I don’t have diabetes or prediabetes, but I was curious about how my glucose changes through the day. So I tried Veri with a FreeStyle Libre 2 sensor for two weeks.
First confession: I asked my dad to apply the sensor. The applicator looked more intimidating than it turned out to be. It didn’t hurt, and once it was on, I barely noticed it.
Seeing meals on a graph
The interesting bit was connecting a meal with what happened afterwards. Some barbecue meals seemed less eventful than I expected, while chicken wings produced a more noticeable response.
That doesn’t establish that barbecue is “good” and wings are “bad”. Portions, sauces, what else I ate, exercise, timing, and normal variation can all change the picture. One meal isn’t a controlled food test.
My morning readings were usually around 80–90 mg/dL, and the app generally showed my readings and variation in its green range. I found that reassuring, but a CGM measures glucose in interstitial fluid, with some delay and measurement error. It doesn’t diagnose overall health, and an app’s colours don’t replace clinical interpretation.
The four-extra-years claim
At the end, the app gave me an estimate suggesting four extra years of life based on the glucose data. That stuck with me, but it isn’t a result I can treat as established. Two weeks of sensor readings cannot tell me how many years I’ll live or prove that I’ve added four years.
The useful outcome was much smaller and more concrete: I could see patterns I hadn’t seen before, and I had better questions about meals and habits.
I enjoyed the experiment. That’s different from recommending that everyone without diabetes needs a CGM. If readings worry you, talk to a clinician rather than start diagnosing yourself from the graph.
Archive note: restored from my 2023 notes. The publication date is approximate, and products and routines reflect that period.