. The research that I found indicated that the Libre (interstitial values) were very comparable to blood glucose numbers but if the company that makes the product are the ones doing the research... there's a little bit of conflict of interest going on there.

I wonder if the accuracy of the readings has anything to do with the way the sensor itself is situated in the tissue.

That could very well be. My vet had never placed one on a critter before, but I did give him some info and a picture of Ming's Libre. Plus he did some of his own research and looked up Youtube videos.. lol

There were also lots of complaints of sensors not lasting the 14 days or falling off etc.

Yes, I read about this too. Even if I only got a few days out of it, I would be OK with it, as I really just wanted to see want Freckles was doing when I wasn't testing her. The Libre has confirmed my suspicions of a very, very flat cycle. Plus, it's giving her little ears a break and allowing me to go to bed earlier.

 

[Crista & Ming]

Darn!!! I also didn't trust the Libre 100%. If I could take blood, why trust a secondary source like the skin?

It was good for me to try to figure out nadir but of course, cats have other plans. And also to catch his dives.

I also only really compared blood to Libre when numbers were lower. If Freckles decides to grace you with a green number in these two weeks (or however long it stays), I would compare. Blood usually read lower and I decided it was because the Libre was giving me the number his body was 10-15 minutes ago. The reverse worked when I was giving HC to boost his numbers.

 

[Judy and Freckles]

It was good for me to try to figure out nadir but of course

Yes, I thought I may be missing an obvious nadir but Freckles is just a flat cat I guess (right now she is anyways.. watch, she'll prove me wrong now).

I also only really compared blood to Libre when numbers were lower.

I really don't want to put the Libre numbers on the spreadsheet because I think it will only confuse things. I'll continue testing with Freestyle Lite AMPS, PMPS and before going to bed. If the Libre numbers go lower, I will definitely take a blood test. I'm not one to become lackadaisical, so poor Freckles is not going to be able to go ear prick free until she LISTENS to me and gets her numbers down so she can go . I'm still hoping for that!!

 

[Crista & Ming]

Lol I don’t know when cats have ever listened to us???

It’s up to you what numbers you want to put on your SS. It would definitely be less work for you than to input two values I’d just make a note somewhere so people don’t think you’re testing if you don’t test her blood as often!

 

[Judy and Freckles]

you than to input two values

Since I use the World Numbers, I end up having to manually calculate for the US SS too as soon as something other than just one number is entered in the World SS (I see you are Canadian too, so you know all about that lol). That SS is a godsend though!! @Marje and Gracie is an angel for setting it up and keeping everything so organized for us!

I put a line about using the Libre on my SS. Maybe it's not a clear enough explanation??

 

[Crista & Ming]

No it’s clear. I’m just dumb LOL

 

[Judy and Freckles]

No it’s clear. I’m just dumb LOL

Hardly! lol