Idiot question

Ccswretired

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Rude/foul-mouthed people
Having recently been diagnosed Type 2. Can anyone explain to me why my BS level is higher first thing in the morning, not having eaten anything since the previous evening (6-7pm). Confused, I thought it would be lower because I have not had any food/carbs. ?
 

Ccswretired

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Rude/foul-mouthed people
Thank you so much to the person who replied to my "idiot Question". Understand. Will take advice as on link. Thank u. x
 

Mike d

Expert
Messages
7,997
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
idiots who will not learn
Just as importantly, what are your morning readings?
 

Daks

Well-Known Member
Messages
407
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Having recently been diagnosed Type 2. Can anyone explain to me why my BS level is higher first thing in the morning, not having eaten anything since the previous evening (6-7pm). Confused, I thought it would be lower because I have not had any food/carbs. ?

No one will judge you for asking diabetes related questions, no matter how rudimentary, sometimes it's easier to ask rather than spending hours going through terabytes of indexed data.

Daks
 
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daddys1

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,353
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Having recently been diagnosed Type 2. Can anyone explain to me why my BS level is higher first thing in the morning, not having eaten anything since the previous evening (6-7pm). Confused, I thought it would be lower because I have not had any food/carbs. ?
Hi & Welcome to the forum, have you had the long list of information from @daisy1 that we give to all new members.
Neil
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi & Welcome to the forum, have you had the long list of information from @daisy1 that we give to all new members.
Neil

@Ccswretired

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information which Neil referred to above which contains basic advice for new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.



BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 130,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

shelts

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
No such thing as an idiot question if you're asking about your diabetes. Trust me, it's best to ask. I've asked loads. :)

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer"
 

Dillinger

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,207
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Celery.
Your liver releases glucagon (and other hormones) which raise your blood sugar in the morning as part of your normal waking up process.

Alas as diabetics we aren't able to properly respond to that blood sugar bump. This is called the 'Dawn Phenomenon' and it affects people in different ways.

As a Type 1 I can inject insulin to deal with it. Hopefully Type 2's can give you some tips for dealing with it as a Type 2. Probably the best thing to do would be not to have much carbs in your breakfast.

There are no stupid questions only stupid answers.

Best

Dillinger