I have been using the Freestyle Libre 3 plus and have been experiencing some false lows not just while sleeping at night but also during the day and from several different monitors. Also occasionally the readings can range up to 40+ digits different from the finger stick value. Just wondering if anyone has experienced the same things and could share some tips and/or tricks for this. Also wondering if anyone has used any other type of CGM’s that they could recommend. I just saw a CGM brand online that has an insertable chip under the skin, and it lasts for one year. Just wondering if anyone has tried this?
Hello and welcome to the forum. I’ve had T1D for 35 years so a little different than your situation but I think I have some experience that can help. First thing, no currently available CGM is right all the time They are good enough. When your symptoms or feelings don’t match the readings then check with a BGM. Otherwise just use the CGM number. It’ll take at least a year to find the spots where the CGM works best, how to keep the adhesive stuck to you and get a feel for the times when the displayed reading might be off. Let me know if you are good with statistics, there’s data to characterize the Libre’s behavior. In the meantime, anytime you want to talk about the difference between a BGM and a CGM reading, with us or your doc, you have to report both readings. Here’s a little tool that categorizes a BGM vs. a CGM reading: Parkes Error Grid | Desmos
I haven’t seen anyone post on this forum that they’ve tried the Eversense CGM. They work but require calibration. Also no pump integration yet. The Libre 3 plus has only been out for a few months so hard to say if it finally caught up to Dexcom.
Are you in the US? Diagnosing T2D vs T1D is hard. Since you said LADA did you have the antibody test done? If you are looking to learn a little faster than your endo and educator are going see if they or your library have a copy of “Think Like a Pancreas” by Gary Scheiner. There’s a new version due out any minute now so don’t buy it yet. I also like the team at Take Control Of Your Diabetes tcoyd.org. The two guys who do most of the talking are Endos with T1D.
Hello,
Thank you for the reply, I am in the United States. Yes, I did test positive for GAD and ZNT8 Antibodies. I will check out the book and other resources recommended. I do appreciate it.
If you haven’t already re-evaluate your health insurance options to check if a more expensive plan might save you money over the year. Are you familiar with “Durable Medical Equipment” and your pharmacy benefits formulary?
Also might be worth a little googling about if your state or county has any diabetes specific laws or programs that could benefit you. For instance in a couple counties around me there’s a non-profit that supplies insulin for $5. I was talking to a guy in Minnesota who didn’t realize a new law went into effect this year in his state capping health plan costs for all diabetes medication and supplies to $35/month was why his copays were wacky this year.
Hi. I’m new here and read your post. My endo told me there can be +/- differences in readings due to CGM is under skin and BG testing is fingertips. The readings can differ. Blood stream vs. capillary (I think). I use Libre 3+ for over 2 years now. T1 for +52 years and not under great control but 
deal with highs and lows often. My supply company is US Medical for well over 5 years. Last year I had an issue with billing and it has yet to be resolved. I also deal with CareCentrix, FloridaBlue and BCBS of NJ and cannot get an answer with simple over billing issues during the year. Guess all I can say is be careful with your deductible, co-pays, prior authorization and monitor them like a hawk if you have to. Good luck and count your carbs!
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Hi again. Just another note on the FS Libre3… technology is great (when it works). I had continuous low alarms last year while away and was pouring sugar down my throat to raise my BSL. Failed (ripped off) sensor and went to ER with +600. Didn’t have a spare sensor or my fingerstick monitor with me. Lessons learned…never leave home or go away without your backup plan. Fingersticks work when you’re not sure what your sensor reliability is.
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Hi @ShashInEHT welcome to Breakthrough T1D! I am reading your posts and can’t agree more. When in doubt use your finger stick. CGM measures interstitial fluid, finger sticks is capillary blood. Not only is there +/- differences when steady but your CGM is telling you what your blood sugar was 15 minutes ago. Cheers and hello! 
