Bed time alarms - at a loss

[chambers0508]

Hi all
I am constantly being woken through the night by my low glucose alarm, I have it set on my libre to alert me when my levels drop below 4.5. I try to eat a sugary snack and a slow releasing Carb but it will still go off. For reference I feel
Absolutely no hypo symptoms at all at these times. It’s really hard as I feel I’m fighting a losing battle with getting sleep. I also have an 8 month old baby who wakes me, so any advice on what to do about these libre alarms would be great!

 

[Antje77]

Hi @chambers0508 , have you checked those lows with a fingerprick?
For some, Libre reads lower than blood.

If you have confirmed with a fingerprick that you're actually going low every night, have you considered adjusting your insulin doses to prevent those lows?

 

[Marie 2]

The Libre has a tendency to read lower, so as @Antje77 has said, do check it. But if you are going low at night, it's either your last bolus dose is too high and some of your bolus insulin is hitting you later as insulin can work up to 6 hours. Or your basic basal dosing is too high and when you are not eating or snacking while sleeping at night you are dropping too low.

Having to eat means you are getting too much insulin than you need. Eating and it still going off means the same thing.

If it's a bolus problem; Taking less insulin, changing your I/C ratio at night, many of us need a different ratio at different times of day. Eating and taking your last bolus earlier so it is out of your system by night when you go to bed can help, but if it's too high of a dose you will still have the same issue, just earlier. But at least you might get sleep while you try adjustments.

But if it's your basal rate, it needs to be lowered. If your basal is off, it can also affect all your dosing. You can try some basal testing to see if it's your basal rate.

Keep in mind, our insulin needs can always vary unfortunately. Life, events, weather, stress etc can affect our needs. Activity, maybe more activity with an 8 month old or a change of eating patterns, can certainly affect insulin needs.

Basal Testing: The Beginner's Guide

Basal testing is actually pretty simple. But most people with T1D are not taught how to do it. It's a concrete way to figure out if...

carbcountingmama.ca

 

[Deleted member 527103]

@chambers0508 I am sorry to read about your Libre woes. Having a young baby is tiring enough without this on top.

I wonder if you are seeing compression lows at night. If you apply pressure to a sensor, it will report a false low. This is true of all CGMs and probably caused by physics. I can usually spot them because my graphs temporarily dip (probably as I shift positions in my sleep and end up lying on my arm) and then bounce back up (as I move again).
If this is the case, you could look to put your next sensor somewhere else such as further back on your arm. Some people put their sensor on their abdomen with no problem but the Libre is not approved to go there.

As the others have said, it is very important to double check an alarm, especially if you are not feeling hypo, before treating it. Unlike others, I found my sensors typically reported higher and have been surprised by the comments "Libre has a tendency to report lower" but that just shows we are all different. And emphasises the need to double check.