CGM low readings

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C84

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Dear all I am new here and looking for some insight from those who use CGMs.

Background:
I am diagnosed with insulin resistant PCOS although bloods and scans have not supported this. I've not been well the last 6 months seeming to catch everything going which I put down to stress.

The last few months I've been getting shaky and starving hungry between meals feeling like I'm going to pass out and sometimes sweating. I've asked for another appt with gynae specialist, but in the meantime decided to get a CGM to see if I really am insulin resistant.

I attached the ican sinocare last night and I've had several lows including urgent lows since. I don't know if these are reliable or what to do! It's making me really anxious as I can't see why my blood sugars should be dropping that low that often? I've attached the graph from today and I'm be really grateful for some help on this!

Thank you Screenshot_20240414_183106_iCan CGM.jpg
 
Welcome @C84 Those could be compression lows, especially the overnight ones. If the CGM gets pressed, eg by clothing, or lied on, it will falsely read low.
 
You’d need to fingerprick to check the low readings. This isn’t a commonly used CGM in the UK, and CGMs vary in how accurate they are for each individual so a fingerprick is the only way to check those readings. Do remember though that non diabetics will sometimes have readings under 4 and it isn’t a concern to be in the 3s if not on medication that causes hypos
 
Inka said:
Welcome @C84 Those could be compression lows, especially the overnight ones. If the CGM gets pressed, eg by clothing, or lied on, it will falsely read low.
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Thanks I thought this too but I wasn't laying on my side at night when it went off but I have been sat down when it's going low during the day . The sensor is on my stomach as that's where it said to put it so wonder if that's causing issues where I sit
 
Lucyr said:
You’d need to fingerprick to check the low readings. This isn’t a commonly used CGM in the UK, and CGMs vary in how accurate they are for each individual so a fingerprick is the only way to check those readings. Do remember though that non diabetics will sometimes have readings under 4 and it isn’t a concern to be in the 3s if not on medication that causes hypos
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Thank you I have a finger prick one on order to do just that!
 
It sounds like it could. To be honest, I wouldn’t trust that CGM anyway as it’s not one used here. As @Lucyr says, you’d be better with a good quality glucose meter and fingerpricking.
 
Inka said:
It sounds like it could. To be honest, I wouldn’t trust that CGM anyway as it’s not one used here. As @Lucyr says, you’d be better with a good quality glucose meter and fingerpricking.
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Thank you so much I'm gonna turn off the Bluetooth for now as its just stressing me out! I know when I genuinely need to eat something as my body will tell me!
 
I'm about to go to bed and this familiar banging headache has come back so I've turned it back on and it's now 3.8 ‍♀️ do I trust it and eat some sugar or will this cause further problems in the night?
 
Lucyr said:
You’d need to fingerprick to check the low readings. This isn’t a commonly used CGM in the UK, and CGMs vary in how accurate they are for each individual so a fingerprick is the only way to check those readings. Do remember though that non diabetics will sometimes have readings under 4 and it isn’t a concern to be in the 3s if not on medication that causes hypos
Click to expand...
Ah ok I didn't know that! I should have just gone to the doctor thought id speed things up with this and be able to adjust my diet accordingly- I hope I'm not offending anyone here who is diabetic! It runs in my family and my husband is prediabetic - trying my best to look after myself
 
Hi and welcome.

My first thought is that the graph doesn't look like you are insulin resistant at all as there are no meal spikes and levels are all normal or low rather than high which is what insulin resistance would cause, but perhaps that may be because you have altered your diet? What did you eat today?

I agree that I would not trust that CGM and I find Libre, which I do trust, still reads low compared to a finger prick. Usually about 1mmol lower than an actual finger prick, but again it can depend on the BG meter you use.

Which BG meter have you purchased? We have had members who bought the SinoCare BG meter and had issues with it so it is not one that we would recommend. The Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 are both well tried and tested by forum members who self fund and found to be reliable and cost effective for self funding.

I wonder if you would qualify for the free 14 day trial of the Freestyle Libre 2 CGM system which is the one that many of us, including myself use. It isn't perfect either by any means, although life changing for many of us on insulin.
You could then compare the data from the Sinocare and the Libre and see if they had a similar pattern, but testing the lows with a reliable blood glucose meter would be sensible.

There is a condition called Reactive Hypoglycaemia (RH) where after eating carbohydrate rich foods, your levels go really high (mid teens or above) and then the body releases too much insulin too late and they come crashing back down again and you end up hypo and needing to eat which pushes levels up again. There is no indication of that on your graph as the highest your levels seemed to go today was under 9, which is perfectly normal. Again knowing what you ate today would enable better comment. If you have eaten low carb all day, then that would explain the low levels but not the lows and hypo sensations you seem to be getting.
 
rebrascora said:
wonder if you would qualify for the free 14 day trial of the Freestyle Libre 2 CGM system which is the one that many of us, including myself use.
Click to expand...

No as that free trial is only open to diabetics
 
Sorry to hear you are getting some low readings from your CGM that are causing you worry @C84 :(

The symptoms of developing or undiagnosed diabetes would usually be elevated glucose readings not low glucose readings. Sometimes people’s metabolisms begin to over-react to a post-meal high glucose which can lead to their BG dropping too low, but your CGM trace looks really even and uneventful apart from those gentle drifts and dips

As others have said, it’s not all that unusual for people to drop below 4.0 who don’t have diabetes, but these values are not usually anything to worry about as there aren’t medications in use that can push levels dangerously low.

If you are concerned about your risk of diabetes, you could request an HbA1c from your Dr. That is the standard diagnostic test for diabetes, and may provide more helpful information for you?
 
I seem to remember PCOS is treated with metformin: is this the case with you? If so this may explain a lot of your symptoms.
 
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