The FreeStyle Libre is a way cheaper option (and also way easier to gain access to for those of us in the UK under the NHS). Strictly speaking is not a CGM, as you have to manually scan the sensor to retrieve the last eight hours of data. However, there are devices sold by smaller manufacturers such as the MiaoMiao [1] or Blucon [2]. You mount these devices on top of the sensor (I have heard that wig glue is a good choice to attach it), which then reads the data via NFC and sends it out via Bluetooth to whatever “smart“ device that you may own. Effectively turning your FreeStyle Libre into a “CGM lite”, albeit with lover accuracy than a Dexcom.
A word on accuracy, as a type 1 diabetic I have not pricked my fingers once since I got onto the FreeStyle Libre almost six months ago and I am achieving excellent control of my day-to-day levels. Take from this single data point what you may, but I want to offer it as a counter weight to the “need for calibration” I heard before I received the device.
I am currently holding off on getting a MiaoMiao2 until mid-November just to avoid the first few batches of the device that may or may not have manufacturing issues (simply being cautious, I have no evidence). Having easy access to continuous historical data changed my life as a type 1 diabetic, imagine having pain-free and instant access to your levels when you are on the go, stressed out, sick, or just as you wake up in the middle of the night. Then add to this being able to look back eight hours in time to adjust your mental model when things go wrong. It is a matter of night and day. Now I am hoping that turning it all live will make things even better.
Fellow T1D in the UK Here. I'm coming towards the end of my 'trial period' with my FreeStyle Libra and I am shocked at how much I have been able to take control of my glucose levels. I have never had particularly bad control - but finger pricking 4 times a day is like using your phone light in a pitch-black forest. There are so few data points that it is nearly impossible to identify patterns. The sheer amount of data that you have access to with the sensor is amazing. You've gone from 4 data points a day to a minimum of 96 (if you are scanning once every 8 hours). Within a few weeks I had adjusted my basal insulin dose resulting in much more stable blood sugar during sleep which has gone a long way to improve my general health and wellbeing.
One other aspect of the FreeStyle Libre that I was not expecting was a feeling of accountability. When I was just finger-pricking I could essentially hide high blood sugars. Say I had eaten some sweets or something, and forgotten to take my insulin, I could sort of hide from the responsibility of that high reading by just taking my insulin when I remembered and testing in a few hours - my Consultant would never know. However, now I am aware that my sensor is going to read that high sugar, and that makes me feel accountable for it - so I have seen my insulin taking get more consistent, and this has resulted in less hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia (as a result of mistiming the insulin and whatever I have eaten).
On your point about accuracy - I have found it to be a little out in the extreme highs or lows - for example there have been a number of times when my sensor has given me a reading of, say, 2.4. However when finger-pricking I might be 3.9 or 4. Now this could be because the reading is about 15 minutes behind, and since that moment my liver has pumped out some glycogen. But I have had similar accuracy issues when high - say above 18. Having said that, to me this is not a problem, and the accuracy between 4 and 18 is pretty spot on (apart from one sensor that went bananas and was reading at least 15 above what I was for about a week).
Using the freestyle libre. however, i am still doing finger pricks, when i need to figure out my current blood sugar level
and i don't have the time to wait 10 minutes, since the libre has a 10 minute lag.
[1]: https://miaomiao.cool
[2]: https://www.ambrosiasys.com/our-products/blucon
A word on accuracy, as a type 1 diabetic I have not pricked my fingers once since I got onto the FreeStyle Libre almost six months ago and I am achieving excellent control of my day-to-day levels. Take from this single data point what you may, but I want to offer it as a counter weight to the “need for calibration” I heard before I received the device.
I am currently holding off on getting a MiaoMiao2 until mid-November just to avoid the first few batches of the device that may or may not have manufacturing issues (simply being cautious, I have no evidence). Having easy access to continuous historical data changed my life as a type 1 diabetic, imagine having pain-free and instant access to your levels when you are on the go, stressed out, sick, or just as you wake up in the middle of the night. Then add to this being able to look back eight hours in time to adjust your mental model when things go wrong. It is a matter of night and day. Now I am hoping that turning it all live will make things even better.