Hypos

[Newbie777]

So last night before bed my BG reads were
8.4 test strip
7.0 CGM

3.15am
6.5 test strip
4.0 CGM, also 3. 3 on CGM
But no panic, no hypo, as was happy with 6.5!

3.40am
6.2 test strip
5.2 CGM

7.00am
7.7 est strip
6.9 CGM.

So the conclusion is this, DO NOT rely on CGM for hypos, in fact set my low alarm for 3.3, always check blood test strips as more accurate. Although I agree that there is a difference around 1. 0 between CGM and test strip, however this morning at 3. 40am the difference was 2.5!

Anyway moving forward, I will continue to use CGM throughout the day, but will use finger prick at night before I go to bed, as long as my BG is 5. 5 or higher am good, as I know my BG drop will be upto 1.0 and perhaps max upto1.5.

Also some bad news my Hba1c bloods will be taken on Monday, so the initial target around 70 is not looking so good now that I know Libre is not accurate, on a positive note should be less than previous 113, I hope 🙂

Thanks

 

[rebrascora]

These will be compression lows where you have turned over in your sleep and laid on the arm with the sensor. It is different to the Libre consistently reading a bit lower than a finger prick and is a specific quirk of the system.

I know you have mentioned about eating an apple before bed if your levels are lower than 5.5, but consider something smaller. An apple will be about 15g carbs which will raise your levels by about 4.5mmols, so will push you up from 5.5 to 10mmols and then your body and the meds will have to work harder to bring those levels down again. Better to just have something just very small, like half a digestive biscuit which is 5g carbs or a third of an apple or just one dried apricot or prune. I know it seems like a tiny amount but that is all it takes. Eating a whole apple will not help your diabetes in this situation. You are artificially inflating your BG because you are frightened of going low, when there is very little risk of you having a hypo through the night and it is normal for non diabetic peoples' levels to drop whilst they sleep and even sometimes drop below 4 in the very early hours. It is part of the body's natural circadian rhythm and then it usually rises again towards morning when the liver increases glucose output to give us energy for the day ahead.

I do wonder if CGM causes more problems that it helps in these circumstances. I would say that it is causing you to eat more carbs than you need to, which is making your diabetes management poorer instead of better. Without it you would not think to test during the night and then eat lots of carbs when it shows you low or feel you need to eat something before bed because it shows your levels dropping by 1.5mmols through the night. If your levels are lower than 5.5 at bedtime then it is very likely that your body will not drop them by as much as 1.5mmols, because it is those levels in the 4s which are actually healthy and where you get good sleep and how your HbA1c comes down to normal levels. Your body and your medication is actively trying to achieve those healthy levels and you are thwarting it by eating carbs to push them back up again.

 

[Newbie777]

Thank you and that makes sense.

I am happy to have half an apple if needed or half a biscuit, I know on this forum a lot if people have apple with peanut butter.

I don't think now I will get hypos as I have stopped Glicizide at lunchtime.

As I work out the true drop in BG at night via the test strips I will be happy with a BG read of 5, not an issue.

The ideal fasting BG on this forum is 5.2.

Like I said in future I will not rely heavily on Libre but it is still a good tool, especially when on those occasions I don't have a test strip handy.

I think over the next week I will see if I can normalise my BG, still eating slightly higher carbs at lunchtime, going gym etc.

After 1 week or so will decide on whether I need another Glicizide at lunchtime. or whether to eat more carbs, or stay the same. %q

Thanks.