12/14 Fluffy AMPS 272, +5.5 150 +10 123 +11 171 PMPS 178, +1 148

Kayleegoose

Kayleegoose

Member Since 2025
Extremely stressful day today with what seems like a faulty Libre. Tried a new one yesterday because the one I was using started to show errors a lot. The new one immediately did the same thing. Would just say “sensor error” probably every 10 minutes. I’ve heard they can be unreliable the first 24 hours so I waited it out, but I was 20 minutes from home earlier when it showed him drop to around 50 from 117 and then disconnected. Much panicked crying later and driving as fast as safely possible, I got home and gave him some food immediately because I was terrified. Tested him while he was eating that and the ReliOn had him at 123. So I’m guessing he didn’t really get that low but I guess I don’t know.

Anyways I put a new libre on again today after all of that. One from the batch I picked up after the recall (the other two I picked up before the recall. The serial numbers said they weren’t affected but I’m suspicious). Hopefully this one doesn’t try to give me a heart attack.
 

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Oof, that sounds really hard, I'm so sorry! I had a lot of problems with frequent sensor errors with my first and second Libres, but I think that was partially due to the surgical glue the vet used, as I've barely had any with my current self-applied one (and in those cases I think it was a case of the device needing to calibrate a bit because of big changes in BG).

There are a few things that can affect readings besides surgical glue, like when hair gets caught under the sensor or starts to grow back enough to "push" at it, and it's true that they are supposed to be unreliable for the first and last days of their two-week period (though I'll admit I didn't have much trouble with my first 24 hours, and I haven't made it to the end of an actual two-week period yet).

One thing to remember is that even if they're not affected by the significant manufacturing problem that caused the recall, Libres do tend to exaggerate low BG numbers in general. Big drops are scary, also, but 50 isn't a dangerous number yet - it's good to try and remain calm and do a blood test if you can to verify, and also look at your cat's behavior. (My cat was very definitely symptomatic when we had our actual hypo crisis, though I know that isn't always the case, so last time I got a Libre alarm when I was out I had my roommate check on him for a bit and sure enough, he seemed fine, ate a treat, and never went into the true danger zone. It was super stressful, but I made the right call by not running home - because I'd started to get to know the device and its quirks.)

It's definitely good to be careful, and make sure you have a hypo kit on hand! But also remember Libre isn't a perfect tool and try not to panic. I know it's hard when it's your precious baby's health at stake, of course.

@Staci & Ivy and @Brianna & Xander have much longer experience with the devices; I'm tagging them in case they have insights to add or in case I've made any errors.
 
Allie & Gen said:
Oof, that sounds really hard, I'm so sorry! I had a lot of problems with frequent sensor errors with my first and second Libres, but I think that was partially due to the surgical glue the vet used, as I've barely had any with my current self-applied one (and in those cases I think it was a case of the device needing to calibrate a bit because of big changes in BG).

There are a few things that can affect readings besides surgical glue, like when hair gets caught under the sensor or starts to grow back enough to "push" at it, and it's true that they are supposed to be unreliable for the first and last days of their two-week period (though I'll admit I didn't have much trouble with my first 24 hours, and I haven't made it to the end of an actual two-week period yet).

One thing to remember is that even if they're not affected by the significant manufacturing problem that caused the recall, Libres do tend to exaggerate low BG numbers in general. Big drops are scary, also, but 50 isn't a dangerous number yet - it's good to try and remain calm and do a blood test if you can to verify, and also look at your cat's behavior. (My cat was very definitely symptomatic when we had our actual hypo crisis, though I know that isn't always the case, so last time I got a Libre alarm when I was out I had my roommate check on him for a bit and sure enough, he seemed fine, ate a treat, and never went into the true danger zone. It was super stressful, but I made the right call by not running home - because I'd started to get to know the device and its quirks.)

It's definitely good to be careful, and make sure you have a hypo kit on hand! But also remember Libre isn't a perfect tool and try not to panic. I know it's hard when it's your precious baby's health at stake, of course.

@Staci & Ivy and @Brianna & Xander have much longer experience with the devices; I'm tagging them in case they have insights to add or in case I've made any errors.
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You’ve given great advice Allie! 🥰
Try not to panic Kaylee. It’s very hard, I understand, as you’re getting used to using the Libre.
I don’t really find the sensors to be wonky at the beginning or the end, but that’s me.
I’ve been using them for around three years so I’m pretty accustomed to their quirks.
I do see your Libre graph and yes, that is a drop but if you look at it, he dropped over several hours to hit that low point.
So I do think that it was probably accurate. And then he did bounce up from that low point.
I’ve had plenty of tests that I’ve done with ear pricks and tested on a glucometer and a Libre reading of 50 was between 100 and 150 on a glucometer.
Other people have reported that a reading a 50 is around 60 to 70 or 80 on a handheld meter. So you just have to see where things go as you’re getting used to using a sensor.
And his element mentioned, all of those numbers are actually safe, but just very scary in the beginning to see numbers under 100.

