Morning Levels

[Pearsall85]

Hey all I'm struggling a bit with my morning levels, Im only 3 months into my insulin so it's still early days but I don't seem to wake up with anything below 8. I've just up my lantus which I take around 10pm to 14 units. Before I was diagnosed I always used to have something to eat before bed to help with my weight training, I'm currently having either cottage cheese, Greek yogurt or a protein shake made with milk around 9pm. Could this be where I'm going wrong?

Stu.

 

[Spearmint]

Have you tried testing overnight to see what happens to your levels?

 

[Snodger]

That's a big increase in Lantus, did it make a difference?

There will be some carbs in the milk-based products, and quite a lot in a protein shake made with milk. Milk's surprisingly carby. So yes, that could be the problem and you could try a couple of nights of not doing the shake etc and see if your theory is right.

The other thing is, you could be prone to 'dawn phenomenon' - perhaps you already know about this so forgive me if you do, but just in case you don't: -
lots of people find that their blood glucose starts to shoot up from about 3am onwards, partly as a result of stored sugars being dumped into your system to get you ready for the day (yeah, thanks for that, body!). Some people are also a bit more insulin resistant at that time too I believe.
As Spearmint says, the best thing to do, if you can be bothered to, is test yourself at say 10pm, 1am, 3am and 6am to see what's happening overnight. Or even just 10pm and 3am.

 

[Pearsall85]

I forgot to say I was on 12 units before then went to 14. I've never tested in the middle of the night so ill set an alarm tonight and have a look. With my meals before bed I've counted them to be no more than about 18carbs but maybe that is a bit too high for me?

 

[Snodger]

I'd definitely have to take quick acting insulin to cover 18g of carbs, so I bet that's contributing to your morning high. What sort of dose are you normally on, do you work out your insulin on the ratio system or do you use some other way? Or did they just tell you to give fixed doses?

 

[Pearsall85]

I was started off on 4 units but now I've started to eat more and try to put some weight back on I've started upping my dose depending on the size of the meal. I'm pretty good at carb counting and knowing what my macro breakdowns are for each meal because of my weight training. At the moment i have found 4 units will cover 60 - 70 carbs, 5 units 70 - 80, 6 units 80 - 90 and so on.

Stu

 

[angieG]

Have you tried changing the time you take the lantus in the evening?
I started with mine at about 11 pm but was getting fairly high morning readings. I moved it to about 9pm and now they are low (sometimes too low) and I've knocked it down from 6 to 5 units. It is okay during the day on this.
It may be worth trying a different time.
HTH
Angie

 

[Pearsall85]

Not yet, Im currently taking it around 10pm, still waking up at around 9 whether I have eaten before bed or not. Ill try switching it to 9pm and see if anything changes.

Stu.

 

[Pearsall85]

Hey all had a very weird reading last night, before my last little meal of the day my levels were around 5.0. I had 150g of cottage cheese and a pepperami stick which I worked out to be no more than 8 carbs yet just before bed 2 hours later my levels were 16! I woke up this morning with a level of 10, can anyone suggest any reason?

Stu.

 

[cuttsy]

hi, i noticed my morning levels improved dramatically when i started doing more exercise. 3 years ago i started cycling regularly and eating a bit healthier, to get a bit of weight off, and this has really improved my morning readings from 8+, down to 4 or 5. It has also made me hungrier in a morning, so i now have breakfast, which i didn't used to do.