Unexpected Rise in the morning

[gateian]

So I'm a little confused this morning. I awoke with BS of 7.5. Much higher than i'm used to, it's normally between 3 and 5 in the morning. I had my normal breakfast of protein. Eggs, prawns and some nuts and a green smoothie. Took my normal insulin for that of 3 units and an extra 1 to bring my BS down in range.

By the time I got to work I had my usual cup of tea with a splash of milk and took my levels. 6.6. So coming down nicely.

An hour later and i'm up to 8.5! Hmm. That seems so strange. It's a sharp rise that is unexpected. As if I had eaten something. Any ideas?

Things I'm considering to be at fault. I've been reducing my basal dose. It's too high at the moment as I generally see it drop during the night and at times when i'm fasting. I would expect this to affect my levels but not a sharp rise like this. I only reduced my dose by 1 unit.

I haven't done any significant exercise for a week other than walking for about 20 mins a day. Normally I have 2 - 3 sessions of moderate-hard exercise, but I've injured my knee at the moment.

Perhaps I have an infection i'm not aware about, or maybe i'm getting ill. Don't feel particularly bad. Just the usual sluggish Monday morning.

Lastly I could put it down to the 'voodoo' effect. Those times when you just have a high unexpected reading for no logical reason. Although I like to think there is always a valid reason for a change in BS level.

Other things I'm going to try. Changing my injection site. Changing my basal insulin cartridges. Make sure i'm hydrated.

 

[LucySW]

Gum/tooth infection? Possibly. Also, with me, when I stop exercising for a week, it shows on higher baseline BGs.

That's all I can offer. You sound as if you're totally on top of things.

 

[gateian]

Thanks for the response. Actually I've had a few twinges in my gut since posting this. So i'm thinking i've got a mild infection or eaten something slightly dodgy for breakfast. Probably that and combination of lower basal and no exercise. Although I had hoped daily walking would keep me topped up.

 

[noblehead]

Always worth doing some basal checks when your fasting bg levels are higher than usual, just see what result you get tomorrow morning and if it's the same again then do some bg checks on Tuesday night, as you should really make any adjustments to your insulin going off one bg reading.

Just one other thing, you say you normally wake between 3-5, 3 is too low and means your having a hypo which isn't ideal, if you make a habit of running your bg this low you will soon lose your hypo awareness symptoms.........which you don't want to happen. Good luck.

 

[Paul59]

Morning lvls can be affected by what was eaten the night before.
http://www.mendosa.com/The-Fat-of-the-Matter-How-Dietary-Fat-Effects-Blood-Glucose.htm

 

[Wurst]

I had an unexpected high recently and after much investigation , I concluded I had forgotten to inject :-(

 

[gateian]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm now fairly convinced i've just got a mild bug/infection going on. Feel a bit sluggish today and my gut feels a bit bloated. I've adjusted my bolus to increase today's levels by 50% and so far it's holding steady under 6. I'll be monitoring it very closely all day as I always do.

@noblehead I definitely agree 3 is too low. I'm usually about 3.6 - 4.5 mostly, but that's why i'm adjusting my basal dose. If I can get that right first, then I can have more level readings through the night.