BG Millimolers or Deciliters, Is One Better or more Precise on a Freestyle Libre Meter

#1

I am in the US and quite like my BG scale in 70 - 140 scale. I would like to get a Freestyle Libre but do not have a doctor who can prescribe one (plus I am not diabetic as far as I know). I will be traveling outside the country this summer and based on what I have read this is something you can walk into a pharmacy and buy in any European or Middle Eastern country.

First question, is that true or are there other places where a prescription is needed. Are they more expensive in some countries than others?

I want this for self experimentation rather than to make sure my BG is not crashing or rising. I want to see what triggers me and what does not. Have been in a stall for more than 6 months.

Second, the place I am visiting using MM. So obviously I would have to translate. I am pretty good at converting kilos, meters and Celsius to Fahrenheit. I was in school during the failed attempt to convert to the metric system. My question is, is the calculation as precise? 84 to 88 is a subtle rise, 5.5 to 6 is not as subtle. Will a Freestyle meter show 5,6 as well? No idea since we do not have those types of meters here

Is there a way for me to order one to the US now without a prescription? Preferably one that uses deciliters?

(Todd Allen) #2

I think in either case, the precision of the result exceeds the accuracy so there should be no loss depending on the display mode. Here’s a link to the manual and it shows displays in millimolars and I don’t see a setup option to change the units which really surprises me.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1027736/Abbott-Freestyle-Libre.html?page=1#manual

#3

I have had a Freestyle Libre for the last few years, bought in the uk.

Freestyle seem to sell readers that are language appropriate for the country they are sold in.
This means that in the UK and many other countries, they use mmol/l, then in each country the language changes.

So the US units will be in mg/dL and English. In France, I believe it is mg/dL and French. In the UK it is mmol/l and English.

Also, the sensors display mmol/l units on 0.1s, not just in 0.5s, which is easily small enough, considering the overall accuracy of the Libre (or any glucometer or continuous glucose meter).

The quickest and easiest conversion that i use is to multiply UK mmol/l units by 18 to get mg/dL (it is actually 18.5, but who needs that hassle, when meters only have a requirement to be +/- 15% for 95% of the time?)

(Mark Rhodes) #4

divide or multiply by .0555 to convert back and forth, if that helps.

example 3.6 mmol / .0555 = 64.86…90 X .0555 = 4.995

(Dameon Welch-Abernathy) #5

You can walk into a store and buy them in the US, too, no prescription needed.
Or order off Amazon or any number of other places.
I’ve replaced my blood glucose meter several times.
It’s significantly cheaper/easier than using my insurance.

#6

Glucose Monitors yes. A continuous system requires a prescription

(Dameon Welch-Abernathy) #7

Ah, missed that.
My mistake.