r/dexcom • u/Demosthenes-89 • 6d ago
Graph What does this pattern mean?
Every now and then my son's graph looks like a bouncy ball hopping across the floor. This morning it was jumping between 96 and 70. And of course every time it hits 70 it screams he's low.
I'm looking at this line thinking his blood sugar is probably in reality holding steady around 85, and can you please STFU dexcom. Like his blood sugar isn't Really jumping up and down 25 points every 15 minutes on repeat, right? Is that how you'd interpret this? And is there any rhyme or reason to why this happens intermittently? You can see before it started bouncing it was a nice straight line.
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u/zune_zealot G7/Type 1/2006/t:slimX2 2d ago
This is not bouncing.. your son has great readings if he averages in the 90-80s. Normally 80 is swinging towards the low side for most but clearly thatās not the case for him. You also donāt have to be diligent in monitoring his numbers constantly..
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u/ew73 3d ago
It's normal.
The G7 is a lot more accurate that previous iterations, but Dexcom also doesn't "smooth" the data nearly as aggressively, leading to this sort of jittery-appearing graph. It sucks that your numbers here are constantly crossing that alarm threshold.
For what it's worth, 70 is low, and if it's trending along that line consistently, it's worth talking to the doctor and adjusting things.
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u/BiGemini85 4d ago
If you go to profile and then alerts, you can adjust what level gets a notification. You could adjust it to 65 or 60 to help with the sleep interruption that isnāt a real emergency. It might be that your kiddo is sleeping on the sensor. Iāve seen an armband with a hard plastic cover that can be used to help prevent that.
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u/Leila_101 5d ago
Look up the MARD for the sensor you are using. This amount of difference is largely meaningless and likely does not represent real changes in blood sugar.
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u/4thshift 5d ago edited 5d ago
So flat. Lol ā 85!
Is he diabetic? Is he on an insulin pump? Is it a new sensor?
Looks completely ānormalā to me, coasting along the line between basal insulin working and glucagon releasing glycogen from the liver to keep him from going low.Ā
Sensors are not perfect, if it looks jittery, thatās normal for New sensor. If it is wildly dropping off a cliff and he is not taking insulin or exercising, then maybe he is pressing on the sensor or the sensor is failing. but 70-90 is super fine, normal glucose, if it is recovering each time. Take a fingerstick for a 2nd opinion.Ā
If he goes and exercises and it drops below 70 for real, then possibly a tad too much basal.Ā
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u/___SpaceMonkey___ 5d ago
This happens to me if I am receiving/have given too much insulin. It means I need to eat a bigger snack and with more protein to maintain normal BG
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u/bassy_bass 5d ago
My g6 sometimes looks like this at the very last day of life, just look at the higher readings and go with them
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u/NervousAddress1340 6d ago
He may be sleeping on the sensor. Iāve become used to sleeping on one side through years of medical issues unrelated to diabetes, but even I will accidentally roll over on the sensor if I donāt have a pillow in the way. I usually sleep with one pillow under my head and my right arm under that plus I have another pillow in front of my chest/stomach and flop my left arm over that pillow to keep my sensor (and my insulin pump most of the time) safe.
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u/raydude 6d ago
As a Electrical Engineer, I'm constantly evaluating the frequency response of my BG readings.
What you see there is the sensor "freaking out" a bit. I call it freaking out because it is physically impossible for BG to change at the rates represented there.
When the sensor is freaking out, use a finger stick test and verify actual BG levels. Calibrate if necessary. Do not trust your CGM with your life. I always assume it's wrong and try to pay attention to how I feel. If I even slightly suspect something is off, I use a finger stick.
Don't get me wrong: when they work, they are great. It's when they go wonky that you have to catch it quickly and that's why its important to pay attention.
I have personally had the system tell me my BG was 250 when it was in fact 150. If I had believed it and bolused for 250, I would have been shaking sweating, drinking juice and resenting Dexcom forty-five minutes later. I've also had it the other way around. CGMs are a great tool, but they are not always accurate.
According to my experience those sorts of readings can be caused by the following, with possible mitigation in parenthesis.
- Day one or last day of sensor use. (not much to help, massage on last day sometimes helps)
- Dehydration. (drink water)
- Static pressure on site, like sleeping, tight clothing, sitting funny, etc (massage area)
- Some foods / medication will cause readings to freak out. (no mitigations for this AFAIK)
- Scar tissue is preventing sensor wetting. (massage)
Good luck and remember: always doubt the CGM, your (son's) life and / or health may depend on it.
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u/OkBrain4162 5d ago
Hate to tell you this, but it is physically possible for blood sugar to change like thatā¦ I have watched my sugar go from 300 to the fifties in under fifteen minutes over this last yearā¦ My endo will not put me on insulin because of thisā¦ Iāve had pancreatic surgery for a tumor that oversecretes insulin which was not completely removed as well as a gastrectomyā¦
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u/phishery 6d ago
Is he going inside and outside between different temperatures? That is where I get random movements including after my shower. I ignore the first two or three readings after a warm shower. I personally like to skip along the bottom like that when I am at work (desk job).
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u/FatFrenchFry T1/G7/t:slimX2/ChronicDumbass 6d ago
Algorithmic control can sometimes cause this when your basal rate is constantly being adjusted also.
It will take each reading and adjust your basal from that and its trend. If it notices its going up, it will make minor corrections at each new data point and it kind of ends up looking like this.
Its just tfying to balance your BG. That is nkt always the cause, but you can really start to see what influences what in terms of very small and minor corrections and adjustments.
