Hi, just found out through my new CGM that I'm getting night hypos. I only take Metformin and alogliptin so was shocked. What can I do about this until I can get in to see my medical team?
Night hypos
- Thread starter SlOUX
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- Type of diabetes
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Sorry that you have experienced this scare.
Are you sure that you are having hypos or is it possible that they are compression lows? These are caused by pressure being applied to the sensor which blocks access of interstitial fluid to the filament. They are possible with ALL CGMS (there is no point demonising Libre). When this happens, the sensors reports a false low reading. This is most likely at night if you lie on your arm.
They are usually quite easy to spot on your CGM graphs because there is a sudden dip followed by a rise to your previous BG as you turn over off your sensor.
As you mention that you were not previously aware of these, this seems most likely - if they were "real" hypos, you would feel bad when you wake (like a hangover without the memory of fun the night before) even if you slept through the hypo.
The other thing to remember about hypos is that for someone not on insulin. it is only considered to be a hypo if your BG is lower than 3.5, not 4. And people without diabetes can experience lower BG.
CGMs are amazing technology but, like all technology, they have limitations. Sadly, HCP and CGM manufacturers rarely tell us about these limitations like compression lows and we are left to find out ourselves.
If you do not understand these limitations, you will find your CGM very frustrating and potentially unnecessarily scary. These are mentioned in multiple threads scattered through this forum. The "other" forum has summarised them into one thread here.
Are you sure that you are having hypos or is it possible that they are compression lows? These are caused by pressure being applied to the sensor which blocks access of interstitial fluid to the filament. They are possible with ALL CGMS (there is no point demonising Libre). When this happens, the sensors reports a false low reading. This is most likely at night if you lie on your arm.
They are usually quite easy to spot on your CGM graphs because there is a sudden dip followed by a rise to your previous BG as you turn over off your sensor.
As you mention that you were not previously aware of these, this seems most likely - if they were "real" hypos, you would feel bad when you wake (like a hangover without the memory of fun the night before) even if you slept through the hypo.
The other thing to remember about hypos is that for someone not on insulin. it is only considered to be a hypo if your BG is lower than 3.5, not 4. And people without diabetes can experience lower BG.
CGMs are amazing technology but, like all technology, they have limitations. Sadly, HCP and CGM manufacturers rarely tell us about these limitations like compression lows and we are left to find out ourselves.
If you do not understand these limitations, you will find your CGM very frustrating and potentially unnecessarily scary. These are mentioned in multiple threads scattered through this forum. The "other" forum has summarised them into one thread here.
- Messages
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- Type of diabetes
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