Moochie 242 AMPS 239 +1, 146 +2, 84 +3 Libre Low Alarm

NyCatMom

NyCatMom

Member
Hi , I am at work today but left my Phone at home so I could remote monitor him through my work phone. Apparently the low glucose alarm sounded and a family member at home was afraid he was going to low so they gave him a couple of teaspoons of 14 carb cat food. I'm waiting to see the impact on the librelinkup app.

Update. After snack , he dropped to 60. I told them to give a but of karo syrup.

A couple of questions. Do people generally turn off the first libre alarm ( under 100) and just leave the critical alarm on? Was my family's treatment the correct way a big drop?
 
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NyCatMom said:
A couple of questions. Do people generally turn off the first libre alarm ( under 100) and just leave the critical alarm on? Was my family's treatment the correct way a big drop?
Click to expand...
I'm going to tag @Staci & Ivy to help with your Libre questions.

Any chance you can verify the Libre lows with a ear poke? The Libre reads much lower than a meter in normal numbers - although I'm not sure if the difference isn't as much in the newer versions of the Libre.

NyCatMom said:
Update. After snack , he dropped to 60. I told them to give a but of karo syrup.
Click to expand...
Food takes 20 mins to affect numbers. How long after the snack did he drop to 60?
 
Probably 10 mins. They said the arrow was down. That's when I suggested a drop of karo. The family member at home is quite elderly, otherwise ID suggest a test. I know it would take them an hour to do it. I have a home security camera to keep an eye on both of tgem. Neither seems to be in distress.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
I'm going to tag @Staci & Ivy to help with your Libre questions.

Any chance you can verify the Libre lows with a ear poke? The Libre reads much lower than a meter in normal numbers - although I'm not sure if the difference isn't as much in the newer versions of the Libre.


Food takes 20 mins to affect numbers. How long after the snack did he drop to 60?
Click to expand...
Its now 81, 30 minutes out from when I posted and he got a snack. Librelink seems to have a slight lag. I work an hour from home, so I think I'll call the retired nurse down the street to visit home if he starts dipping again. He doesn't look distressed on camera.
 
+5 = 102. So, not a giant bump up from the snack and Karo. I'll post closer to our evening dose time for some dosing advice. I'm wondering if 2.25 units was a bit too much but want to see how the trend plays out today.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
I'm going to tag @Staci & Ivy to help with your Libre questions.

Any chance you can verify the Libre lows with a ear poke? The Libre reads much lower than a meter in normal numbers - although I'm not sure if the difference isn't as much in the newer versions of the Libre.


Food takes 20 mins to affect numbers. How long after the snack did he drop to 60?
Click to expand...
Hello, I’m responding per Bhooma’s request.

I’ve been using a Libre 3 on Ivy for about a year and a half and I’m pretty comfortable using it. I also test with a handheld meter when she hits LO readings, most especially.
As mentioned previously there can be a discrepancy between when you see LO readings and what the hand held glucometer reads.
I use a contour next, but it could be any handheld human (or pet) meter.

I install them myself and I keep several on hand because as you may have noticed, they can fail or be pulled off at any time and I don’t want to have to wait to have someone else put it on and be without data or have to take Ivy somewhere for that to be done. It’s one more stressor.

It’s truly not that hard to put on. You just have to follow the directions very carefully. Once you’ve done it one or two times you will be very comfortable doing it.
I keep a “tube top” on Ivy, (previously had a T-shirt on her. She just didn’t like the T-shirt). But most cats tolerate them quite well.
Your kitty may get used to wearing a Libre (and then you maybe wouldn’t have to use a T-shirt, but then again you might always have to keep one on if he likes to pull the Libre off, which is counterproductive of course.)

I began using a Libre 3 about a year and a half ago. (I bought her her own phone that stays with her at home and I can monitor her 24/7, the data is sent directly to my own phone through the Libre Linkup App).
I bought a compatible, older model phone used, on eBay, no service is needed.

***I strongly recommend learning about how to use a Libre from the Facebook group Freestyle Libre for Dogs and Cats.***
They have so much valuable information, guide guides, tutorials videos, and everything you will need to learn about using a Libre sensor.
Plus a vet office tends to use glue to install them and it is highly recommended not to use any glue.
The glue can kill the sensor and it’s terrible on their fragile skin.

I hope this helps. Please ask questions if you have them.

** as for your questions, it’s up to you which alarms you would like to leave on or off. In the beginning, I would probably leave the number set at 100 just to give you a heads up that they may be beginning a drop.
I tend to leave the one set at 60 I believe and that lets me know it’s time to pay attention and she’s probably on a drop trend. That’s the one that wakes me up if I’m sleeping and it will get me out of bed and I go and grab carbs and get everything ready to deal with something upcoming.

I do find that if I use some medium carbs (12.5%) with Ivy within a few minutes, I can see a bump in her number on the Libre pretty quickly. But as you know, every cat is different and will react differently to carbs. Some cats react to 2% or 3%, etc

Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Staci & Ivy said:
Hello, I’m responding per Bhooma’s request.

I’ve been using a Libre 3 on Ivy for about a year and a half and I’m pretty comfortable using it. I also test with a handheld meter when she hits LO readings, most especially.
As mentioned previously there can be a discrepancy between when you see LO readings and what the hand held glucometer reads.
I use a contour next, but it could be any handheld human (or pet) meter.

