Lingo Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) & App. Made by Abbott. Knows the effects of what you eat. iPhone 11 or later required. US only

If this sensor is useful or not, I will never know... because I could not get it to work.To apply the sensor to the arm is easy and you will not feel a thing.To install the app is a total different issue. I have a Samsung Phone and I use this phoneexactly for the reason intended by Alexander Graham Bell and nothing else... like most seniors my age.I do not care one bit for all this nonsense and pretend functionality on a modern phone.Actually most phones are virtually unusable because the keyboard is too small for old fingers.But I did managed to "register" for a Google account. They of course ask me all sorts of questions which are none of their damn business... but I suffer with dignityso I go to the Google Play Store and search for "Lingo" and installed the app.The app started with asking me all sorts of questions... again, none of their business. I paid for the sensor soI should be able to use it, but no... they are more interested in my info.Then 10 or 20 pages later (i did not count) finally the page which read:Ready To Scan... I did hold the back of my phone directly onto the sensor which I had already put onto my arm.and .... nothing... then the message... Pairing Error... I tried numerous timesThen I called the support line and as expected a gentleman with a heavy indian accent ( you recognize the accent when they call you and try to con you out of your money, never pick up the phone when you do not recognize the number).Obviously the guy talks too fast, uses unnecessary words and you cannot understand a thing.This went on for good 1 hour and nothing. among other things, he asked me to delete the app, reinstall this and then search for a red dot... ??? what red dot??? I still do not know what he meant.Anyway I told him, that I cut my losses and tell everybody about my ordeal.Then he suddenly offered me to replace the sensor. Very well I am down $50 already, might as well... arrives in 2-3 days, meaning 4-5 days because of the weekend.Why is there no "app" for this sensor on a PC. After all A PC has a screen I can actually see and a keyboard which does not require baby fingers.And for Pete's sake, do not ask me all these dumb questions, which are none of your business.If the replacements ensor works, I will try it... but then never again.Simply measure your morning fasting BG like before and that is that. Minute to minute updates are superfluousand expensive technology and a pain in the rear.12/21/25 1:14pmImportant update.I did not want to wait for the replacement and ordered another one yesterday from Amazon same day delivery. This one worked, but did not give me any reading for 1 hour and afterwards it was 20 points too low compare to the finger stick (73, 92).however this morning it was a lot better, In fact just now it reads 92 and the contour next fingerstick reads 95.I am more than happy with that.To be sure I get some benefit from this device... after all I learned that overnight my BG dropped to 55 for a brief moment... I seriously doubt that. All you can see trends, and I am lucky with this one, it is even accurate.... but I am an EE and I did work with large continuous datasets which were contaminated with large random errors and judging by the graph, it looks very much like a data set processed using a Markov Process. This is a mathematical process to get the best up to date measurement even when the whole data set is contaminated with random errors.But there is no free lunch in mathematics, nothing beats accurate measurements, no amount of math and statistics will make it better, even when it appears like that.In the moment I am happy... lets see, if the other reviews have a point.besides, why do you want to measure something you already know? Sugar and refined carbohydrates spike your blood glucose... its common knowledge... don't eat junk food and you do not need a CGM,Everybody who wears a CGM or reads this post, has already done the most important thing, which is educating oneself about nutrition... everything else is superfluous.Important update 05/Jan/2026I am on my 2nd sensor. They last only 14 days for whatever reason, most importantly I guess, the glue will not stick much longer than that, probably the skin will secrete oils which dissolve the glue???The good news was, that removing the old sensor was easy and it left no mark on my skin other than a tiny hole where the sensor was inserted.Unfortunately, the second sensor is also about 20 points too low, relative to the test strip. Of course one could argue that the test strips read 20 points too high, which I seriously doubt. Consecutive testing with test strips (Contour Next EZ) show readings within 5 counts of each other using brand new test strips.Overnight I get readings of 55 with the CGM, which is utter nonsense, because I am a recovering type 2 diabetes patient... even a reading of 75 overnight is hard to believe.The only useful thing I have discovered is that overnight my BG drops significantly. Morning glucose measurements are virtually useless, because of the classic BG spike after waking up. As soon as you out of bed, the BG is already on the rise and it can go up 30 maybe even 40 points within minutes and you have no way of knowing on which part of the curve you are measuring.So again, I have a warm feeling that maybe I have conquered my insulin resistance, just add 20 points to whatever the CGM tells you and when this is under 80 during the night, you maybe ok... still avoid carbs for the rest of your life