A lot of times when you see sensor error it’s because the glucose is either dropping quickly or rising quickly and the sensor has to recalibrate so it’s sort of does a timeout.
I hope this feedback gives you a little piece of mind. It does take time to get used to using these devices.
🥰
 
Hi Kaylee, was just going to poke my nose in on Fluffy and see how he was going. Looks like he had a bounce break today. I’m sorry the Libre is acting up again.
 
Staci & Ivy said:
You’ve given great advice Allie! 🥰
Try not to panic Kaylee. It’s very hard, I understand, as you’re getting used to using the Libre.
I don’t really find the sensors to be wonky at the beginning or the end, but that’s me.
I’ve been using them for around three years so I’m pretty accustomed to their quirks.
I do see your Libre graph and yes, that is a drop but if you look at it, he dropped over several hours to hit that low point.
So I do think that it was probably accurate. And then he did bounce up from that low point.
I’ve had plenty of tests that I’ve done with ear pricks and tested on a glucometer and a Libre reading of 50 was between 100 and 150 on a glucometer.
Other people have reported that a reading a 50 is around 60 to 70 or 80 on a handheld meter. So you just have to see where things go as you’re getting used to using a sensor.
And his element mentioned, all of those numbers are actually safe, but just very scary in the beginning to see numbers under 100.

A lot of times when you see sensor error it’s because the glucose is either dropping quickly or rising quickly and the sensor has to recalibrate so it’s sort of does a timeout.
I hope this feedback gives you a little piece of mind. It does take time to get used to using these devices.
🥰
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Thank you, this is helpful and partly makes me more nervous that he really could’ve gone from 100+ down to 50 and back up within 20 minutes. Especially later in the cycle. Makes me afraid that it could happen while I’m sleeping or something, or when I think we have a surf going ☹️
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Hi Kaylee, was just going to poke my nose in on Fluffy and see how he was going. Looks like he had a bounce break today. I’m sorry the Libre is acting up again.
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Thanks for checking in. He’s going lower at +1 again so feeling nervous for tonight. Especially without much experience in numbers this low
 
Great job keeping notes in the remarks on the feeding, the MC at +10 looks to have given him a bit of a bump in BG to preshot, which can then wear off over the course of a few hours. How about catching a +2, and we can see if he’s having a more active cycle this evening.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Great job keeping notes in the remarks on the feeding, the MC at +10 looks to have given him a bit of a bump in BG to preshot, which can then wear off over the course of a few hours. How about catching a +2, and we can see if he’s having a more active cycle this evening.
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142 at +2. I did give him his half can of FF early when I saw the numbers going down though. Not sure if that was the right move but hopefully we can keep things steady.
 
That’s ok, Fluffy looks pretty flat since +1. The PMPS was possibly influenced by the MC, so a bit artificially inflated. Those carbs are gone now, so the fact that he’s flat since +1 with some LC so far looks good. You can feed somewhere in the 1/4 can range of the LC now and then see how he’s doing at +3 or +4.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
That’s ok, Fluffy looks pretty flat since +1. The PMPS was possibly influenced by the MC, so a bit artificially inflated. Those carbs are gone now, so the fact that he’s flat since +1 with some LC so far looks good. You can feed somewhere in the 1/4 can range of the LC now and then see how he’s doing at +3 or +4.
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His libre is showing 140 at +3 and this new one has been pretty accurate. I’ll save him a poke and do a ReliOn check at +4 or if I see it dip more
 
Kayleegoose said:
Thank you, this is helpful and partly makes me more nervous that he really could’ve gone from 100+ down to 50 and back up within 20 minutes. Especially later in the cycle. Makes me afraid that it could happen while I’m sleeping or something, or when I think we have a surf going ☹️
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I'm having the same problem. Except today the Libre was reading her higher that the meter. 🤷‍♀️
 
Monster's Mom said:
I'm having the same problem. Except today the Libre was reading her higher that the meter. 🤷‍♀️
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I had that problem on Friday. Which I think is why I extra panicked when it said was low earlier. Because I thought if it was telling me it was low, it might’ve been way lower in reality. Ugh!
 

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don't forget with the sudden drops that it can be them laying on it or squeezing the sensor too. Happens with Indy all the time (and my husband...when he uses a cgm)
 
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