Diabetes

FreeStyle Libre Not Working?

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I’m appealing to the search engines with the title of my post today, because this is what I was hoping to find when I turned to Google for help with my FreeStyle Libre a few weeks back.

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I was about halfway into a sensor that I had purchased, when suddenly my reader stopped working. The screen wouldn’t start up when I hit the home button. There had been a few instances in the days leading up to this where my screen had blacked out for five or ten minutes at a time, but it always came back to life. I might also mention that this culminated on a Saturday morning, and I soon learned that I wouldn’t have access to customer service until 8am on the Monday.

When my reader still wasn’t responding well after an hour, I was frustrated. I reached out to @FreeStyleDiabet on Twitter with no reply (I’m not too sure where in the world this account is based).

I tried charging the battery with no success. I got an idea from the instruction manual that the device might be temperature sensitive, and kept it in my pocket while I was sleeping one night with no luck either.

I had no idea where I would stand in getting replacements for my reader and the $95 sensor I couldn’t make use of. Abbott were a little coy at the blogger event in Sydney regarding faulty sensors, and we were told that it would depend on individual circumstances.

When I got in touch with Customer Service on the Monday, they shipped me a new reader and replacement sensor on the condition that I send the faulty one back via supplied packaging. The replacements arrived via express delivery two days later, and I started the sensor up once again.

The replacement sensor, however, was wildly out of range. Most of the time, the readings on the Libre were far higher than what I actually was. I was constantly seeing numbers in the mid to high teens (and even 20s) after meals, and this really took a bit of a mental toll on me. I was pricking my fingers almost as much as I would without it, because I couldn’t trust the numbers. I was driving myself crazy, thinking about the prior two sensors I had used and whether the readings were this far out (and it didn’t only happen when glucose was high!)

I gave customer service a call once again, explaining my problem. I was reminded to factor in the 5-10 minute lag time, which I was confident I had. I was then asked to provide three Libre readings and their respective finger stick readings, and I was put on hold to do a control test. The customer service rep then came back and told me that he would send me a replacement sensor free of charge because I was reporting readings higher than the acceptable difference of 1-2mmol.

I was really impressed at how quickly I was issued with a replacement sensor over the phone. I had meter reports prepared prior to calling, almost expecting that I would have to send through evidence of inaccurate readings. Both times, my replacement products were shipped by overnight express to my doorstep instead of the usual 6-9 day delivery window.

However, I would have expected customer service available to me on weekends, even if just for a couple of hours. I also think that Abbott need to be more realistic about their products developing faults. The returns policy, which you can read here, is rather brief and doesn’t give the customer a feeling of confidence or support when the tech fails.

That being said, I am super grateful that Abbott resolved both of my problems with very minimal hassles.

To Carb, or Not to Carb?

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I’ve read so many articles about low carb eating lately, that it’s left me wondering if there are any people with diabetes out there who still eat them. I’m not about to start telling you what’s right or what’s wrong, because I believe that diabetes management is a very individual issue. But I would like to weigh in with my own perspective on the age old question. I stress, these are my personal opinions only.

Quite honestly, I’ve never been a fan of low carb. The mere sound of the word makes me cringe, simply because it makes me think of restriction. I also think that eating low carb requires a greater level of commitment in the kitchen all through the day, rather than having just one cooked meal in the evening as I do.

The main reason I do not like low carb eating is because the trade off is usually foods that are higher in fat. Foods that are higher in fat tend to produce spikes in blood sugar levels several hours after a meal. I find that protein and fat spikes are very hard to bolus for, and high blood sugar levels are very resilient to insulin corrections. Personally, I do not like chasing highs several hours after meals and would much rather bolus my insulin just once. If there are any low carb people reading this, I’d be interested to hear how you work your way around this.

I am happy to put the work into the carbohydrates I eat. As I wrote last week, pre-bolussing for meals helps me to avoid the post meal spikes. Carbohydrate counting does work when I’ve got my ratios and basal rates right.

That being said, I definitely have changed my thinking around the way I approach carbohydrate foods. Over time I have slowly made gradual changes to the carbohydrates I eat.

I definitely try not to overload on the carbs at mealtimes. On the weekend, we had Turkish bread rolls for lunch, which were 70g. I cut mine in half, simply because I consider 70g way too much to be eating in one sitting. Ditto for the thick slice Cafe-style raisin toast that I have as an afternoon treat sometimes. I also make sure to weigh out my portions when I have foods like rice and pasta, to make sure I don’t overload on the carbs.

I only eat bread as either toast or sandwiches now, and not as a side or appetiser for my dinner plate. I always opt for lower carb, seeded bread, which also tends to carry greater nutritional value with it. Burgen Pumpkin Seed is a real winner for me, with just 11g carbs per slice. Baker’s Delight Cape Seed loaf is another good one.