This has been so enlightening! I’m a thin, very active, and very healthy eating 60 year old with an A1c just barely in the pre diabetic range (5.7) per my last physical and lab results. I was shocked. So I bought this to see if I could find out when my sugars were high and after what foods. Well I was shocked again to find out how high my sugars went and how frequently I get big swings. I’m on my 4th day and have finally figured out through trial and error my diet and activity level and timing to give me a good Lingo score. I found that I need to eat less carbs (even though all were whole grain) and less fruit (I love fruit!) and only after some protein but mostly that I need to eat smaller meals and to stay active for about an hour after each meal to keep my sugar levels stable and from peaking so high. Yes it’s a little bit of a hassle but something I can do and so much better than medication or worse - having diabetic complications down the road. I would never have known without being able to have a constant monitoring system! It’s very easy to place the monitor and painless. And the app is easy to use. This will change my behavior and prevent so much pain and problems in my future. I cannot recommend this high enough if you’re pre diabetic or if you just want to have your eyes opened regarding what your sugars are on a real time basis. The best fifty bucks I’ve ever spent!It’s now 7 days later. The monitor stopped working on day 6. I called Amazon and they gave me a full refund without any problems. However, I still think the information was life changing for me. I would have liked more time to try different foods to see my body’s response, so I will try another one. I’m going to keep my rating at 5 stars because of how incredibly enlightening it was even though it only lasted the 6 days.

Heads up…Long review, I’m not a fan and can’t recommend it.I purchased 4 of these thinking I would get a good idea of what my diet and exercise was doing to my blood sugar for 2 solid months.First one worked okay. I did test it against a finger-stick monitor (Registered Dietitian here,) and found that it reads low. The monitor I used is made by Freestyle, same company (Abbott) that makes Lingo. My finger-sticks were about 5-15mg/dl higher than the readings coming from the biosensor. I tested it several times during the two weeks, most were 15mg/dl higher. I knew at that point that it wasn’t super accurate, but I could still see that even a tiny bit of sugary creamer in my coffee sent my blood sugar up and then crashing after a few hours if I didn’t eat anything else with it. That info helped me to give up the coffee creamer since I always tend to crash after sugar. I tested different sweet stuff, mixed with and without fats and protein. I was excited to continue with the next sensor and was planning to just stick consistently with my healthy low carb diet and not test sweets since I know I crash every time.I wore the first one without issue, knowing that it wasn’t super accurate I just looked for trends. It was fairly easy to take off after two weeks of wear, but I was surprised how sticky it still was. Hardly felt it on me or when I applied it or removed it. I could not sleep on my left arm or I would get odd swings in readings at night. After removal I waited two days and installed the 2nd.The second gave me a kinda high reading for me after an hour even though I hadn’t eaten anything yet, I think it was around 89mg/dl. Then I got the dreaded error: “Please wait 8 hours to see your reading or contact support.” No readings or history were showing. EIGHT hours? That seemed crazy. I did wait about 3, but nothing changed, so I emailed Abbott. I did get a response fairly quickly, maybe 12-18 hours. I’m sure a call would be quicker. I had to answer a billion questions and finally got an email back that a replacement was on its way. So I was told I could remove the sensor that I had on and trash it.Sensor 2 removal was tough. Since it was freshly placed, it was super sticky. After I finally got it off I was bleeding quite a bit, took a while to stop and yeah, that was fun. That one left a scary purple bruise.Since I still had 2 more sensors on hand I decided to place another on my right arm today (3 days later,) since my left arm is still bruised. I was a bit scared after the drama removal of the last one. Again, no pain applying. Whew. I was sure this would work. After one hour, (it takes an hour to calibrate,) this time it said my blood sugar was below 55. (Which BTW, I got that a lot when I wore the first sensor. When it’s below 55mg/dl, you don’t get a number, just <55.) then about another hour later I got the same error message again asking me to leave it on for 8 hours or contact customer service. Ugh.I did email Abbott a few hours ago and requested a refund for 3 sensors this time, no answer yet.I wore this one about 4 hours. Nothing. I just removed this second “error” biosensor and it was tough to remove like the last. New and very sticky, which is excellent if it’s going to stay on for 2 weeks, not 2 hours. Thankfully, I didn’t bleed much and no bruise so far.The app is pretty limited. Really needs improving. I did read that the Lingo goal is very confusing for a lot of people and I can see why it would be. It’s not intuitive. I got the hang of the app and was happy that it connects to Apple health and automatically adds my exercise. Easy enough to add food, but doesn’t connect to the Cronometer food tracking app that I use and love. I wish that the readings below 55 would be displayed since I tend to be hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and it would be helpful to see what the lows were. I will say that I can typically feel my lows and my <55 readings did not feel like I was having a low. Wish I had confirmed a few of those with a finger stick.Great idea for self-help people like me. Needs lots of improvement. If you’re prediabetic or know an endocrinologist, or even talk to your family doctor about why you want to try one, especially if you’re worried about your health or have a family history of diabetes. I would ask for a prescription version of a CGM. Your doctor might give you one to try, but those need to be placed and removed by a health care professional. Your doctor will be more willing to give you a finger stick monitor if you’re willing to stick your finger first thing in the morning for a fasting reading, after meals and exercise. Monitor is cheap, test strips are pricy OTC. You can also get a prescription for test strips if your doctor sees a need. Seems scary, but it’s not too bad and it’s definitely more accurate if you're really worried about your health.

