What about cost? Are you putting it on yourself or is the vet doing it? Does it lasts long enough? I’m asking fir others contemplating the Libre. It wasn’t being used when Max was diagnosed. I liked my old Relion but the new ones seem to read higher than even the AT and use more blood. Thanks for sharing.
It cost me ~$70 for two sensors at Walmart. There are coupons at GoodRx you can use. They are cheaper if you get 2 at a time, but, the vet needs to put a quantity of 2 on the prescription or they will only give you one (which is ~$42).
I had the vet put this one on and show me how; I plan to put future ones on myself. Skin preparation is key and I don't have the right equipment yet. There is a Facebook group here that has some excellent resources on how to put them on yourself:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2894089194158745
It will last 14 days assuming you attach it correctly and it doesn't fall off or get pulled off early. Once it comes off, it's dead, you cannot reattach it.
I have also heard reports that they sometimes just randomly fail, but, if you call the manufacturer they are very good about replacing them (just don't mention it's on a cat!).
This is my first Libre, and we are only at day 3. How many days will it stay on and stay working on Cinna, I don't know. I'm hoping we'll get close to the 14 days though. Some people on that FB group seem to get very reliable usage, others don't. I think some of that is going to come down to the individual pet and how likely they are to dislodge/remove it themselves.
Is it worth the money? I think that also depends. I think if you had relative stability and knew exactly when you needed to test, it might be a lot less valuable. I think it's a great too for when you are trying to achieve stability and needing to test a lot more frequently (I burned through a fair bit of $$ in test strips!). I think it'll also be very helpful for when I go out of town and he's with a sitter. Or it could be very helpful with an animal or caregiver that struggles with ear testing.
Would I use it continuously as my main meter forever? Honestly, this is a tough one. I think if Cinna was stable, it would be hard to justify the cost. Right now, it makes sense just because it's so much easier and faster and I'm testing a lot. Am I prepared to pay just for convenience and speed if I didn't really need to be testing that often? It's very tempted because it's just so much easier and less stress all around. I think if the price point was lower, like $20-25 per sensor and you knew it would stay on the 14 days, it'd be a no-brainer.
The Libre does give the ocassional wonky dips. 