I checked Ethan after he was in bed, about 11 and he was 97. That was a little low for my liking so early in the night so I set my alarm to check him at 2am to see where he was at. His meter said LO, which is BG less than 10. He stired when I went to check him so I gave him some juice and he drank that without a problem. 10 mins later he was 132. He couldnt have possibly come up that fast could he? I know getting a fluke high reading could be possible but is it possible to get a fluke lo reading?
Yeah, I had a false LO once (when I was using the Bayer Contour meter, if that's of any relevance). I have also had genuine LOs, and I generally prefer to treat before rechecking in that situation because it's safer to do that and end up correcting down a high than it is to wait for any longer than necessary to treat a BG that low. The only thing I would say is that personally I would not be treating an LO with a juice box - I'd be using glucose gel or tabs if I was able to chew. Or even regular soda. I just don't find that juice is fast enough acting to treat lows below 40 or very rapidly dropping numbers. YDMV, though.
But in truth, who is going to see a "Lo" on the meter in the middle of the night and then take the time to retest? No one. I might check the meter agains some control solution - the strips really - but as far as ever knowing for sure? You won't. It's just one of those things :cwds:
If you don't get enough blood on the strip or it is just a bad strip for some reason, you can get a false low. The meters that don't give you enough time to get the blood on the strip are apt to do this. We used to see this before changing to Freestyle.
IF the meter was correct - then it could have easily have been a rebound blood sugar because those can go up that quickly. Not that this matters, but it is a probable explanation if the blood sugar was truly that low. Usually, the few Lo's that we have had - I treat, and while she is drinking, I retest. And honestly, I test every couple of minutes. I would be likely to believe a false reading before believing a rebound, but there is really no way of knowing. And for us, if there is not enough blood on the strip, we get an error, not a false reading. I think I would complain to the meter company because that is potentially hazardous.
I think you did the right thing...With a LO I would give some juice then re-check. I would rather have him a little higher then keep dropping while I re-test kwim?
The only time we've ever had a false low reading is when his finger has been wet and it diluted the blood. Since that probably wasn't the case for you, I'd be inclined to believe the reading. And I'm another who would not take the time to recheck a LO. You did just fine.
Thanks for the responses! That was an adrenaline rush for sure, so scary! I just checked him at 9:30 tonight and he's at a 94, think I'll be treating that one sooner than later
