@Roxana & Henry that's not a bad idea but to be honest I've been having mixed feeling on the libres, like last night where it was reading over 100 points higher than what she was. The other problem always being their size because there really isn't an ideal place to set them that they stay on for longer than a week. I did see that abbott got fda approval on the libre 3 which is supposed to be way smaller and bluetooth capable. I might try shifting shot time back a bit and maybe talk to my boss about coming in an hour late which could let me get a +2 test but it might be tricky because the schedule currently has me running on fumes and some days could be pretty tight getting home.
I am pretty new here so I cannot really give too much advice but can speak from my experience with the few libres I had so far. The libres are not perfect (far from it) but are great for trends and determining nadirs and understanding when the BG is dropping too fast. I too was very annoyed in the beginning. I have done some research after getting some different numbers sometimes higher sometimes lower (even ended up scared at the vet two times lol) . This has been my own experience:
1. One time I had my AT being at 50 less than the Libre and was freaking out so went to the vet and they tested with their AT and the numbers were closer to the Libre but not my AT. Another time I took a reading with a Free Style Lite and the reading on that was 100 less. It turns out if a number makes no sense, the strip can be bad and you need to use another strip. I used the AT and was close to the Libre which means the Free Style Lite strip was wonky.
2. The FDA allows I believe 15-20% variance for a glucometer.
"Every glucose meter and blood glucose monitoring system available for sale in the United States today is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is required to be within 15 percent of “lab value” glucose readings 95 percent of the time, and within 20 percent of "lab results” 99 percent of the time (these ranges of inconsistency are called variance)"
Now if the cat is 500 that means they allow 20% variance so real BG can be 400 in theory . But as the BG gets lower the 20% will not be 100 variance anymore it maybe 10 points for example. That is not for the libre but for all glucometers. I have an AT and also a Contour Next I can use when the BG on the libre starts going down fast and I need to do ear poke for piece of mind. The libre has the arrows which show going down fast or slow same with the increase (no, they are not always accurate lol)
3. The libres are pretty finicky at low numbers. Maybe a 50 on the libre is not really a 50 it is higher and kitty is safe but still a great time to do ear prick. You never know. Plus if you see the BG is rapidly going down from 80 you can act quickly and do ear prick/feed the curve etc.
4. The libre takes the reading not from blood but interstitial fluid so there is a delay between the libre and regular glucometer.
5. The libres do last 14 days if properly placed and covered with something like a onesie. The cats don't like the onesie. I buy dog ones from Amazon and trim it to fit the area where the Libre is so the poor cat does not have the full body covered. Tons of good info on how to keep the sensor on the Libre for Cats and Dogs Facebook page. My libres never ever lasted full 14 days until I covered with the onesie because my cat has a master in Yoga and is very flexible and picks at the libre regardless where it is placed. The top right shoulder area is the most tolerated by my kitty but again ECID.
This is not to convince you the libre is great (it has its many flows) but can be used as a tool in conjunction with others to get our babies on the way to being regulated and quick remission hopefully. It is a tough fight and I am going to use all the help I can get. It may not work for you and your baby in the end but don't give up on the libres yet, you can use them to your advantage as long as you are fully aware of the flows and strengths
I did see the Libre 3 is coming out and is smaller and honestly can it please be released faster? I think it is wonderful. PS: Oreo is a cutie pie. Super adorable.