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@ShashInEHT Welcome Sharon, fellow Floridian, to the Breakthrough T1D Forum!
I hope everyone reads the bit of advice - have backup device / plan when traveling - and takes your experience to heart. I know that too often I don’t have a meter with ne when my sensor appears to be unreliable.
Sharon @ShashInEHT, I skipped right over your question about sensor billing. A solution might be is to stop using a DME supply company and get your Libre sensors from the pharmacy where you get your medicines. That place is familiar with processing BC/BS claims and will probably do the sensor billing correctly - and without hassle.
To make sure any billing is correct before I pay, I always check my insurance company web site to see what, if any, co-pay I may have. Are you yet eligible for Medicare? I have zero co-pay for my Dexcom sensors. For many years, I’ve used Byram Healthcare for Dexcom and Tandem supplies and so far haven’t had any incorrect billing.
. Thanks for sharing:rofl: I rarely took a BGM with me but I got learned!!! I was stressed out helping pack up sister’s house after she sold it n really thought I was just overworked. One would think after 52 years of being T1, I would know the LBS but I was so far up the ladder that it threw me into panic mode. Thank God both sisters insisted the ER visit and we went to pharmacy and got another BGM for me. 
On the billing: I’ve been on automatic 90 day shipments for +5 years and it was US Meds that screwed up big time. My local pharmacy usually only carries a few at a time. This is the program that has 90 day shipments and bill on a regular monthly basis according to the contract. US Meds billed $520.80 8x last year, $188.35 2x and didn’t bill 2x. The over billing cost me an extra ~$50/mo for my copay. I’m only supposed to pay $28.25/mo… I’ve spent countless hours asking for reconciliation of my CareCentrix billing and have explained the billing errors every time I call. US Meds say they’ll call me but never do. It took me about 4-5 months prequalifying to start it and never had an issue until 2024 (ALL YEAR) and was overpaying it. Then they billed correctly the last 2 months of 2024. I had to explain it to them that the contracts don’t change during the year so I had to prove it to them they over billed insurance, middleman and me 
I just got a collection letter today for not paying their messed up billing. Needless to say, they over billed by almost $400 last year and Florida Blue overpaid it too. Just getting someone to understand + and - is very frustrating. I called fraud hotline too and got nowhere!
Sorry so long 
but getting sensors locally isn’t an option with BCBS of NJ. I did see the other suppliers and may change to another one if and when this “mess” gets reprocessed correctly … 
Oh and no not eligible for Medicare yet. Just turned 62 and living my last year on my hubby’s monthly death insurance benefits. Then I have to apply for his SS benefits to be able to survive and pay for my house and everything else. It’s been 2 1/2 years and life is busier than when I worked. Have 2 Dobermans and just sold last of 4 puppies last month (OMG-just neutered my male) and that won’t happen ever again. 3 months of no sleep but they were gorgeous babies. 
I’m fixing up house mostly by myself and then aspire to get out of NJ in a few years. Here I come!!! Wanna move to Florida fast as I can!!!
Thank goodness plain meters don’t need a prescription.
I seem to recall back in the day (
) the starter pack included a few strips to start you off - now they may need to be purchased separately so be sure to check before you leave the counter.
Don’t forget they have an expiration date.
Hi Sharon. Welcome and thanks for joining the forum I hope we can help each other and work together to help others.
A couple of years ago US Med was sold to a holding company that also owns Advanced Diabetes Supply. In December 2024 Cardinal Health acquired both companies. Cardinal Health is the parent company of Edgepark. Sometimes mergers and acquisitions affect the patient experience.
Were you contacted by the US Med collections department or a third party collections company? If it was a third party company here’s a collection of tips on how to handle it with links to more: First Aid Kit on Substack: Yes, you can negotiate with bill collectors If you want more help with collections lets start a new topic for it.
