Obsessed with the Freestyle Libra 2 plus

[Meady]

So, after my sudden hypo the other day which saw my BS down to 2.9 with no warning, thought I'd give the free trial a go. Nailed it on just after lunch today. Am obsessed with keep looking at it! Sad I'm sure and I guess the 'novelty' will wear off shortly. Screenshot attached of graph this afternoon.

 

[Meady]

Now this I find very interesting, I had a hypo in my sleep which I would never have known about had I not had the cgm, it didn't wake me up either. Looks like it was for quite some time too

 

[Chelseagirl]

Now this I find very interesting, I had a hypo in my sleep which I would never have known about had I not had the cgm, it didn't wake me up either. Looks like it was for quite some time too

View attachment 35957

As a guess, it was a compression low. ie you were lying on the sensor. I use a Dexcom One+ which is licensed to be worn on my abdomen, which stops this happening. I don’t believe Abbot license the Libre for abdomen wear. The lack of alarm maybe due to your phone setting?

 

[Meady]

As a guess, it was a compression low. ie you were lying on the sensor. I use a Dexcom One+ which is licensed to be worn on my abdomen, which stops this happening. I don’t believe Abbot license the Libre for abdomen wear. The lack of alarm maybe due to your phone setting?

I'd not set a low alarm on the app for sure so no wake up from that. The last hypo in had during the night woke me up. Could be I was laying on it ‍♂️ it's in the back of my left arm so I think for me probably not but you never know.

 

[John Gray]

I largely ignore any hypo indications from my Libre 2+ sensor unless it goes below about 3.3 - the sensor always reads lower than a finger-prick test FOR ME. I start feeling hypo at about 3.3 - 3.2.
It might be worth you doing a few fingerpricks at various times when the sensor shows your BG is stable, to see how it works FOR YOU.
From your graph, @Chelseagirl's explanation could be valid if you stayed in the same sleeping position for three hours. I'm too restless for that!

 

[trophywench]

What time of day does the average human being naturally have their lowest blood glucose? In the early hours of the morning, is when. (Years ago medical students doing the night shift in A&E used to call between 2am ish to 3 am ish, the suicide hour.)

If it's concerning you - you really do need to discuss it with your Doc.

 

[Meady]

What time of day does the average human being naturally have their lowest blood glucose? In the early hours of the morning, is when. (Years ago medical students doing the night shift in A&E used to call between 2am ish to 3 am ish, the suicide hour.)

If it's concerning you - you really do need to discuss it with your Doc.

Concerning, yes and no. A new experience for me to be able to see what's going on over a night time. Maybe too much information! But want to see what's going on over a period of time and can then tackle my diabetes nurse.

 

[OLVE75]

Only use my Libre as a guide now, and rely on how I feel as they can be inaccurate.
Always finger prick before meal doses of insulin and when I feel a hypo coming on or if not feeling 100% due to hyper.
Sometimes my Libres can be fine, other times inaccurate. Not sure if some are just not 100% when manufactured or if location on arm has any influence....

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Also, @Meady, CGMs are at their most accurate while in range (between 4 and 10). They can be quite slow to catch up after a low; I can find that a fp might initially confirm the low, then after modest hypi response a 2nd fp confirms recovery is happening but my CGM is not always showing that recovery.

Your are wise to not be too concerned. The longer term trend is the important thing.

 

[PhoebeC]

What time of day does the average human being naturally have their lowest blood glucose? In the early hours of the morning, is when. (Years ago medical students doing the night shift in A&E used to call between 2am ish to 3 am ish, the suicide hour.)

If it's concerning you - you really do need to discuss it with your Doc.

My step dad was a funeral director for a few years, so many people die naturally about this time too. Usually wake up feel unwell and go the loo. So many found on the loo who died at this time. 3am is also the "devils" hour right?

 

[helli]

@Meady Libre is a great piece of kit that it is easy to become obsessed by.
However, it has limitations and if you do not understand them, you may become frustrated or mislead.
the compression low is one of these. As @Chelseagirl explained, all CGMs will report a false low if you apply pressure to a sensor (e.g. if you lie on it in your sleep) which blocks the flow of interstitial fluid to the filament.
It takes a bit of getting used to - some of us learn to avoid lying on it and others find a better place to put the next sensor where the risk of doing so is much less.

Other limitations are described in this post https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/cgm-limitations-and-precautions.108188/

 

[trophywench]

..... and some days it's so random it might just as well be explained by what colour socks or underwear you happen to put on that day.

 

[Meady]

Also, @Meady, CGMs are at their most accurate while in range (between 4 and 10). They can be quite slow to catch up after a low; I can find that a fp might initially confirm the low, then after modest hypi response a 2nd fp confirms recovery is happening but my CGM is not always showing that recovery.

