BG levels overnight

Mad76

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Hi all you helpfull people,
This is probably a silly question but

Are blood glucose levels supposed to drop overnight??
I find that whatever my night reading is, by morning it drops a couple of points at least.
Should this be happening or is there an issue with my amount of inulin??

The nurse at my initial gp app seemed to think so and encouraged me to snack before sleep. Which i hate doing. But i do as im petrified of a hypo at night

Thanks in advance !
 

kitedoc

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Hi again @Mad76,
If you look up ' pictures of Lantus profiles and of Novorapid ( i think thst us your short-acting insulin?
fFirst: the graphs are about the amount of insulin present or otherwise the strength of blood-sugar lowering effect over time.
They are produced by the manufactures of the insulin in question and so are an average of the effects - we all may have slightly different graphs to these individually.
Second: see how long Novorapid lasts ? 6 hours maybe, so it is going to influence the bsls during that time and may or may not leave you with a normal, high, or liw bsls at the end of its 'reign'.
Third: Lantus supposedly lasts 24 hours in most people. And from the graph will be active overnight.
Four: so the combo ofvNivorapud til say ? Midnight ( plus some background Lantus along the way ). and Lantus alone from 12 mn til ? at least til say 6 am. Is what will mainly influence bsls overnight. If course some fiod eaten near bedtime ciukd up the blood sugar fir 2 hours or so and this sounds like the quick fix solution from your nurse. And a hypo at night will change bsls either by the liver releasing stired glucose in repomnse to a low bsls and also uf any food is eaten due to rhe hypo.
Fifth: what do you see as your options? I could list them now, or would like the opportunity to list them yourself for discussion in the next minutes, hours etc? Problem solving is part of what we learn to do, so that we gain some independence, and confidence although we touch base with our DSNS, doctor about it. There are no absolutely right answers, it is not a test, just a chance to think about it and then see what us 'mistake- makers' have found and learned from.
 
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Mad76

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Type 1
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Im pretty clueless to be honest. Im thinking maybe my lantus needs to be reduced ? But my nurse at the Gp said i cannot reduce this unless consultant tells me to. I can, and do reduce novorapid according to ehat i eat. Im reluctant to go against the nurses advice BUT i am not going to see a consultant for a few months. Just to add to everything, when i was diagnosed after my DKA my family was moving abroad!! My dh has work here in north africa for 3 months. All our stuff had been shipped, my son taken out of school etc. So the gp, consultant, and nurse all said i can still go. This should not stop me. So we delayed for a few weeks then left. So my options are limited. Wont see my gp or consultant till we get back !!!(this js part of why i feel so overwhelmed)
 

kitedoc

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Gosh! You have an added wrinkle to the challenge if managing your diabetes. One if the important things about diabetes mangement is having ready access to advice which can help solve problems and nighttime hyos cannot wait in a queue.
Lowering Lantus was one option, the other i did personally was change long-acting insulins. Of course that requires advice and a script and a bit if problem solving on your nurse and GPs part. Why cannot the nurse or GP ring the specialist to get an answer?
You need something done and thus 'cannot change the dose stuff ' is obstructive and potentially dangerous in your particular case.
 
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Mad76

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Type of diabetes
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@Mad76 in answer to your question yes blood sugars can drop during the night. Even none diabetics have this happen as well. If you think about it and you get to say 3:00am by then you should be in a deep sleep so the body does not need the amount of energy it would during the day, so blood sugar can drop, then you get the famous "dawn phenomenon" where the liver dumps glucose into your system to kick start the day.

However it is slightly compounded by us T1's taking insulin and the usual advice is last thing at night before bed. Because of the profile Lantus has, plus the above, your blood sugars can drop, it was the same with me when I was on Lantus.

So how to get round this?

You could drop your amount by 1 unit but, as your understandably unwilling to do this, let's think of something else.

Snack, certainly something worth thinking about, something slow to digest like, bread, toast maybe? Something that would just nudge you up a little.

Take Lantus in the morning or split dose? As your fearing hypo during the night moving the Lantus to morning would maybe alleviate the issue BUT you may then find your morning blood sugars are higher than you want.
Splitting the dose would maybe get round the hypo issue plus make your morning blood sugars not as high as above.

The last couple your not changing the amount, just the timings.

I used to do the same when I was on Lantus but I eventually changed because I found that it was not working for me as a 24hr background. Mind you I had been on it for more than 20 years :)

It, as Kitdoc, says worth trying to contact someone especially as you looking to go across the seas, least you should still be able to access the forum if nothing else :)

Take care
Thanl you, we have already moved ! Already here in north Africa !!!
 

Mad76

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319
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Im going to try get hold of my gp on the phone next week i think. ...
 

Mad76

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Messages
319
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
On the topic of hypos, ive not had one yet. My sugar has dropped to.3.5 during the day but as i scan the libre often i realise and have some thing to rectify. I did want to ask though - i didnt get any symptoms at all. If i hadnt scanned the libre i would not have realised. Is this normal????
 
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On the topic of hypos, ive not had one yet. My sugar has dropped to.3.5 during the day but as i scan the libre often i realise and have some thing to rectify. I did want to ask though - i didnt get any symptoms at all. If i hadnt scanned the libre i would not have realised. Is this normal????
Did you check your hypo with a finger prick?
I find Libre is less accurate especially around lower or higher BG or if you apply pressure to the sensor.
Therefore, I always check anything under 4 or over 7.

I would be surprised if, as a recently diagnosed you have no hypo symptoms at 3.5.
 

Mad76

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319
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Did you check your hypo with a finger prick?
I find Libre is less accurate especially around lower or higher BG or if you apply pressure to the sensor.
Therefore, I always check anything under 4 or over 7.

I would be surprised if, as a recently diagnosed you have no hypo symptoms at 3.5.
To be honest no i don't. When i start a new patch i check with finger prick to see that its the same. And dont bother after that. Thanks for your great advice. Next time it goes below 4 ill do that. Thanks !
 
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To be honest no i don't. When i start a new patch i check with finger prick to see that its the same. And dont bother after that. Thanks for your great advice. Next time it goes below 4 ill do that. Thanks !
The advice I was given was to always test with at least one finger prick per day.
Over time the Libre can become slightly detached so veer off as it ages so one finger prick every two weeks is unlikely to be enough.
 

Mad76

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Messages
319
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
The advice I was given was to always test with at least one finger prick per day.
Over time the Libre can become slightly detached so veer off as it ages so one finger prick every two weeks is unlikely to be enough.
Wow. You were right. Thanks so much. Libre read 3.8 but fonger prick read 4.4

I will certainly check if its below 4.

This forum amd you guys are a godsend !!