You mentioned using US Med instead of a pharmacy but not because of DME benefits vs. pharmacy benefits of your commercial plan. If you want to dive into insurance and making sure you are paying as little as possible for your supplies make a new topic and I’m willing to dive into that with you. A mist read topic on diabetes supplies and planning for medicare is
About halfway down @HighHopes asks all the important questions and shares how she navigated the decisions.
Hi, I just got off the phone with Abbott Libre3 support. I’m really getting sick of this going off numerous times in the night and waking me up. I don’t sleep well anyway so this really messes me up. The company says it is sending me 3 replacements. I’m glad to get them but it is almost to the point where I will not use this product anymore. I did write down the last one when I checked my numbers by blood because the Libre3 said I was at 45, but checking my blood twice showed 98, which is normal for me. I don’t have diabetes yet but I’m very close so I want to know where my numbers are. Anyway, it seems that every time I start a new sensor, the alarm goes off in the middle of the night. Two nights ago, it went off 3x, approx an hour apart. I’m hoping there will be another company that people can use instead of one that gives off false alarms at night, although I have had some during the day also. I don’t even check anymore to see if accurate because I don’t feel any different, which I would at 50. I’m on here to see if a lot of others get these stinking false alarms at night that wake them up! BTW, if you are new and haven’t called the company yet, they will replace your problematic sensor but you need to keep the box so you can give the serial #. Also, keep your sensor because you may need to return them.
Hi @Nanster59 Glad you found the forum. Most of us use a CGM which means all of us have been woken up in the middle of the night by a false alarm at some point. I get you. The two number one ways I found to reduce false alarms:
- Making sure the adhesive stays stuck to me. Any movement of that sensor wire under the skin was going to cause the Libre to go nuts. Things like putting the sensor on while dry and not getting it wet for 12-24 hours after applying it helped a lot.
- Location location location. It takes years of wearing a sensor to find the spots where the CGM readings are most reliable. Mostly this is about that wire under the skin but avoiding compression lows in the middle of the night is important too. And sometimes on insertion I nick a blood vessel and that sensor is doomed to never work.
The app and reader will show you the sensor serial number of the last three sensors so you don’t have to save the boxes. You also might want to check out the Silent Mode option. Let me know if you are up for doing some reading, I’ll find you the link to a topic from earlier this year where we go through almost every possible reason for the false alarms.
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hi @Nanster59 I’m only adding a thought, given that you are very unlikely to drop dangerously low, there is a silence all mode for the LIbre 3 (according to google).
To silence all FreeStyle Libre 3 alarms, including the urgent low glucose alarm, you can enable Silent Mode in the app. Silent Mode silences all glucose and signal loss alarms for a set duration, though visual and vibratory notifications may still occur based on your phone’s settings. You can also individually turn off the Override Do Not Disturb setting for optional alarms (High Glucose, Low Glucose, and Signal Loss) if you want them to follow your phone’s volume settings.
Here’s how to enable Silent Mode:
- Open the Libre 3 app.
- Navigate to Alarms: Tap on the “Alarms” icon in the navigation bar.
- Turn on Silent Mode: Find the Silent Mode toggle and switch it to the “on” position.
- Set Duration: Choose how long you want Silent Mode to be active.
- Confirm: Tap “Save” and then “Turn On” to activate.
now you might just want to eliminate all of the non-critical alarms (low and high) but the urgent low you need that silent mode.
a lot of type 1’s have to put up with the false alarms, because taking insulin we can drop dangerously low, so we figure out ways (locations, manufacturers, etc.), to minimize alarms. if possible. Given that Ive had a few very scary lows, I just put up with the times I can’t avoid a false low (or high for that matter).
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Hi @Nanster59
I have the Libre 14 day (no alarms thank goodness) and have noticed that if I put the new sensor on within 2-3 hours of going to bed, it gives me an error message in the morning which renders the sensor useless for 5-10 hours. Maybe try putting on a new sensor in the morning. This is what I have done to stop the errors. It may help with your issue.