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Blood Glucose Before Bed.

No1DeadlyPoison

No1DeadlyPoison

Well-Known Member
Messages
135
Location
Milton Keynes
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
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Rude People.
Animal Cruelty.
Unnecessary Drama.
I have just done my blood sugar and I am 4.0mmol/L, I'm just wondering if that is an okay level to go to bed on or should I have a little something to eat before hand?
 
No1DeadlyPoison said:
I have just done my blood sugar and I am 4.0mmol/L, I'm just wondering if that is an okay level to go to bed on or should I have a little something to eat before hand?
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I like to have my BG around 7 before bed but that's only because I usually see a slight drop off overnight. Not that it helped last night! with a 4am hypo. Don't go to bed with 4.0mmol and active insulin without eating, sure fire hypo! :)
 
Last night ( or more accurately at stupid o'clock in the morning after another possibly sleep hypo) I was about to post a very similar thread.

I haven't got this 100% figured out yet. But it seems that if I'm lower than around 7.5mmol (assuming there's no short acting insulin still in my system) then I'll have some kind of a sleep hypo.

Incidentally I notice there are no NICE guidelines (as linked to via this site) on blood glucose levels before bed. Is this because they don't want to be seen to 'encourage' people to go 'above and out of target range'?
 
SugarBuzz said:
I haven't got this 100% figured out yet. But it seems that if I'm lower than around 7.5mmol (assuming there's no short acting insulin still in my system) then I'll have some kind of a sleep hypo.
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Do you split your basal dose? It sounds like you need to reduce your night time basal by a unit or 2. You shouldn't need to go high to routinely deal with this. If you don't split basal I'd ask about swapping to Levemir and splitting it; it means you can deal with these type of issues.

Personally my bloods will dip a bit but not hypo type dips and then rise markedly with dawn phenomenon. So, if I go to bed with a 6.00 mmol it will be about that or perhaps 5.00 mmol immediately on waking and then head north unless I take bolus insulin almost immediately.

You need to figure out how you are reacting to this; Freestyle Libre is an excellent tool to do that; as you can see exactly what's happening.

Best

Dillinger
 
Hey everyone, thank you all for your replies. I waited about half an hour and checked my level again and it went up to 13.9mmol/L, not exactly sure why it went from 4.0mmol/L to 13.9mmol/L as I didn't eat anything as I was awake for a while but when I woke up in the morning my blood glucose was normal. Does this happen to anyone else? Like at dinner today I was 11.4mmol/L and had my insulin but within 34 minutes I went up to 18.8mmol/L and I still had 2 and a half units working. :/ (My brain can not cope or understand what the heck happens lol).
 
No1DeadlyPoison said:
Hey everyone, thank you all for your replies. I waited about half an hour and checked my level again and it went up to 13.9mmol/L, not exactly sure why it went from 4.0mmol/L to 13.9mmol/L as I didn't eat anything as I was awake for a while but when I woke up in the morning my blood glucose was normal. Does this happen to anyone else? Like at dinner today I was 11.4mmol/L and had my insulin but within 34 minutes I went up to 18.8mmol/L and I still had 2 and a half units working. :/ (My brain can not cope or understand what the heck happens lol).
Click to expand...

Can you check the log on your monitor? A jump from 4mmol to 13.9mmol without you eating anything! is pretty significant. I'm just wondering if you misread 4.0mmol and it might've been 14.0mmol - I have done similar before! :)

Your dinner BG of 11.4 jump to 18.8 sounds like you've underestimated the amount of insulin you needed to cover the carbs in your dinner.

Are you carb counting accurately or estimating carbs?
 
hi there @No1DeadlyPoison

if I get 2 readings so completely apart like you have had -- I would wash my hands and re-test ( just to 100% sure )

assuming the rise is completely unexplainable -- I would correct on the high BG and set an alarm to test during the night.
 
DiabeticDadUK said:
Can you check the log on your monitor? A jump from 4mmol to 13.9mmol without you eating anything! is pretty significant. I'm just wondering if you misread 4.0mmol and it might've been 14.0mmol - I have done similar before! :)

Your dinner BG of 11.4 jump to 18.8 sounds like you've underestimated the amount of insulin you needed to cover the carbs in your dinner.

Are you carb counting accurately or estimating carbs?
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I am carb counting and did accurately count it, I always double check the carbs I am eating and use the carbs & cals app aswell :)
 
himtoo said:
hi there @No1DeadlyPoison

if I get 2 readings so completely apart like you have had -- I would wash my hands and re-test ( just to 100% sure )

assuming the rise is completely unexplainable -- I would correct on the high BG and set an alarm to test during the night.
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I had actually just washed my hands so I don't really understand what happened, I might actually make an appointment to see my Diabetic nurse, it is time I saw her to check in :)
 
Some meters are just flaky as well. You could try a different meter for a while and see if things make more sense.
 
No1DeadlyPoison said:
I am carb counting and did accurately count it, I always double check the carbs I am eating and use the carbs & cals app aswell :)
Click to expand...

Perhaps you need a bit more insulin than you're being recommended to avoid the high spike. I would talk with your nurse. I'm sure it can be resolved so you can avoid the big numbers :)
 
44mmol is usually consider the bottom line and going below that a hypo. You need to take a snack. Also its worth while checking the carb ratio (how many carbs are covered by 1 unit of insulin). Mine is different in the morning and changes through the day so i have three different carb ratios configures on my pump.
 
No1DeadlyPoison said:
Hey everyone, thank you all for your replies. I waited about half an hour and checked my level again and it went up to 13.9mmol/L, not exactly sure why it went from 4.0mmol/L to 13.9mmol/L as I didn't eat anything as I was awake for a while but when I woke up in the morning my blood glucose was normal. Does this happen to anyone else? Like at dinner today I was 11.4mmol/L and had my insulin but within 34 minutes I went up to 18.8mmol/L and I still had 2 and a half units working. :/ (My brain can not cope or understand what the heck happens lol).
Click to expand...
Hi I get big rises soon after I've eaten but am trying to learn not to test as by my next meal it has gone back to what it should be. I've been told by my nurse to stop correcting as I am making myself hypo. So now I only check before meals and bedtime I am hoping by doing this I can get better readings and possibly change my ratios which you may also need to do? Good luck
 
I would say 4mmol is too low a reading to go to bed with, especially if you are going to take a night time injection, I dunno if you do. What do you mean "I still had 2 and a half units working."?
 
Bogusman said:
I would say 4mmol is too low a reading to go to bed with, especially if you are going to take a night time injection, I dunno if you do. What do you mean "I still had 2 and a half units working."?
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Bogusman said:
I would say 4mmol is too low a reading to go to bed with, especially if you are going to take a night time injection, I dunno if you do. What do you mean "I still had 2 and a half units working."?
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I have a meter that tells me if I having insulin still working from before, so I don't overdose myself with insulin, if I eat something else.
 
No1DeadlyPoison said:
Hey everyone, thank you all for your replies. I waited about half an hour and checked my level again and it went up to 13.9mmol/L, not exactly sure why it went from 4.0mmol/L to 13.9mmol/L as I didn't eat anything as I was awake for a while but when I woke up in the morning my blood glucose was normal. Does this happen to anyone else? Like at dinner today I was 11.4mmol/L and had my insulin but within 34 minutes I went up to 18.8mmol/L and I still had 2 and a half units working. :/ (My brain can not cope or understand what the heck happens lol).
Click to expand...
I
 
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