Night Alarm for Hypo’s

[Boogiebaby]

Have a relative who had a bad hypo during night - tried sensor on arm about 18 months ago and found inaccurate - ideally need something that will bleep when BG going low. They plan to get review appt with consultant and DM nurse next week but want to help advise them what needs to ask for. Any advice much appreciated.

 

[mikeyB]

The Libre 2 system is pretty reliable and it has audible alarms if the BG is going low or high. You can set the alarms to the levels you choose, preferably before symptomatic hypos. My guess is that is what the consultant will recommend.

 

[Boogiebaby]

Awe thank you so much - will look into - so is it connected to a watch if you know what I mean

 

[Boogiebaby]

Also could you advise on what type of glucose gel to have in too

 

[Lucyr]

Have a relative who had a bad hypo during night - tried sensor on arm about 18 months ago and found inaccurate - ideally need something that will bleep when BG going low. They plan to get review appt with consultant and DM nurse next week but want to help advise them what needs to ask for. Any advice much appreciated.

I think I’d be asking for help with basal testing to reduce the lows

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Awe thank you so much - will look into - so is it connected to a watch if you know what I mean

No, you use a phone or the reader (which is a custom device which also reads glucose test strips (and test strips for ketones)), and it's the phone or reader which has the alarm.

 

[helli]

I agree with @mikeyB that a Libre 2 may be suitable.
However, the "sensor on the arm" you mention, @Boogiebaby , was a Libre 1 so your relative may be reluctant to try it if they found. it inaccurate previously.
They say they have improved their accuracy. Some people seem to agree but I have seen little difference.

Incidentally, Abbott are still offering a free trial of Libre 2. It is available form their website.

If you want the readings on a watch instead of the phone, this is possible if you are technical. There are unofficial phone apps that read Libre and send the data to a smart watch. You will still need the sensor and, I believe, a phone.

 

[rebrascora]

I would guess that the sensor your relative tried was probably Freestyle Libre.
There could be a number of reasons why someone would find it inaccurate but it could be down to not fully understanding how the system works and interpreting the result correctly. The sensor measures interstitial fluid and not blood, so there is a delay between the sensor and a finger prick BG with the interstitial fluid reading lagging about 15mins behind the blood, so if levels are changing significantly when you test, there can be quite a discrepancy between the sensor and the finger prick BG. That doesn't mean the sensor is wrong, it is just measuring something slightly different. Learning to understand the system is a key part of using it effectively. Most of us have learned a lot from each other here on the forum as well as The Libre Academy on the Abbott website. Your relative might benefit from joining the forum here themselves and getting direct advice and support.

Or not giving it time to bed in before activating it. Whilst many people get good results just with the 60min warm up period after application, some people find applying it 24hrs before activating it, gives far better accuracy over the first few days, than applying it and activating it straight away.

Or, it may have been a duff sensor, and there have been a few recently if posts here are anything to go by. Getting in touch with the manufacturer, Abbott, and reporting the problem should result in a replacement. I have the original Libre sensors which don't have the alarms and I have found them brilliant for improving my diabetes management and accurate enough to not need any finger pricks most days. I think some people seem to have had more issues with the Libre 2 updated version which has the alarms, including people who have used the original system for quite a long time without problem, so it looks like there may be some manufacturing glitches causing problems with some sensors. The customer services at Abbott are pretty good at talking you through problems and replacing if necessary.

 

[Boogiebaby]

Many thanks everyone for such useful info - thanks again!

 

[Robert459]

RE: glucose gel... I think any glucose gel will be helpful but some contain other things, caffeine, etc. I also use glucose (Dextro) tablets. I used to buy small tubes of gel and still carry a few in car and "going out" bag, but for home use, I now buy Dr Oetker Liquid Glucose 140gm tubes, ostensibly for cooking but just pure glucose