Help - Why have my Libres gone haywire?

Phew just slept all night with no false low alarms going off so as all you experienced T1s have said it looks like my sensor has now ‘settled down’. Huge relief. I will apply my next one early as advised.

I asked about fridge storage as user manual says to store between 4 and 25 and it’s been above 25 recently.

I’m very interested in what you say about hypo awareness. I did tell my diabetes consultant but he said he thought I just hadn’t had a ‘proper hypo’ yet. I do treat as soon as I go to 3.8 on Libre but I haven’t been below 2.8?

I am scared of hypos so not really willing to go lower to see if I get symptoms.

How can you ‘ recover’ hypo awareness?
 
CathyFP said:
I do treat as soon as I go to 3.8 on Libre but I haven’t been below 2.8?
Click to expand...
Do you double check those readings with finger pricks? Just wondering if the 2.8 is the Libre algorithm over exaggerating a drop when in fact your levels have come back up. Libre will continue to show your levels dropping up to half an hour after taking your hypo treatment whereas a finger prick will usually show you recovered 15 mins later.
I do wonder if Libre will prevent people from learning what their early warning hypo signs are. Some can be pretty subtle but unless you experience a few hypos you don't learn that what you experienced just before are hypo signs. For instance, my peripheral vision goes a bit blurry. If I am focussed on something like a computer screen it is very hard to detect it but if I am out walking where my vision is on "landscape mode" it becomes a little easier to spot. I now regularly consciously check my peripheral vision when I am walking, particularly when I am on my own. Another one I get is feeling like I am in a vacuum, isolated from my surroundings a bit, or like having ear protectors on or cotton wool in my ears or occasionally my tummy flips very mildly, like going down in a lift. These are really subtle signs that the average person might not spot but once you have had a few hypos you sharp learn to pick up on them early.
More obvious hypo signs are tingling lips and tongue and sparkles or flashes in my vision or with serious hypos, I actually see nothing for a second or two each time I blink, which is pretty disturbing and very hard to miss and of course there is the sweating and heart pounding and jelly legs and the hunger which I associate with the adrenaline release. These generally happen after I have treated the hypo.
As diabetics we don't have "super powers" to detect hypos, so I assume non-diabetic people must also get these warning signs when their BG levels are getting a bit low but because they don't generally get hypos, they don't learn to spot them and understand what they are and I wonder if perhaps Libre could be taking this ability away from new diabetics now.
 
Slight tingling/pins & needles above my upper lip, sort of what I imagine breaking into a sweat along there feels like - though I have never actually felt myself sweating anywhere, ever, yet.
 
CathyFP said:
Phew just slept all night with no false low alarms going off so as all you experienced T1s have said it looks like my sensor has now ‘settled down’. Huge relief. I will apply my next one early as advised.

I asked about fridge storage as user manual says to store between 4 and 25 and it’s been above 25 recently.

I’m very interested in what you say about hypo awareness. I did tell my diabetes consultant but he said he thought I just hadn’t had a ‘proper hypo’ yet. I do treat as soon as I go to 3.8 on Libre but I haven’t been below 2.8?

I am scared of hypos so not really willing to go lower to see if I get symptoms.

How can you ‘ recover’ hypo awareness?
Click to expand...
So glad that you have had a good night of sleep, and that your Libre has settled down.

From what you describe I think your consultant is probably right. Your sensor prevents you from dropping into the hypos and you manage the drops that could lead to these, so have not experienced a ‘proper hypo’ yet, (long gone are the days where they used to make sure you had one in hospital before discharge so you know what they feel like). Picking up the alarms and warnings and treating is the strategy for avoiding losing your awareness. No need to try it out!!

It is understandable to be scared of hypos and to take them seriously. Having your hypo treatment on hand at all times helps with this. We have a pot of JBs in every room here.

When people have had diabetes for many years and had lots of hypos, especially where these are severe, the brain gets used to the lower levels and stops giving the physical symptoms as warnings to prompt us to treat them. The use of sensors (which have been available for about 10 years) has helped people to avoid severe hypos. Before the sensors we had little idea what was going on in between our premeal checks, and just a spot value with no indication of direction of travel of BG.

Keep doing what you are doing. Keep the questions coming. It will all get easier.
 
My hypo signs are blurred vision, vagueness and sweaty.

Before sensors I would pick these up at around 4.2. I am less aware of the symptoms now as my system tends head off the lows.
 
I think we all vary in our responses to low bs, some people feel unwell around 4 others can go as low as 2.8 and still feel ok. At 2.8 you really aren't ok even if you think you are and lower than that, I've been there, is a bad place to be. If you are comfortable at 3.8 then take steps then, maybe a bit earlier if the libre is pointing down. I think most people would recommend action before it goes below 4 and you need to figure out for yourself what works for you. Jelly babies are excellent at doing a quick correction.

The libre is always behind the curve so if you find yourself with the libre still going lower even after the jelly babies do a finger prick if you can or give it a few minutes to see if the direction changes. It's easy to overcompensate if you rely on the libre although it's better to go a bit too high than pass out.

I rarely sweat due to a hypo, my vision goes a bit odd, sort of sparkly, and I get slower and lose concentration and get heavy footed if I'm out. My partner is excellent at spotting this but with my new constant friend, the libre, I get plenty of reminders.
 
When hypo I feel hot and sweaty, mentally slow, tingling lips, weak, anxious and panicky. Hypo symptoms can vary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top