Yesterday I had 2 ghost lows in 4 hours! What’s up with that?
The first time I am actually sipping coffee and nibbling a donut because the CGM show me trending down into the 70s. I realize that I am starting to get a little shaky and fingerstick reads 53. So I shove in more carbs and recover to 120.
The second time was after lunch—I think I waited too long to eat— and I only dropped to 61 according to my fingerstick though the CGM read about 20 points higher. I shoved in a few too many extra carbs this time and landed in the 140s (but am not complaining).
I had not had a lot of atypical activity before these events and I am wearing the G6 on my abdomen. I truly feel like the G5 was more reliable even though the G6 may be a bit more accurate overall. Maybe the G7 will improve this??
Thanks for listening: I was a bit wrung out yesterday and needed to regain my balance.
Yes, but correct me if I am wrong, you had to periodically calibrate the G5. Are you doing that for the G6? I try to make sure I check my BG with my meter at least once a day to see just how “in sync” my CGM is.
Usually it’s within the relatively generous margin of error (in my opinion) most people appear to consider “accurate”. But my G6 also generally reads high compared to my meter.
Either way, even though Dexcom may no longer require calibrations, I think it is sensible to check the accuracy of your CGM. The technology is not yet at the place where everyone can just blindly trust it.
Yeah these weird things sometimes happen to me as well. No bolus for hours, low basal rate and still trending low for hours despite throwing an insane amount of carbs against it. Other times no amount of insulin seems to be able to bring down my BG. The intricacies of diabetic life.
For me it seems like every now and again I’ll get a sensor (maybe 1.5/10) that’ll go low on the second day for a couple hours in a row, and then do it again, eventually it starts to work correctly. I agree that the G5 was better.
Yep, I do! And recalibrated yesterday when the CGM was steady for at least 20 minutes. Generally I find that it underestimates spikes and overestimates lows.
Me, too, but I find that easier to deal with in some ways because my fight-or-flight response doesn’t kick on.
My definition of a “ghost low” is when I have a low feeling long before the BG meter or CGM sees it. Sometimes I feel low 30 minutes before a test shows the low.
I keep testing and testing, and it looks normal, but eventually the BG meter sees the low. And then eventually the CGM sees it too.
Since you used the same term, is your definition of a “ghost low” the same?
Yup! CGM says I’m fine but I am starting to feel off (though sometimes I am not paying enough attention) and I check and it looks okay…and then it isn’t. At night, if I wake up with a weird-feeling pulse (husband says it’s a little arrhythmia), I know I am headind down no metter what the CGM says.
