Dexcom G6 vs Freestyle Libre 2, which is the most accurate? Lets find out!

For 10 days I wore both a Dexcom G6 and a Freestyle Libre 2 and compared the accuracy day by day to a finger stick to see which one is ultimately the most accurate. Enjoy the video!
* This is by no means an official study, purely just sharing my own personal experience over 2 weeks.
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[DISCLAIMER: While I am a Physician Assistant, none of the content I post should be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your doctor or healthcare provider if you have questions about your diabetes management and overall health.]

[@karlahernandez5750]

I am getting very discouraged with the Libre 2. Numbers are nowhere near accurate for me. Sorta nice to learn this problem isn't something I am doing wrong. I so wish they could come up with something that actually works as advertised.

[@joannep.murphy7339]

That is so interesting. I have been using the Dexcom G6 for a few years with my Tandem t:Slim X2. I always have off readings with the Dexcom G6 for the first couple of days and usually have to calibrate the G6 2 or 3 times as day, the first two days. I just conferred with my Endocrinologist as I want to give the G7 a try and was wondering how the Freestyle Libre 2 compared for accuracy with my Tandem pump and I believe you answered the question. Thank you so much, it is such a great help. As I need to order new CGM and Pump supplies, my Endocrinologist was kind enough to give me a G7 to try. I hear again that the first day is the worst for being off and other issues, but the G6 has driven me crazy and I know how to deal with it's inaccuracy. Calibrate, Calibrate!!!

[@elenaoakes8494]

This is very interesting, I've been with dexcom a few years and experience similar with the first 24 hours especially! It's a little tricky now with it being connected to my pump (t-slim) as I've had instances where I am given a correction or insulin is suspended when the reading is completely inaccurate. I love the system together when it works its amazing but there's definitely some things that need ironing out. I've also experienced a lot of compression lows and issues with false alarms at night to the point where my pump and phone can be screaming at me and I sleep through it. My brain seems to deem it unimportant😬 thanks for the video! 😀

[@diabetesdailydigest]

These are all problems I’m really hoping the Dexcom G7 solves when it comes out. I’ve heard very good things about the accuracy early on with the G7 so I’m staying cautiously optimistic because I’ve had all of the same problems you have. Thanks for the comment!

[@elenaoakes8494]

@@diabetesdailydigest I'm in the UK so we've been told it will be released in the next few weeks, is there any info on if it will be compatible with the tslim from the start?

[@diabetesdailydigest]

@@elenaoakes8494 From my understanding it still needs to go through an additional step of approval before it can be used with the pump. Should be a much shorter process though, hopefully within a month or two after release it will also be approved with the Tandem.

[@sydubage]

Me too, me too, me too! The times the t-slim has saved me work has seemed like a vacation from T1🤩But the liabilities seem to outweigh them. For me, immersion in the complexity of pump use has made it hard to keep perspective, compared to shots. These 2-1/2 yr on the t-slim I've been hopeful for more 'vacation time'. But I'm about ready to go back to shots. Thanks for helping me think this through : )

[@diegomariatamburini7208]

Can you explain in a video the difference between A1c and GMI that are always higher than the real A1c? Libre estimates a1c, dexcom gmi. And the difference is very high. Sims 2 different calculator, but shouldnt be the a1c the only one parameter to looking at? Thank you

[@kristijanvujovic6995]

The fingerstick is not most accurate, I don't know where you find that. The fingerstick self has a +/-15% accuracy. You cannot make a valid comparison with it.

[@williamangove8494]

Are use freestyle libre two when I put it on my left arm it’s off 30 points when I use my right arm it’s real accurate only plus or -3 is that normal

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Not from my experience. Could it possibly be in some scar tissue in left arm?

[@sarahmoylett1387]

As a Canadian diabetic I find it so interesting how other countries read their blood sugars. For me, a low would be 4.4 and under. You’ve got your sugars under control and that’s amazing! I’ve definitely had a wake up call recently and working hard on balancing my sugars

[@cinthiapaulbisek8919]

What machine where you useing? For blood sugars?

[@diabetesdailydigest]

I used a One Touch Verio Reflect.

[@barbaravadas4140]

Yes, I have many, many compression lows with Libre in the night. Biggest downfall in my mind.

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Luckily the next version the Libre 3 seemed to fix the compression lows, at least from my experience in the couple weeks I tried it out.

[@terppapelaa2466]

How well does dexcom keep up with blood sugar fluctuations? The Libre problem is often that becomes a sensor problem. I enjoy cycling and for Libre this is a challenge. For me, dexcom 6g is now being considered

[@diabetesdailydigest]

They both have their pros and cons. The dexcom seems to be a bit better at handling the fluctuations though, at least from my experience.

[@evansilcox3771]

Hey I'm a cyclist too. I was hoping that the libre 2 would be helpful (vs finger sticks) as I tend to run low a lot while riding. I've found the libre so inaccurate - with no pattern of inaccuracies (sometimes it's higher than and sometimes lower than my finger stick, but often by 2-5mmols; that's unacceptable to me. I might as well simply guess where I'm at and given I've been diabetic, my guesses seem to be more accurate than the libre's actual readings). So did you get the Dexcom? If so, how have you found it especially for cycling (I'm not sure any of the current sensors on the market are going to be helpful for me. My sugars are constantly changing because I'm training 2-4 hours per day and eating every two to three hours to refuel). The sensors probably work really well for more sedentary people or folks who only eat 3 meals a day. I'm not sure they're that helpful for athletic diabetics though.

