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Comment by guywhocodes | Hacker News Reader

Agreed, as a diabetic and climber I've used a lot of the libre pucks but honestly, there is no spot on my body I wont use while practicing my sport. Still the libre was miles better than always pricking my fingers and arms.

I've been thinking about what kind of EM-signal could be used for this for a long time, IR-spectroscopy never seemed possible. But this has real potential.

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I worked on the Freestyle Libre, I’m thrilled to hear it’s at least a workable solution for you. When I was working at Abbott, I often volunteered for testing finger-stick devices, which made me appreciate a small part of what people with diabetes have to endure.

I've used them and they're great just pricey

I use a Freestyle Libre sensor and I like it better than finger sticks. When I was doing finger sticks I was averaging 4 tests a day; before each meal and at bedtime. With the Freestyle Libre I'm checking my glucose an average of 20 times a day. But the Freestyle Libre sensors are quite expensive. I have insurance so my out of pocket expenses are very low, but my provider bills $1074 for 2 sensors, which last for 4 weeks.

I have read comments from other posts that buyers without insurance can get sensors for substantially less, but they are still quite expensive. When I was doing finger sticks I could get enough test strips for a month for about $30.

Your provider is being ripped off, I'm pretty sure my doctor is not selling them subsidized and I'm paying roughly US$62 each.

I still find it quite expensive but it's acceptable with my income and taxation where I live.

What country?

The provider bills for $1074, but their actual reimbursement is only $208 for 2 sensors.

I am deeply grateful for your work and that of Abbott. The Libre has been life changing for me, possibly ever more so than getting a pump as it gave me a much clearer picture how my body reacts to different foods, exercise, lack of sleep, etc.

After about two years of usage I have encountered very few issues at all. My only complaint was that I would like to scold whoever crippled the sensors and readers somewhat by making them region specific for what I can only assume are purely market control reasons (not to mention that this is not obvious from the packaging or instructions from what I can tell and I only found out when talking to an Abbott representative that cautioned me that readers and sensors were not compatible between regions).

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