I am not giving medical advice, I am giving information; and you should discuss it with your own doctor. There are a lot of sites out there with people who have had to live with and manage it for years that are not medical people, but their observations are GOOD, but still discuss it with your doctor. I have just been around people with diabetes, so these are just my opinions. The ULTIMATE diabetes doctor is the endocrinologist.Got it for DM2 (diabetic who still has some insulin and not on insulin yet), person who wouldn't do finger pricks daily. This worked very well. I would get it again. Good for the money. Doesn't need prescription.The initial application had little to no pain and he could tolerate that.Before, I could not get him interested in what his food or exercise did to his blood sugar and how he felt. But now that he could SEE the changes in blood sugar when he ate...and see the bigger changes in the blood sugar when he ate foods that had a high “glycemic index “(means they are simple starches that are easily digestible and turned into sugar quickly like rice, bread, potatoes...vs low glycemic foods that have a lot of fiber in them and are complex and difficult to quickly breakdown and thus do not cause your blood sugar to jump up high quickly, but instead rise slower and rise less high) he was getting REWARDED by seeing what his actions did...LIKE A COMPUTER GAME.This person is a somewhat unusual diabetic, in that his blood sugars can run around 150, and people with diabetes don't worry too much about that. But what HIS body does is pour sugar out through his kidneys greater than 1000 and he also spills ketones out in his urine. This makes him what is called a "ketone prone euglycemic diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2). And the BIG problem with this is that even most doctors are not aware that it exists. They take a look at the pretty good blood sugar and don't look farther.In fact, I am surprised how little most doctors understand diabetes; or what to do about it. There are many people out there that have diabetes or prediabetes; that their doctors are telling them "everything looked good", in reference to any labs that were drawn.If you were fasting (no food or anything but water for at least 8-12 hours), and your blood sugar, also called blood glucose was above 100, you may have diabetes. If you have a big belly, are overweight, blurry vision, hypertension, high triglycerides (when they check your cholesterol, they should also check your triglycerides) darkened skin patches in places like neck, arm pits, face; or have been told you have syndrome X, metabolic syndrome…you may have prediabetes or diabetes.The reason it is important to deal with it as soon as you find you are heading that way is that elevated sugar in your body damages almost every single part of your body. So, if your doctor jumps on this he can help you understand what to do to lower your blood sugar and extend your life, and extend it with a lot less diseases showing up!One reason that doctors may ignore your elevated sugar levels in your labs is if the also take a test called an A1c. This test measures the average blood sugar over 30days. And the doctor looks at that and says well this is pretty good, it was only 135...an A1c of about 6.3.(When your A1c reaches 6.5 this means your average blood glucose was 140 over 30 days and this says you are diabetic)BUT what the doctors can't seem to get through their heads is; THIS IS AN AVERAGE OVER 30 DAYS...which means your blood sugar could have been 200, 300 or higher and then dropped down when you slept or to 70 when you were not eating. BUT you are definitely having organ damage when it hits 200. They don't see if you are spilling ketones.... they just see one thing, the average over 30 days. IT's like, your dad beats your mom really bad for 2 out of 30days...and so the average of beating to normal is "not so bad" …except to your mom!)So a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) can show you a lot. It can help you see how long your blood glucose stays up after you eat, but it can also help you learn how to eat to keep your blood glucose lower. PLUS, if you want to try to stay in a normal blood glucose range (70-140), so that you don't age as fast or have your body destroyed as fast...It can show you "Time In Zone", with is whatever range you want your blood sugar to stay in.PLUS even more important it can help you start to learn what it feels like when your blood sugar:> goes up-hyperglycemia- (thirsty, pee a lot, hunger, blurred vision, dry mouth, feet tingling, itchy skin, fatigue, slowed thinking, brain fog, irritability, anxiety, depression, headaches, tremors,)> goes down - hypoglycemia (irregular heart beat, paleness, sweating, hunger, dizziness, confusion, shaking, tingling around the mouth, fatigue, anxiety, ) IT IS EXPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE WHEN YOUR BLOOD SUGAR GOES DOWN BECAUSE your brain can be immediately and irreversibly damaged!I suggest drawing yourself a stick figure and putting the symptoms you might feel drawn to the area of the body it might happen in and putting that on your refrigerator….because….not only you but your family NEED to learn this.Low blood sugar is one of the problems with CGMs, below the lower normal range of blood sugar, 70; NONE of the CGMs do a good job.They can tell you it is low, and make you run and eat a cookie to bring it up, when it wasn't low to start with or it is lower than that! THAT IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALSO BUY ONE OF THE FINGER STICK devices for when your CGM says your blood sugar is low.... because when your blood sugar is very high (at or above 200) or low (below 70) you will need to double check your blood sugar with the more accurate device of a finger stick glucose meter.The numbers that the CGM companies give you to call to speak to someone to get advice, is sort of a joke. These people know very little. And it seems they do not even know what it says in the CGM paperwork packaged with the device! I think they just read from a script. Doctors too are often unaware how unreliable CGMs are with LOW blood sugar readings.Still starting out, this is a good way to see what is going on. The price is good for what it does. Your doctor may be dragging their feet, and you may want to know more, be sure, have something to show them to convince them.IF it shows that you do have high blood glucose; get it taken care of. There is a lot you can do just with diet. Sometimes you can even reverse it with just diet. But if you don't take care of it, then it is like having cancer you don't take care of, it will slowly damage everything in your body.Fear stops people. Knowledge is a way to handle fear. Knowledge gives you power, a choice.I didn't use this product; I just got some feedback from the person I gave it to. He was making charts on his phone.But I think the best way for someone to understand what is going on and tie it all together is to make charts that can show ALL the variables right on one page. Not only the blood sugar reading and time, when you take your medication, but also your meals and how many carbs you ate (you also should keep a list of what you ate, how much, the calories, and the carbs to refer to if a you want to get an even stronger grasp on what your food is doing to your blood sugar), when you exercise, and when anything feels off (see lists below)After a few days of this kind of charting you should be able to see when your blood sugar rises after you eat, what hi carbs or low carbs do to you, what symptoms YOU feel when your blood sugar goes up or down, and how soon your medicine will work and how long it will last for you.-get a notebook with GRAPH paper (the page is all little squares).-along the left side, starting about 30 squares up (in these 30 squares you can write the variables, like m, start with numbers to reflect your blood glucose level. Start with about 50 (which is low and you may be confused, have stomach cramps, look drunk...so YOUR FAMILY AND FREINDS NEED TO KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR, FOR HIGH AND LOW BLOOD SUGAR TOO...because when it is too high or low you may not be able to take care of yourself or get help. ) go up by 5s, to 200.-along the bottom you will put times during the day that you took the reading.>you should take a reading when you FIRST wake up, this is your FASTING blood sugar, supposedly the lowest blood sugar during the day> you should take a reading when you start eating, and every 30 minutes after that until your blood sugar comesdown to what your blood sugar usually stays around (later you won't take it this often, but if you are justbeginning to learn how YOUR body works and how YOUR body reacts, this will help you see not only how highyour blood sugars are going but what foods make them go up fastest and highest, and how much of a food is needed to do that!)> you should do this also when you take your medicine for diabetes. You want to see how fast it works and how long it works for.> you should take a reading anytime you are feeling "funny, or bad, or strange, or irritable", to check and see ifthese feelings are related to high or low blood glucose/sugar (your brain needs sugar like it needs oxygen, soit is not strange that you have changes in how you think and feel when your blood sugar goes up or down.)> If you wake up in the night, take a reading then too. Sometimes when the sugar goes up or down in the night, it can cause you to wake up.> If you get a cold, or get sick, you should take it to see how this changes your blood sugar (if you have an infection it is important to keep the sugar in your blood in a normal range to help healing, because bacteria EAT sugar!)(Ketones in people without diabetes and trying to lose weight...maybe ok if not high.... but for diabetes not good.)>normal blood glucose is 70-100 fasting (when you have had nothing to eat and noting to drink but water for at least 8 hours)>A normal person's blood sugar usually doesn't rise about 120 after eating and stays up only a few hours after eating, but sometimes if you just ate a huge pile of sugar it might get up to 140 for a short while.>when your blood sugar hits 200 you definitely are damaging your organs...eyes, blood vessels, heart, kidney, brain, nerves.....it's like pouring concentrated bleach on your skin...the more concentrated it is, the more it damages the skin...the longer it stays on the skin, the more it damages the skin)Some things that might make you check to see if you are or are becoming a diabeticslow healing,dry cracked skin,hammer toesbunions,numbness or tingling,slow healing,blurred vision,frequent urination,fatiguerecurrent infection, like yeast infections, jock itch, vaginal infections,dark skin in areasgum diseaseDiabetes causes you to be hungry, because the insulin can't push the sugar into your cells, so it is as if you haven't eaten...so your body thinks its starving.Diabetes is caused because your body doesn't have enough insulin, or your body is RESISTANT to it. Type 1 diabetes has little or no insulin. Usually appears in childhood, and requires lifelong insulin therapy. Type 2 diabetes, DM2, diabetes mellitus; Happens from Insulin resistance (think of teenager ignoring the directions of their parents) or from not enough insulin and usually appears in adults.