Your are wise to not be too concerned. The longer term trend is the important thing.

Okilydokily. Yes, since it's been on for 24hrs it looks like a fairground roller coaster ride!

 

[Meady]

@Meady Libre is a great piece of kit that it is easy to become obsessed by.
However, it has limitations and if you do not understand them, you may become frustrated or mislead.
the compression low is one of these. As @Chelseagirl explained, all CGMs will report a false low if you apply pressure to a sensor (e.g. if you lie on it in your sleep) which blocks the flow of interstitial fluid to the filament.
It takes a bit of getting used to - some of us learn to avoid lying on it and others find a better place to put the next sensor where the risk of doing so is much less.

Other limitations are described in this post https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/cgm-limitations-and-precautions.108188/

Yep, I'm interested to see how it pans out compared to me finger pricking as that only gives half the story. Also appreciate all the information that people have offered form their experiences, all good.

If it proves to be useful, will try and convince my GP practice to put it on prescription, I'm nearly in the ok bracket to have one for a T2. Was unsuccessful last time I tried.

I probably did lay on it last night the more I think about it, so will be getting used to trying to avoid doing that as well.

 

[Meady]

Well, this is interesting, just done the usual walk from work to the station, takes me around 25 mins. All good when I left (it has been a little up and down today) but, in hypo land and didn't get any symptoms, another hypo unaware (I did also check with a finger pricker). That's twice now relatively close together, I am really hoping this is not a trend. Didn't feel unwell or anything 😳

 

[Inka]

If your finger-pricker confirmed that 3.4 @Meady you should have felt that hypo at that level. It’s really important to maintain your hypo awareness, obviously and most importantly for safety (hypos can lead to seizures and worse) and also if you drive. If you set your Libre Low alarm for 5.6 say, you should receive good warning of hypos and be able to ward them off. Running above 5 at all times for some weeks can restore hypo awareness in a lot of people or sharpen it up.

 

[Inka]

Here’s the information from the DVLA @Meady Anyone with hypo unawareness must inform them and stop driving:

Impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia – ‘hypoglycaemia unawareness’​

✘- Must not drive and must notify DVLA. Driving may resume after a clinical report by a GP or consultant diabetes specialist confirms that adequate hypoglycaemia awareness has been regained.	✘- Must not drive and must notify DVLA. The licence will be refused or revoked.

[th]

Group 1 Car and motorcycle​

[/th][th]

Group 2 Bus and lorry​

[/th]​

Diabetes mellitus: assessing fitness to drive

Advice for medical professionals to follow when assessing drivers with diabetes mellitus.

www.gov.uk

.

 

[SWAN2019]

..... and some days it's so random it might just as well be explained by what colour socks or underwear you happen to put on that day.

That made me laugh but it is so true!

It is great to have forums where you can talk to people who actually have diabetes rather than some of the medical professionals who get a bit of training and can then get extra payments for being called a specialist in the field!

 

[SWAN2019]

Now this I find very interesting, I had a hypo in my sleep which I would never have known about had I not had the cgm, it didn't wake me up either. Looks like it was for quite some time too

View attachment 35957

When I was first diagnosed with type 2, like most people I was told not to check my blood sugar more than a couple of times a week. Was also told that you can only get a couple of packs of the strips a year on the NHS so guess that is why they tell you not to test too much! Personally I think if people could learn at that stage just how different food affects them it could be much more useful. Without knowledge people probably don't change diet enough or go to low on carbs like I think I did.

I kept waking in the night feeling sick. DN said she didn't think it had anything to do with the diabetes, but strange it hadn't happened before diagnosis. In the end I resulted to buying Libre 2, partly because thought it would be a bit easier than pricking my finger at three o'clock in the morning and also as I have a form of haemophilia, pricking my finger too much is not that appealing. It showed some interesting results. I definitely was having hypos in the night.

It did also help me learn how different foods with carbs affected me. The protein bars I had been told not to eat had very little impact of my sugar levels where as porridge sends it shooting up. It also helped me find what to eat at night which kept the levels more stable.

I have also found that sometimes I get low readings, especially at night without feeling like I have a hypo. I know as the alarm has gone off but if I don't feel like it is low I turn over or get up and move about (usually the former!) and see what happens. Often it has been from compression and goes up again quite quickly. If I feel like I am having a hypo then I will check with a finger prick. In this circumstance I normally find that my meter reading is a bit lower than the CGM.

It can be easy to get obsessed by the readings but I do think it helps to better control the diabetes initially no matter what the so called experts say.

I am just waiting for my next hemophilia appointment to see if that gives any grounds to get a CGM on the NHS!