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Confessions of an idiot

DavidGrahamJones

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,262
Location
Hazlemere
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
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Newspapers
They say there's no fool like an old fool. I'm sticking my hand up as being a prime example.

I've become reliant on the FreeStyle Libre and stupidly stopped daily checks because the cartridge in my other machine went out of date although I felt sure it had until March which I can't check.

This FS sensor has 6 days to go but I had not done a daily check for a week meaning to get a new cartridge for the other one. The result being, after seeing my nice diabetic specialist who suggested cutting back on the Metformin is that I now have some bad news. I was very suspicious of a reading of 2. something because I felt fine, plus a piece of chocolate didn't make it budge it was still dropping. Just as well I'd bought the new cartridge for the Accucheck Mobile because it showed 10.2.

Lessons learned? Don't rely on the FreeStyle Libre alone, check at least daily (which I had been doing, I got complacent) and being suspicious of anything that looks like good news.

I have no idea what caused the discrepancy or when it started which is especially disappointing because it had been looking good since I started the sensor and can only verify the first couple of days. Will start another one today.
 
I concur with your advice. The Libre has to be verified since the sensors may differ. This morning the Libre read 7.9 and the finger prick 6.7. The current sensor has been giving high readings throughout. The analogy is as if you use a completely new meter every two weeks and expect it to behave identically to your old one.
 
I've only used one Libre sensor and it was frequently 3 units out either way so only trust them for trends.
Great news on your appointment yesterday though and finding a decent nurse.
 
Good lesson learned.

I do a lot of comparison tests and work out the average difference, then mentally adjust my Libre readings.

I then finger prick at least twice a day, one when readings should be low and one when they should be high, and look to see if the readings are still differing by a similar average. I also finger prick first then wait 10 to 15 minutes before scanning to get a more accurate comparison.

Compression on the sensor (such as lying on it) can send it haywire sometimes.

As a PS. The Accu Chek Mobile cassettes expire 90 days after the seal on the cassette is broken and the cassette inserted in the meter.
 
Started a new sensor this morning which matched exactly what my other meter was saying so I'll trust it for today. I will try and remember to do again before this evening.

Bluetit1802 said:
As a PS. The Accu Chek Mobile cassettes expire 90 days after the seal on the cassette is broken and the cassette inserted in the meter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I think part of my problem is that time is flying by and I'm getting confused about all sorts of things. I'm 65 in June so I'm hoping this "old age thing" doesn't get any worse. LOL My dad is 90 and I think he may have more marbles than me.
 

You are a mere spring chicken compared with some on the forum, including me. But I do understand, and stress doesn't help.
 
satindoll said:
I have plenty of "Senior Moments" don't fret over them though........
Click to expand...

Thank you, at least I have something to blame it on. I thought it was worth mentioning my reliance on the FS Libre and how I really should have been checking especially as I have read comments elsewhere where people haven't used a good old fashioned monitor since getting the Libre. It's very easy to become reliant on new technology especially went it is such a breeze to use.

I may have been lucky in that my earlier excitement about my BG stabilizing is not ill founded, just not worth cutting the Metformin yet and I'm OK with that. I'm trying not to progress to other medication or anything that may have any effect on my trying to lose weight. Cutting out what I'm already taking is another challenged and I can only really manage one thing at a time.
 
I think it has been mentioned elsewhere on the forum so apologise for repeating this:

The DVLA/police only accept a finger prick check for anyone treating diabetes with insulin.

This means that every time you drive you have to prick your finger ... and have a reading above 5 mmol/l.
Although the chance of being stopped and asked to prove this is small, if you have an accident and are unable to prove this you are driving illegally.
 
I'm starting to think I'm also an idiot.But I've realized I'm actually very intelligent it's just that I do stupid things ,not good when it comes to diabetes.
 
Thyroiddiabetic said:
I've realized I'm actually very intelligent it's just that I do stupid things
Click to expand...
I think I should also take a more positive view to my actions. It's quite probable, judging by what my new sensor is doing and the checks I'm making, the old sensor had only started to go wrong in the previous 8 hours. In my case, not so serious.
 
I almost did something stupid once

Out of interest do you know what tolerances the FreeStyle Libre works within? Most usual meters work to + - 20% so a 10.2mmol/L level could read anywhere between 8.1 to 12.2.

A reading of 2.0 however is totally unacceptable, is it possible that the sensor could somehow malfunction? It sounds very strange that it could or should read so far off the mark.
 
I don't know the answer to your question about tolerance (though I would like to), but I do know that compressing the sensor, e.g. By lying on it, can cause false low readings.

I don't know if there's anything that can cause transient highs.... kind of hoping so, because when I scanned as I was leaving church this morning, I got 8.9 and a big fat up arrow. Less than 10 minutes later it was reading 7.7, and a few minutes after that, 7.0.

I can sort of believe it, because one of the two exceptions to my no-sugar rule is communion wine, which, being non-alcoholic, has about a ton of sugar per sip to preserve it.
 
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