I have also cut out a lot of the high sugar foods in my diet. Over one very painful year, I gradually cut the two sugars out of my coffee and tea completely. I no longer eat breakfast cereals, because even some of the better ones are still loaded with at least 20g of sugar per 100g. Ditto for muesli bars, which have been replaced by bananas. I often have microwaveable Oats sachets for breakfast, and I have recently switched from the sugar laden fruit flavours to Original.

My approach to eating has definitely centred around eliminating the carbs that I deem unnecessary or unenjoyable. I would much rather put these carbs saved towards foods that I do want to eat. For instance, those yoghurt pots with the stir through fruit jelly? I would much rather have that sugar in a plate of ice cream instead.

When I look at my Dad, who eats bread with anything and everything, I definitely feel that I eat far fewer carbohydrates than I once did. Would I identify myself as a low carbohydrate eater? I still eat the foods that I want to eat. I don’t feel as though I am depriving myself of anything. I’m simply eating a diet with far more balance compared to life prior to diabetes.

With lots of coffee, and the occasional cannoli or cake thrown in.

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Mid Year Blues

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I sit down in the evening, and I marvel at how quickly yet another day has gone by. I glance at the calendar, and I cannot believe that it will be August in a few days. I watch the mornings slowly beginning to get lighter, and I want to make the most of this beautiful time of the year before its gone once again. Another Friday rolls around, and I cannot believe how quickly the weeks are flying by.

In the grand scheme of things, there are a million things that I want to do.

I want to sit down and write, every day. I want to put more effort into my meals, rather than the usual toasted sandwich I have for lunch every day. I want to save the money I spend on the odd treat at lunchtime. I want to work on my fitness. I want to improve my hba1c. I want to finish all the odd jobs at the house this weekend. I want to read. I want to get hooked on a new TV show, instead of falling asleep out of lack of interest. I want to make time for myself. I still dream of one day having a career that I’m really passionate about. I want to feel full of energy. I want to be excited. I want to be enthusiastic. I want to go to bed feeling fulfilled at the end of the day.

In this grand scheme of this thing that we call life, there are simply not enough hours in the day to get all of these things done.

Last week at the Telethon Type 1 Diabetes Centre in Perth, Canadian T1D athlete Sebastien Sasseville spoke about having a bank of good and bad blood sugar levels. He reminded us that there’s no point focussing on those bad readings that were deposited in the past. Like anything in the past, there’s nothing I can do to change it. I can only look forward, and at what I can do today to deposit more readings into the good blood sugar bank.


I’ve definitely been reflecting on my own diabetes management quite a lot at the moment, particularly now that things are starting to settle somewhat with my insulin pump. I think a lot about where I’m hoping to be with my diabetes in the long run, and what I hope to achieve.

One of my favourite quotes reads “no expectations, no disappointment.” I’m often reminded of the diabetes goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year. That goal of striving for stable overnight glucose levels was full of expectations, and led to a lot of disappointment.

While I’m unlikely to start training for a climb up Mount Everest or a triathlon across Canada anytime soon, I did take away a small piece of inspiration from Seb’s talk. Going into the second half of this year, I’m definitely going to try to focus more on my diabetes for today, and for the now.

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Because in the grand scheme of things, the now is what is going to get me to where I want to be in the long run.

Pump Doubts

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After a few infusion site failures of late, I’m starting to become really self conscious. After every new site change, I become really paranoid of whether it’s a failure or success.

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I poke my infusion site, trying blindly to detect a kinked piece of teflon that should be sitting underneath my skin. I prod around the infusion site on my stomach, trying to feel bruising and pain. I stand still while my pump is delivering an insulin bolus, waiting on edge to detect any stinging. I lift up my jumper compulsively, watching the colour of the skin underneath my site like a hawk.

I think about whether the skin tissue underneath my infusion site is strong enough to handle 3 days worth of insulin boluses. I frequently glance at my Total Daily Dose history on my pump, questioning whether it’s too high. I feel guilty for the carbohydrates I am consuming, for the sake of the subsequent insulin boluses that will have to go underneath my skin.

I check my levels like crazy after a site change, impatiently looking for signs that the insulin is heading successfully underneath my skin. I keep an eye on glucose movements like a hawk. In a moment of paranoia on Saturday, I even ripped out a perfectly good infusion site because the correction was taking too long to work it’s magic.

I draw dots on my stomach in permanent marker, in a desperate bid to keep on top of site rotations. I stare persistently at the real estate on my stomach, deliberating over just the right spot to place my new infusion site. I worry about how soon I will be able to re-use an area of real estate again.

In moments of site failures, I question whether this is really worth it. I think about results around my diabetes, and I’m almost certain that I won’t see any improvement yet. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had fleeting thoughts that maybe this is not working for me. I worry that I won’t be able to make this work for me. I stand in my room for minutes on edge, pacing, deliberating over a site change or a shot of Lantus.

But when I think about going back to Lantus, I think about the level of control I will lose around my basal insulin rate. I think about how unfocussed I was on injections, blindly guessing and correcting all the time. I think about all of the time and investment I’ve put into this insulin pump, and I know that I’m not ready to pull away from it just yet.