Hi, sorry about all the posts lately but im keen to get my diabetes on track. Basically im on a morning shift at the moment so im waking up at 5:30 am. For example i took my bloods when i woke this morning and they were 7.7 which i was fairly happy with. By 6:15 they had risen to 10.8mmol without me eating anything. Is this the dawn phase? Where after 3am your bloods start to rise because of hormones and so on? How could i correct this? Take my lanctus later in the evening? I usually take it around 9pm.
Thanks
Hi . . .
My solution is rather extreme, but I just put it out there so you can take it if you want.
Gluconeogenesis is the automatic process where Glycogen (stored in the liver) is converted into Glucose and released into the blood-stream. In a non-Diabetic body, the constant balancing act of releasing Insulin/Glycogen keeps blood-sugar in a narrow band.
In a T1 Diabetic body, we obviously do not have an automatic release of Insulin. We have decided (up to 24 hours ago) what our Basal Insulin will be and already injected it. Gluconeogenesis is very commonly most intense in the morning hours, so much so that this gets its own name - the Dawn Phenomenon. But Gluconeogenesis is an automatic process and it's not always easy to predict or anticipate the timing. Personally, I found that a spike often occurred in the early morning but could happen any time in morning through to late afternoon. Therefore it was difficult for me to manage this using Basal Insulin.
My solution is to remove the fuel that Gluconeogenesis needs. If you reduce the fuel tank in a car down to a smaller volume, you automatically reduce the range of the car. You can keep it in the range that you want.
Excess Carbs (that are not needed for energy right now) and excess Protein (that is not needed for growth and repair right now) are sent to the liver to be stored as Glycogen. After Glycogen stores are full, these inputs will then be stored as Fat in fat cells.
If you reduce consumption of Carbs and Protein down to a suitable level, you give Gluconeogenesis
no chance to disturb your levels and ruin your hard work, regardless of sleeping patterns. If there's no fuel in the tank, the car can't go anywhere. **
Of course, this is an extreme solution, but I just put it on this thread because it is something that works very well for me. When I stick to this (Ketogenic) diet, Dawn Phenomenon and other spikes during fasting are non-existent. When I step out of the diet (as I do for a chocolatey Sunday at the end of each fortnight) then levels during the following Monday and Tuesday are pretty unpredictable as Gluconeogenesis suddenly has a fun joyride with a glut of fuel.
** Glycogen is the fuel used for emergency fight-or-flight situations. For that reason, the body always keeps a 'ring-fenced' supply of Glycogen, ready and waiting for any such emergency. (For a T1, a serious Hypo can be an emergency). Reduction of Glycogen so that out-of-control Gluconeogenesis / Dawn Phenomenon is prevented does NOT mean that you have no fight-or-flight emergency store - this stock is kept safe.
Hope it's helpful
Antony