I'm new to CGMs (continuous glucose monitor), but recent health issues required that I keep a closer eye on my glucose patterns than is possible with the "jab and dip" variety of testing devices. So I did a little digging and decided to try this Lingo monitor. I'm now on my fourth monitor, and can report the following.First application of the monitor was a little tricky, just because I had never seen or used the applicator before. However, once you've done it once, every time after that is simple. They recommend you always use the same arm, and just move the location around so that you're not sticking the monitor on the same patch of skin every time. I've been alternating arms anyway, just so I don't have to think about inadvertently putting a new monitor anywhere on the same patch of skin I just used.Initial download/startup of the app is a bit of PITA, but once you've gone through all the menus, questions and authorizations, and have it installed on your phone and linked to the monitor, it takes about an hour for each new monitor to finish "analyzing" your skin and start transmitting glucose data. Once installed the monitor is "water resistant," and I've had no problems at all with normal showering, exercise, etc. You can even swim with it on for up to a half-hour at a time. It has thus far stayed put until expired (each monitor lasts about 2 weeks), and removed/replaced by a new monitor.A lot of reviewers have complained that this monitor system is "not accurate," and that is often true ... but it's not because there's anything "wrong" with the monitor. It's because this device uses a different kind of tech than what's used for the typical "jab and dip" glucose testers. This monitor does not take a direct reading from contact with any blood or blood vessels in your arm. It reads from the "interstitial" fluids/tissue in the area just beneath the surface of your skin. So, in my experience so far, the reading given by this monitor is a "lagging indicator" of what's actually happening at the moment with your blood glucose. If it's rapidly going up, this monitor's reading will lag behind the actual glucose reading you'd get from a "jab and dip" test. If it's rapidly dropping, same thing ... this monitor will read higher than your actual glucose rate. The more stable your glucose is over a longer period of time, the closer this monitor's reading will be to to your actual blood glucose at the moment you check it.Point is, and where this device and its related app really rock, is the way they provide you with continuous "tracking data" on what your glucose is doing over long periods of time ... by the hour, by the day, over weeks of time. As long as you're wearing an active monitor, the app just keeps accumulating data, and showing you the results in "real time." This function has been invaluable to me, and in a matter of weeks, has taught me more about my diet/eating patterns than anything I ever learned/understood over 20 prior years of intermittent "jab and dip" tests. For easy access to that kind of "information," I'm more than willing to trade off EXACT accuracy at every moment. Any time I want a more exact reading, I can (and still do) use the old "jab and dip" variety of tester.I have had a few issues with the monitor losing contact with my phone, and even had to re-install the app once, but so far, it's never lost any of my past data, and I've now asked my regular doc to prescribe a CGM for me, so that I can get the monitors supplied regularly through my insurance, rather than me having to buy them retail through Amazon. This "Lingo" monitor is made by Abbott, who also makes what appears to be an identical monitor known as "Freestyle." I don't know, but I think the only difference between the two is marketing. The "Lingo" label is marketed/sold direct to consumers, and I think the "Freestyle" label is marketed/sold through doc prescriptions, insurance, etc.In any event, I've now become comfortable with this tech and what it does for me. I now see it as a highly valuable tool in my never-ending effort to maintain control over my diet, health and quality of life.