I install them myself and I keep several on hand because as you may have noticed, they can fail or be pulled off at any time and I don’t want to have to wait to have someone else put it on and be without data or have to take Ivy somewhere for that to be done. It’s one more stressor.

It’s truly not that hard to put on. You just have to follow the directions very carefully. Once you’ve done it one or two times you will be very comfortable doing it.
I keep a “tube top” on Ivy, (previously had a T-shirt on her. She just didn’t like the T-shirt). But most cats tolerate them quite well.
Your kitty may get used to wearing a Libre (and then you maybe wouldn’t have to use a T-shirt, but then again you might always have to keep one on if he likes to pull the Libre off, which is counterproductive of course.)

I began using a Libre 3 about a year and a half ago. (I bought her her own phone that stays with her at home and I can monitor her 24/7, the data is sent directly to my own phone through the Libre Linkup App).
I bought a compatible, older model phone used, on eBay, no service is needed.

***I strongly recommend learning about how to use a Libre from the Facebook group Freestyle Libre for Dogs and Cats.***
They have so much valuable information, guide guides, tutorials videos, and everything you will need to learn about using a Libre sensor.
Plus a vet office tends to use glue to install them and it is highly recommended not to use any glue.
The glue can kill the sensor and it’s terrible on their fragile skin.

I hope this helps. Please ask questions if you have them.

** as for your questions, it’s up to you which alarms you would like to leave on or off. In the beginning, I would probably leave the number set at 100 just to give you a heads up that they may be beginning a drop.
I tend to leave the one set at 60 I believe and that lets me know it’s time to pay attention and she’s probably on a drop trend. That’s the one that wakes me up if I’m sleeping and it will get me out of bed and I go and grab carbs and get everything ready to deal with something upcoming.

I do find that if I use some medium carbs (12.5%) with Ivy within a few minutes, I can see a bump in her number on the Libre pretty quickly. But as you know, every cat is different and will react differently to carbs. Some cats react to 2% or 3%, etc

Let me know if you have any questions.
Click to expand...

Hello Staci. Thank you for sharing your libre experience. It's very helpful. We had a libre 3 put on at the vet that fell off within a couple of days, but a diabetic friend came over with one of his old libre 2 sensors and showed me how to apply it to Moochie. It was pretty easy and has stayed on for 13 days with some skin tac wipe we applied beforehand. Moochie completely ignores it. I was lucky he had extras at home since he moved to the newer libre 3 and donated his libre 2s to me. I use librelinkup to monitor remotely and libreview to download 24 hr numbers to update my spreadsheet.
I do have two questions for you? Have you found the libre to be accurate at low readings? I started this thread today when the sensor alarm went off while I am at work which means I couldn't confirm with a handheld. An elderly relative was at home but has mobility issues so getting reading wasnt going to happen. And do you shave a new area each time you put a sensor on? Our sensor ends tomorrow and I'm not sure if i need to shave his other side. The vet tech cut a huge swatch when they put the libre on which is funny since the libre 3 is so small. Thanks!
 
NyCatMom said:
Hello Staci. Thank you for sharing your libre experience. It's very helpful. We had a libre 3 put on at the vet that fell off within a couple of days, but a diabetic friend came over with one of his old libre 2 sensors and showed me how to apply it to Moochie. It was pretty easy and has stayed on for 13 days with some skin tac wipe we applied beforehand. Moochie completely ignores it. I was lucky he had extras at home since he moved to the newer libre 3 and donated his libre 2s to me. I use librelinkup to monitor remotely and libreview to download 24 hr numbers to update my spreadsheet.
I do have two questions for you? Have you found the libre to be accurate at low readings? I started this thread today when the sensor alarm went off while I am at work which means I couldn't confirm with a handheld. An elderly relative was at home but has mobility issues so getting reading wasnt going to happen. And do you shave a new area each time you put a sensor on? Our sensor ends tomorrow and I'm not sure if i need to shave his other side. The vet tech cut a huge swatch when they put the libre on which is funny since the libre 3 is so small. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hi. I’m so glad that he does not mess around with the Libre. That’s great for you If you don’t have to cover it fine but if you do just get a little T-shirt, I was buying like a 12 month size baby too, but Ivy is 15 pounds.

And yes, I understand why you would want to use the Libre 2 since they were free to you. The reason I moved to a Libre three is because I wanted to monitor Ivy remotely on my phone and didn’t wanna have to physically scan her all the time To get a reading.
With the Libre three it monitors constantly and sends the data to your phone with no physical scanning necessary.
Definitely take a look at the Facebook page. I mentioned it will give you tons of information about how to use a libre on a cat.

Yes, I do shave the spot each time because you won’t believe how quickly the hair grows back and it pushes the Libre out so I always alternate from one side to the other with each new Libre and you are correct. You don’t need a large spot. And it is good that you used the skin tack first. It’s not actually an adhesive. It just is a moisture barrier Which protects the skin.
What I have found and read a great deal about is it the vet’s office is really don’t know too much about using a Libre and they put them on incorrectly and use glue many times which just kills the sensors.

also, the Libre does tend to read lower than a handheld device will read.
I understand the person at home with your cat is not able to test with an ear poke.
As you use the libre, you will get a better feel for how the Libre Reads versus an ear poke.
I do find the Lo’s are usually higher on a handheld device when I test with a blood drop.
But it depends how much higher is always the variable depending on how low the dose is taking your cat. That’s why you need to be careful when they get into those low range numbers and test if possible with a blood test. :)
 
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