HSSS
Expert
- Messages
- 7,477
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Can you get a libre (even just one) to see what’s happening with overnight levels? There was a free trial a while ago, not sure if it’s still on or not. It’s about £50 for 2 weeks data otherwise. No prescription required and available via a pharmacy (don’t forget you are entitled to vat free as a diabetic but you might need to check with them they have deducted that).I am starting to see some evidence that the dawn phenomenon is starting to weaken (either that or my "set point) is beginning to come down a little). Whereas I used to start around 11.5 and slowly reduce down to around 10 or high 9s, this is now starting to settle into more of a pattern of starting around 10.5 (or less) and slowly reduce to low 9s (with the occasional high 8s). The app is showing quite clearly as well through the graphs that the dawn phenomenon seems to be the only thing keeping the blood sugars high - no spikes through the day, and a quite linear reduction in bgl throughout the day.
The missing piece here is how far does the bg drop overnight, and at what point does it shoot up again. I guess this will be key to how much the hba1c will ultimately come down by.
There’s also a thing called adaptation glucose sparing aka physiological insulin resistance, that shows up as a morning stubbornness in fasting readings and misleading oral glucose tolerance tests. It’s purely a response to low carb and not pathological or harmful. It goes away within a few days of eating carbs should you ever need that test.