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Hi

P

Partsman

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Thank you for letting me join your forum. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 3 years ago now and I've been using a protein based diet to combat it but wasn't sure if I was winning the fight or not as I never seem to get the time to visit my gp. I've just fitted one of those libre 2 sensors to my arm and its giving me some surprising readings. The two days I've been using it it's stayed well within the green zone except for a period last night wheh it went into hypo down to 3mmol/l. Scarry stuff!. Haven't slept well for a couple of months now so perhaps it's a regular occurance. Also I'm on a drug trial called ascend plus which is supposed to help. Thanks for your time.
 
Welcome @Partsman.
Libre (and other CGMs) are great pieces of kit. However, they have limitations which are important to be aware of to avoid frustrations and unnecessary worries.
One such limitation is known as a “compression low”. As the name suggests, the sensor reports a false low when pressure is applied. This is most common at night when we turn on to the arm with the sensor.
Compression lows can often be spotted on graphs as sudden dips (as you turn onto your arm) followed by a sudden rise (when you turn off your arm).
Unless you are using insulin, your night time 3mmol/l is most likely a compression low.
 
Welcome @Partsman 🙂 The Libre is prone to compression lows, especially at night. These are caused by pressure on the sensor from lying on it or pulling clothes over it and compressing it, etc. The Libre will then read low even when you aren’t. Always confirm any lows with a fingerprick.

Edited to say that @helli just eat me to it!
 
Thanks for your replies, feel a bit better about it now. I've set the low level alarm on it now so if it happens again I will get out of bed and do a finger prick test. Is anybody else here on the Oxford University ascend plus trial, would love to share experiences.
 
This is a snapshot of last night's low... Does it fit the compression theory?
 

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Partsman said:
This is a snapshot of last night's low... Does it fit the compression theory?
Click to expand...
It does to me. A quick dip leaning on the sensor and then you move and come back up.
 
Hi @Partsman and welcome to the forum, I cant add to what's already been said as I don't use the libre 2 or any other piece of kit, but many others on the forum do, who will I'm sure, be able to help with any queries you may have

Alan 😉
 
Yes, that is a very typical "compression low" dip on your overnight graph. Pretty much a perfect example in fact! The profile dips sharply and then comes back up when you release the pressure but goes slightly higher and then settles back down slightly to the correct level. When you have a fast rise or fall with Libre it often overexaggerates the high or the low and then corrects itself when readings become more stable, hence you get that rise and then slight fall back.
 
Welcome to the forum @Partsman

Well done for participating in clinical research. It’s such an important thing for researchers to be able to find a suitable cohort to explore their hypotheses.

Yup that does look like a classic ‘compression low’ to me too. Relatively stable… sharp dip downwards, then bounces right back up to where it was before and pootles along again.
 
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