• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Dawn phenomena and all that.

F

figgywiggy

Well-Known Member
Messages
127
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello everyone. With everyone's help in the forums I have managed to reduce my BG level. I haven't had my first review yet so have to wait and see. My problem is that when I go to bed my reading is low sixes, when I get up it's low eights. I understand how this can happen from this site. But then I go and run without food. I do about 3 miles each morning. I wait an hour and my reading is low sevens. I then get better as the day goes on. How can I prevent these higher readings first thing. And will my liver ever have no glucose left to dump into my system. Thanks for any help.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi,

It isn't a good idea to go for a run without food on a fasting stomach. Your liver is compensating for there being no dietary glucose in your system so is dumping a lot to cope with not only getting out of bed but also running for 3 miles. Try having some breakfast before your run and see how you go.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Hi,

It isn't a good idea to go for a run without food on a fasting stomach. Your liver is compensating for there being no dietary glucose in your system so is dumping a lot to cope with not only getting out of bed but also running for 3 miles. Try having some breakfast before your run and see how you go.
Click to expand...
Thanks. My prob is logistics. I need to get to work. Can't run on breakfast stomach so would have to wait a bit. I can go to work on a full stomach. I suppose this is how diabetes changes your life. You are right will have to rethink how I do things. Thanks for the advice.
 
Hi Figgywiggy - I recently read bout a trial using cider vinegar that reduced the dawn effect that I too suffer from. For a week I logged my fasting BG - averaged 6.9 (one rogue reading of 5.4 meant that this was a bit lower than I would normally expect). I then started taking 2tbsp of cider vinegar at bedtime, and my average BG over the next week was 6.3.

I'm going off on holiday in a few weeks' time and will use that as a washout period before conducting the whole experiment again to see if I get similar results. Might be worth a try? Kati.
 
Many of us suffer from the same thing. I don't think we've found a definitive solution yet. Cider vinegar work for some, some have a few nuts before bed, Breakfast is supposed to help. One study on the phenomenon said that basal insulin might be the best solution at present, but my doc wasn't keen on that. I'm afraid you'll have to keep experimenting. You may find something that works.

As for the liver running out of glycogen (stored glucose) well that's the theory, but I've not seen any evidence of my liver doing that yet. I suspect I have a fatty liver though and who knows what is going on with the biochemistry in that. Remember the liver can metabolise glucose from protein, glycogen and fat.
 
Thanks. Wil
ktbell said:
Hi Figgywiggy - I recently read bout a trial using cider vinegar that reduced the dawn effect that I too suffer from. For a week I logged my fasting BG - averaged 6.9 (one rogue reading of 5.4 meant that this was a bit lower than I would normally expect). I then started taking 2tbsp of cider vinegar at bedtime, and my average BG over the next week was 6.3.

I'm going off on holiday in a few weeks' time and will use that as a washout period before conducting the whole experiment again to see if I get similar results. Might be worth a try? Kati.
Click to expand...
Thanks I will give it a try. Anything is worth a try. Sounds good to me.
 
Back
Top