For a few months now, Cleo has been using the FreeStyle Libre 2 to monitor her Reactive Hypoglycemia.
The FreeStyle Libre 2 is a continous monitor for blood sugars. As Cleo has low sugars, the NHS will not fund the FreeStyle. They currently cost us around £60 every 2 weeks. It isn’t something that we ever thought we would have to fund but after fighting and fighting for funding, we still were told no.
But anyway. The actual continous glucose monitor has saved us so many hospital trips. Before we couldn’t monitor Cleo’s sugars constantly and that lead to very low sugars of 1.8 – 2.6. This then lead to many hospital stays which then upset not only Cleo and I but also the rest of the family. As we are able to catch the lows before they get to dangerous level, we can treat them and stay out of the hospital.
The sensors go on the back of the arm and they are easy to apply even on a 5 year old! We always cover Cleo’s with a clear plaster to make sure that she doesn’t catch it on anything. The sensors last 14 days. We have had a few that haven’t lasted that long but FreeStyle are very good at replacing them! The customer service is 10/10!
There is then an app that can be downloaded on to a phone that doubles as a scanner for the Libre 2. When Cleo is at school, we use a spare phone but when she is with me, I use my phone as she is always with me. The alarms can also wake me up in the night if she drops when we are all asleep and this does happen often.
We owe so much to those little sensors! They might cost us a fortune every month but they keep Cleo out of hospital and if anyone is thinking about getting one of their child with blood sugar problems that I highly recommend it. Try for NHS funding first though as they are expensive!
We buy our FreeStyle Libre 2 from regular pharmacies. The prices do vary and it is a good idea to shop around. You can also buy them from the FreeStyle website.
Always check before doing anything like this with a GP or consultant to make sure that it is right for you or your child.
The Coastal Mummy 