[@TypeOneTalks]

Very interesting video and comparison! Thank you for your time! Your experience is not far from mine. Dexcom struggle for in the “warm up” phase. Libre shows too low sometimes. Calibration is key in situations where readings way too much off in my opinion which Dexcom does offer and Libre does not. Btw I like your numbers too. Nicely done - all in range:)

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Calibration is definitely a great feature to have with the Dexcom that I wish the Libre still had. I tried not to calibrate in this test though to keep it fair between the two since I couldn’t calibrate with the Libre. Thanks for the comment and thanks for all of your great videos!

[@elenaoakes8494]

Dexcom always tells me if it's really inaccurate don't calibrate. I've had the experience a few times where you get stuck in a loop of errors and it asking you to calibrate every 15 mins. Will be interesting to see if the G7 accuracy struggles with the shorter warm up.

[@jbarcelona4]

Watching this I will stick with the finger stick.

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Lol can’t say I blame you.

[@evansilcox3771]

100%. I'm so disappointed with both devices. I thought they'd make my life easier. Instead, I find I'm often really frustrated by how inaccurate and unpredictable they both are. In fact, my A1C actually got worse after using them. The caveat for me is that I train 2-4 hours per day and eat pretty constantly, so my blood sugars are changing a lot; and I'm now discovering that this alone could contribute to the huge inaccuracies I see (off by 2-5mmols). The worst part for me has been that relying on the technology dulled my natural ability to detect about where I'm at (sensing lows or highs), because I was often provided with inaccurate scan results and so 'delearned' what type 1s come to be able to read/experience/feel, most of the time.

[@sydubage]

Thanks Scott! 3 questions for you: 1. Which glucose meter did you use? 2. When you slept did you lie on the side with the sensors? 3. About how many compression lows do you get per week or month? (I have increasing challenge with those!)

[@jayharv8880]

Great and useful video 👌

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Thanks a lot!

[@raquelcruz12171]

Hello I’m having the same problem with my freestyle libre 2 it will show is to low and when I do blood it will show is high numbers. When I first got it it will show same numbers now after couple months the numbers are not even the same is way off today was showing me 55 and with blood it was showing 121 then at dinner it was showing 125 check it again with blood my sugar was actually showing 256 I will like to know if you have any tips on what can I do? Great video by the way I will be subscribing to your channel every useful information

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Thank you! I did find some luck with trying different areas of the body, trying to use the sensor in areas of the arm I have not before. I found sometimes if it used in the same area there may be some scar tissue leading to inaccurate readings. In some cases though they were just bad sensors and I had to call Libre to get them replaced. Let me know if you have any other questions and thanks for the comment!

[@raquelcruz12171]

@@diabetesdailydigest I try it in different place yesterday and this morning in my libre show 137 and with blood 200 so I don't know what else to do

[@j.pearce3981]

somewhat comforted to see the dexcom being off this much. i know my sugar isn't as high as it says, especially while fasted.

[@tonyb-m839]

I’ve been wearing both sensors and for me is totally the opposite. Yes I can say that the Dexcom the first day is usually going higher in readings but at 12 hours of wearing I calibrate them and usually they’re on target or pretty close. The libre 2 they give me a lot of low readings when I’m on 90mg/dl they go as far as 69mg/dl with the arrow pointing low. And as you say Libre 2 goes really crazy after day seven. At least this is my case and with the non stopping errors given by the libre with error scanning and try again in 10 minutes drives me crazy. As I said I calibrate the Dexcom at 12 hours of wearing when I know that my glucose is stable at least for half hour.

[@janewhite3541]

Nice content. I like this comparison. I've used Dexcom at first but there are some limitations like I can't calibrate also direct readings on smart watch. I heard about Blucon which has these two features but that is with Libre sensor so since then I'm using Libre sensor and Blucon on top of the Libre sensor. This combination is great and economical if I compare it with Dexcom cost

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Thanks! I've heard really good things about the Blucon with the Libre. Definitely cheaper than the Dexcom and more or less does the same thing.

[@anitastokar98]

I have calibrated on Dexcom, but not if the readings are far off. If I remember correctly, I have calibrated around 15 points.

[@practicallandlording2787]

Accuracy isn't the only metric. Precision or how close a group of shots to one another can be quite useful as well. As a type 2 I discover the differential of my libre vs blood test at a number of different levels. I find a close accuracy correlation around 100 increasing to 40mg/dl at 170. This stays pretty constant once the sensor is "bedded in". The precision is excellent however and I put the sensor in the night before firing it up. Thus I can test a couple of times a day on average vs 6 or 7. The fact that the low range is both precise and accurate is where the sensor pays off along with the alarm. Yeah I am spoiled get in the 60's quite rarely. It has been a game changer for me. Good luck.

[@lindasmith9072]

Good morning. Thanks for this. My dexcom and my meter are on point with the same number on day 1.

[@diabetesdailydigest]

Thank you! That’s great to hear! They are both very good CGM’s.

[@justanotherperson584]

Thank you very much.

[@diabetesdailydigest]

You are welcome!