Hi , so from the start that my child has been diagnosed about 2 years ago nearly 3 the libra app has been giving a lot of false lows which is concerning when your trying to do the best you can for your child. The alarm would beep telling you he’s in a low but in fact when I do the finger prick he’s not actually in a low. Anybody experience this or knows a way to actually calm my nerves as I do get really worried when that alarm goes off.
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My child’s libra app gives false readings
- Thread starter Frenchiie
- Start date
djdave
Active Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 3c
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hi @Frenchiie
This sounds like something most of us with CGMs experience. The 'compression low'. When pressure is placed on the CGM it will often return a much lower reading than what is actually going on. I don't know the science behind this, but I think there will be many who echo this.
The thing to do is to try and look at the longer term picture and if medication (insulin) has been taken around the time of the low to work out if this is due to a compression low or due to actual low blood glucose. I can imagine this is very concerning when it is your child on the CGM.
I hope this will give you some understanding on what is happening.
-DJ
This sounds like something most of us with CGMs experience. The 'compression low'. When pressure is placed on the CGM it will often return a much lower reading than what is actually going on. I don't know the science behind this, but I think there will be many who echo this.
The thing to do is to try and look at the longer term picture and if medication (insulin) has been taken around the time of the low to work out if this is due to a compression low or due to actual low blood glucose. I can imagine this is very concerning when it is your child on the CGM.
I hope this will give you some understanding on what is happening.
-DJ
Hi @Frenchiie and welcome to the forum.
Sorry to read one of the limitations of CGMs (compression lows) are giving you anxiety. Many of us on the forum are very familiar with these but, sadly, we learned through members rather than from our DSNs.
With compression lows, pressure is applied to the sensor, stopping the flow of interstitial fluid (the stuff CGMs read to determine BG) to the filament. As a result, the sensor thinks BG is low. This is most common when we are asleep as we lie on our arm and may happen more often in the hot weather when we toss and turn. The way we overcome this is a bit of trial and error to work out the best place for the sensor to avoid lying on it. For me, this is as high up my arm I can get without hitting my shoulder - in line with my arm pit. It is not possible for me to do shoulder stands in my sleep (or when awake). I appreciate there are less placement option available for a child.
It maybe helpful to familiarise other limitations of CGMs to alleviate some of your anxiety.
These are described in this thread: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/cgm-limitations-and-precautions.108188/
Sorry to read one of the limitations of CGMs (compression lows) are giving you anxiety. Many of us on the forum are very familiar with these but, sadly, we learned through members rather than from our DSNs.
With compression lows, pressure is applied to the sensor, stopping the flow of interstitial fluid (the stuff CGMs read to determine BG) to the filament. As a result, the sensor thinks BG is low. This is most common when we are asleep as we lie on our arm and may happen more often in the hot weather when we toss and turn. The way we overcome this is a bit of trial and error to work out the best place for the sensor to avoid lying on it. For me, this is as high up my arm I can get without hitting my shoulder - in line with my arm pit. It is not possible for me to do shoulder stands in my sleep (or when awake). I appreciate there are less placement option available for a child.
It maybe helpful to familiarise other limitations of CGMs to alleviate some of your anxiety.
These are described in this thread: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/cgm-limitations-and-precautions.108188/
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John Gray
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Certainly compression lows are a strong possibility, but as well as that I also find that the Libre 2+ sensors seem to read low when compared with a fingerprick test. As always, you may find differently.
I find that my smartphone Libreview graph can indicate as low as 3.0 before I start feeling hypo. Your child's figures will undoubtedly differ!
The answer is probably to be aware, but not worried, and take the appropriate action if the graph trend is downwards to try to prevent a hypo.
I find that my smartphone Libreview graph can indicate as low as 3.0 before I start feeling hypo. Your child's figures will undoubtedly differ!
The answer is probably to be aware, but not worried, and take the appropriate action if the graph trend is downwards to try to prevent a hypo.
Are you sure it is not your finger prick meter reading high?
As I relied on finger pricks for so long, it took me a long time to get my head around the possibility that either (or both) meters could be wrong not just the "new kid on the block".
I actually find my CGMs vary wrt finger pricks - some read higher and some read lower. So, if they always read lower, I would suspect the consistent item in the comparisons - the finger pricks.
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Thebearcametoo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent of person with diabetes
What are commonly called compression lows can also happen on an arm that’s raised (so side sleeping on the uppermost arm) if not enough fluid gets to the sensor. Keeping kids well hydrated can be difficult but if you’re getting lots of false lows then you might want to increase their fluid intake. Also if you have a skinny kid it can be hard to get a good placement. Some people find Dexcom more suitable and you can place a Dexcom on the abdomen (there’s nothing to stop you trying that with a libra it’s just not one of their ‘legal’ placements).
Sensors are a blessing in many ways but they can cause anxiety and when my son was smaller we took a break for a bit and went back to finger pricking as we were all getting too stressed. Do talk to your team about the issues you’re having and the anxiety it’s causing. Our team were very supportive and could come up with suggestions based off experience with more diabetics than our one.
With ‘compression’ lows I found looking at the graph helpful as often they were a sodden drop and not a steady drop so I could get a good idea they were a false low and not rush to treat. Although sometimes in the middle of the night it’s just easier to treat and have them running a bit high instead of faffing around a lot.
Sensors are a blessing in many ways but they can cause anxiety and when my son was smaller we took a break for a bit and went back to finger pricking as we were all getting too stressed. Do talk to your team about the issues you’re having and the anxiety it’s causing. Our team were very supportive and could come up with suggestions based off experience with more diabetics than our one.
With ‘compression’ lows I found looking at the graph helpful as often they were a sodden drop and not a steady drop so I could get a good idea they were a false low and not rush to treat. Although sometimes in the middle of the night it’s just easier to treat and have them running a bit high instead of faffing around a lot.
John Gray
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
That's certainly a possibility, which I could check only by having a number of different manufacturers and models of blood glucose meter!
I should have worded that part of my sentence as:
"I also find that the Libre 2+ sensors seem to read lower when compared with a fingerprick test using my meter."
However, the reason I made my original comment was because:
when I just above the point where I am going hypo, the Libre 2+ sensor can say I am at 3.0 whereas the BGM can say I am at 4.0 (for example). I prefer to believe the BGM reading (at least at that point!) because I am not - yet - having a hypo.
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