Hi Serena,

I am presently using Dexcom6 …and decided last night I don’t care for it whatsoever. It’s just a Bitch to get accurate (bankable) numbers along with being a royal pain in the ….!!

This morning spoke with a Dexcom representative who said I can switch to Dexcom 7 which has a better track record than Dex6. The only problem is: I just got billed for 20% of the cost (Medicare covers 80%) of new supplies, (Sensor, transmitter, etc.). These supplies are good through August 28. On August 24, I can order the Dex7 so it can take over on August 29. (See Endocrinologist later this month where I will request order for Dexcom7.)

I can’t answer for the Libre but I can say unequivocally: Do NOT purchase Dexcom6.

Good luck:))

The 1st 24 hrs is often not accurate as when you poked the skin with the needle it causes little bruises under the skin (not always visible until I remove the system 14 days later, it also breaks a few cells and displaces some of that ISF a bit, and at times scar tissue form (very important to rotate the site where you put the next CGM not to hit a scar area) Alternate left to right arm, so while the tissues heal it can cause abnormal readings, so I continu to check my sugar level with finger sticks for 48 hrs, I find my fbs is often innacuarte the first 2 days, also if you sleep on the side of the device it does at times cause inaccurate readings, but once your up and about it should improve. will add a link of the difference between ISF (interstitial fluid) and BS (blood sugar). This video is also for any CGM devices such as Libre 1, Libre 2, Dexcom etc... it really explains it well as a visual. Also as per Abbott Canada (maker of Libre system, it can take anywhere from 5 to 30 min for both the BS and ISF to be the same, so if you finger stick, you check 15 min later and then every 5 min till you reach 30 min, and for me it is the case. You only need to finger stick once if you believe your symptoms are not the same as the reader, then scan as often as you can and this will also allow you to see how foods affect our sugar levels. Hope this helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2orrjeOaZpQ&amp...

I have been using the Libre 2 for about 8 months now (used the original libre before that)

The "2" is more accurate and reliable then the earlier version but just like Ian notes with the Dex, it still has some quirks and I'm not sure that I would be 100% comfortable with using it as my sole source of testing if I was using it to dynamically dose insulin - it just goes a little hairy sometimes

All in all I think it is an awesome tool and "on average" it gives me the same weekly/monthly readings as my stick tests did and the Libre 2 tests every 15 minutes - that's almost 100 "stick tests" a day - something you can't get otherwise

I don't use insulin so I don't have that concern about it being "out at the wrong time", but for overall management it is awesome

I no longer focus on a single reading instead the Libre 2 allows me to manage to Time In Range and also gives me realtime feedback on every single thing I put in my mouth

I could never test everything I ever ate when stick testing, but that's not an issue now - makes management of diet super easy and a quick scan tells me if I can "eat now" or should maybe wait an extra half hour or so

The thing to remember is CGM's are not actually reading "blood glucose" but rather glucose in the fluid around our cells (where they are actually getting fed)

So numbers don't always agree - a venous blood draw (lab) will give you a different number then a "stick test" (capillary blood) which will be different from CGM (interstitial fluid) since it takes time for the sugar to migrate from one to the other

But once you understand how it works for you and get used to it, it's a great system