CGMS newby here-what a great device!
Anyway, I’m flatlined at 80 or so right now but have the classic low symptoms-feels like the 40s. Checked the calibration against my BG meter and its spot-on. Any idea what’s going on? In the past I would have figured I was feeling low because of a fast drop.
If you have been in good control, 80 might feel like 40 because you are NOT insulin resistant (not feeling even the 40s). Just do the Rule of 15: have 15 carbs, check in 15 minutes, then repeat if necessary.
If your blood glucose meter agrees with the DexCom then you’re probably right at 80 and flat lined. I’ve found using my DexCom (which I’ve been on for a month and a half) that I’ve become more sensitive to lows do start to feel them around 75 - 80ish. Also, I’ve realized that I don’t feel them as soon as I get there but if I linger there for a while then I do end up feeling low after an hour or two. Finally, I’ll feel low at 100 if I lost control earlier and got above 180 even if I came back down to 100 at a reasonable rate and not a fast drop. The other option is that you’re meter is off and you are falling. I assumed my meter was always more accurate than my Dex until one day when I did a glucose test that read 50 points above my Dex. I calibrated my Dex and then started correcting for the reading but decided to test again because they are never that far apart. Sure enough my second (and 3rd) blood test matched what my Dex had read. I put both of these numbers in to try not to screw up the Dex! So you’re glucose meter isn’t always 100% accurate and it’s best to take both into account. But if they’re both saying 80 then chances are your symptoms are coming from something else!
Margaret, thanks, I’m doing the 15s. Not sure my resistance level.
Rebecca, I think its as you say-one cannot park in the flatline for too long. A new law of physics discovered: DM abhors a flat line.
I admit that I have not been a terrific student of my DM lo these many years. Can anyone recommend a good book or two?
My diabetic pump “bible” is John Walsh’s Pumping Insulin. I urge ANY/ALL diabetics, pumping or NOT to get this book and read it over every year(or more if need be). Not only is he a Physician’s Assistant(PA) and Diabetic Clinical specialist, he has been diabetic for close to 20 years or so.
I have learned and relearned so many great things from reading and applying what I’ve learned from this book.
Best wishes on your success.
I do not trust, completely, the flat line of my CGMS… the measurement of interstitial fluid is always at least 15, maybe 20 - 25 minutes, behind my meter blood glucose. I can generally feel all lows, regardless of what the CGMS says… and my meter confirms anything I feel below 70. I got the CGMS to help spot the highs, and if I calibrate “right”; my MM CGMS is accurate at that., ( within the 20% range , which is + or - the blood glucose)
Maybe you are feeling something else other than a low reaction? I do not feel low at 80 unless it is a rapid drop from a high over 180 or so.
God Bless,
Brunetta