Genetic Low Blood Glucose? Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Nutrition
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Hi all,

Over the weekend I received a CGM (more precisely a flash glucose monitor) from LibreLink). For context, the FGMs do not require calibration and are calibrated at the supplier so what I am about to discuss is not user error… trust me, that’s the first thing I checked :sunglasses:

I am not diabetic, nor do I have health issues, but I wanted to jump on the Supersapiens/January AI train to see how my body is managing energy and glucose throughout the day. The preliminary data is rather interesting, my typical glucose levels hover between 60 and 65 and have been in the high 50s upon waking. There was even a short period around 12 AM last night it dipped below 50 . One hour after eating it will hit between 85 and 100 and then return to baseline.
I feel perfectly normal. No shakiness, fatigue, headaches, nothing. I feel like I always do. I seem to recall a few times where I have taken a general preventative blood panel and the fasted glucose level was ~60 mg/dL and my doctor has never said anything about it. To be honest, I never paid much attention to the raw glucose values until getting started with this thing, just figured I was normal, but the monitor shows me out of range almost all the time.

Understanding that these monitors were originally designed for diabetics and have only recently been seen hitting the “mainstream” / fitness world, I tried to do a little Dr. Googling so that I knew what I was looking at. Bad idea, as 90 percent of the resources say that I need immediate intervention :joy: a few resources did quote non-diabetics being below 70 when fasted, but that seemed to be the exception and not the rule. It is tough to tell when you just don’t fit into population averages because the population is, on balance, pretty unhealthy, or if you’re just a freak lol.

I was going to collect a few more days of data before inquiring with my doctor (just in case the healing around the monitor needle is skewing the localized values), but I was curious as to whether anyone else out there has seen any values like this.

For reference (not signaling)
I am a plant-based athlete (for 11 years)
I have no allergies or food sensitivities
I train an average of 6 days per week between 600 and 750 TSS
I am 5’6" and between 118-120 lbs
I have no familial or personal history of chronic or heart disease

Any other weirdos out there? Or do I need to summon my inner Wilford Brimley?

Typical disclaimers apply right? I am not here seeking medical advice (nor do I really have serious concerns)

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Thread already exists

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That’s not what my thread is about.

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Hi Sarah,

My wife is T1D and has basically sworn off using CGM’s because they are habitually “off” vs finger-prick testing. CGM’s are great at spotting trends (i.e. BG falling or rising quickly), but don’t put too much faith in the actual numbers. For example, at 50mg/dL as measured by finger-prick, my wife would be slurring her speech, her lips would be numb and she’d be sweating a lot. Is that how you felt?

FWIW, my (M47, 10h/w cyclist) fasting BG is also in the 60’s. It’s just normal for me (us). Nothing to be worried about. …unless you’re like me and you get hangry when you’re low. Those snicker’s commercial is true (but I’d rather have fruit than a candy bar).

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Hello Sarah,

I’ve been following the CGM space for a while now and have been really impressed with Levels Health. They target overall health and addressing metabolic dysfunction in the general public (vs. only athletes like Supersapiens).

Levels also publishes great content on their blog. Here’s an article related your question. It summarizes a bunch of studies, all with links to the original research so you can decide how far down the rabbit hole :hole::rabbit2: you want to go!

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As a type two diabetic I’ve used the libre and found it to be wildly innaccurate compared to a finger prick.
If you have any concerns but your health of course seeing a doctor is the way to go but I can tell you from experience that these CGM‘s which measure interstitial fluid we’re not all that they’re claimed to be in terms of accuracy.

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As a Type 1, currently wearing a Libre, I wouldn’t self diagnose from the reading of this alone, I’ve had sensors that are spot on accurate, and just as many that read hight and low, they are great for telling which direction you sugars are going, but I wouldn’t put any money on my sugar level being what it says