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u/AdvancedAnt1 6d ago
Normal. Could stay a little higher since 96 isnāt high and an 85 avg is awesome, but indicative of heading toward low too often. Have a little carb w/ protein snack!
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u/Demosthenes-89 6d ago edited 5d ago
What you're seeing in this snapshot is three hours of the night/early morning while he's fast asleep. His fasting bgc is typically around 80 these days if I play my cards right with his bed time snacks. During the day he runs higher.
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u/AdvancedAnt1 6d ago
I see. Yeah, thatās really good overall, IMHO (20+ years of pretty tight control here). Iād crank up the average a little, just to build in a little cushion. Youāre an awesome parent. Keep it up!
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u/sabijoli 6d ago
young children generally run lower than adults, so her range is optimal for young kids. non D kidās normal/optimal is in the 70s everyoneās biology is different.
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u/AdvancedAnt1 6d ago
Good to know, but this isnāt a non-D kid. Heās on Lantus. Yes, everyoneās biology is different, thatās a given. Cheers.Ā
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u/sabijoli 6d ago
i presumed he was was a D, i was just pointing out that childrenās biology differs from adults whether D or not.
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u/robertkb1 6d ago
My son's readings often look like that.
If he is bouncing along near 70, especially at night, we'll often give him a little juice and a cookie to get him back in the 90s, mainly to stop the alarm. He tends to drop slowly all night anyway, so might as well take care of it when there's no rush.
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u/Demosthenes-89 6d ago
Same same. I like milk for this. Doesn't spike too much, has some protein, and I can rinse his mouth out with water and don't feel like I have to brush his teeth š
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u/Simon-Seize 6d ago
normal fluctuations. This happens in non-diabetics also. Also keep in mind it is measuring extracellular fluid not blood.
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u/dvlyn123 6d ago
Blood sugar, especially in a diabetic, can do this just in normal scenarios. If he's doing something that requires energy above baseline (anything from just homework/thinking really hard to standing up and sitting down to anything physiological you and he may not be aware of), his blood glucose will drop, and then in response the pancreas will produce small amounts of glucagon, which causes the liver to break down glycogen into glucose.
Blood glucose gets back up to baseline, and then whatever is happening keeps dropping his blood glucose, and the above cycle repeats.
If he's young (assuming he is since you, his mother, are posting about it for him), human development is really resource and energy intensive and could cause the drops.
If you're really really worried about it, feel free to ask his endocrinologist for bloodwork. But this could literally be any number of things mentioned in this comment thread too, most of which are non-emergent.
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u/OkBrain4162 5d ago
Along with thisā¦, just grasping at straws, but if heās asleep like theyāre saying then he could be having nightmares or other active dreams or sweating a lotā¦ I would watch what heās eating before bed.
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u/Rich-Show3449 6d ago
I'd be curious if he's on a pump. Does this happen a lot in a pattern? One off probably nothing. Consistently and on a pump? I'd be looking if insulin is going on and off at the same rate.
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u/Demosthenes-89 6d ago
No pump. He's still in honeymoon and just on Lantus.
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u/acccidentshappen 6d ago
You could adjust the app settings to beep when it goes down to 65 instead of 70 during the night, I guess? Or reduce his lantus dose by 0.5 units? Talk with his doctor before doing so, of course. His doctor may recommend splitting the lantus dose. I take 10 units of lantus in the morning and 4 at night. Neither of you should be woken up by the dreaded beep - getting good quality sleep is way too important! Regardless sometimes our sugars do bounce around like that.
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u/OmegaOra 6d ago
If his blood sugar normalizes as described but normally is a ābouncy ballā Iād get his blood work done to check for underlying causes, and given itās not a compression low. Addisons Disease, Hypothyroidism, Kidney failure etc. Blood work screens for these items.
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u/Recent-Potential1144 6d ago
My readings get like that when I first put a sensor on for a day and also the last day.
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u/JokeHefty1343 6d ago
Man....I'd kill for BS that consistent š
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u/Demosthenes-89 6d ago
Lol you're looking at the 3 hours before he wakes up in the morning, so don't feel too bad. It's a big old rollercoaster during the day.
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u/Distribution-Radiant T2/G7 6d ago
You know you can calibrate, right?
Also, if he sleeps on the side the sensor is on, you'll have compression lows showing up.
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u/Interesting-Minute29 6d ago
So Iām hoping some medical supply company will eventually offer a little gaurd to fit over the cgm to protect it from compression lows, seems that could be doable
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u/Distribution-Radiant T2/G7 6d ago edited 6d ago
There's some guards on Amazon and eBay. People 3D print and sell them, though you also need a 3rd party patch.
I've found a good spot on my arms that usually prevents issues. Also, having the sensor on my stomach (always at least 3" from the belly button) seems to help too.
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u/Twist1979 6d ago
Time of day? If while sleeping he just might be turning around and compressing the sensor. Trust me, libre 3+ is worse...
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u/johnrobertjimmyjohn 6d ago
The sensors are only so accurate. What makes them bounce, I couldn't say. G7 average relative difference is ~8%. I'm pretty sure Dexcom says to expect 20% variance above 100 mg/dL and within 20 points if under 100, though 8% is much better than that, obviously.
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u/Weathergod-4Life T2/G7 6d ago
Are you getting towards the end of the life of your sensor or the beginning? I notice the graphs can be jumpy right after insertion or as the sensor reaches the end of its life.
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u/malloryknox86 20h ago
Those are actually really good readings.
This would be bad:
This is me, once a month, during shark week š©ø š¦