Dawn phenomenon and poor sleep

Hi,

I am type 2 and at the beginning of March decided to try the libre 2 to improve my control (currently on metformin (1000mg bd), Glicazide (160mg morning, 80mg evening) and sitagliptin). The libre is predicting HbA1c at 5.3 although I think the first couple of sensors under recorded glucose levels).

I quickly discovered I suffer from Dawn phenomenon with a fasting BS between 4.5 and 5.5 just before getting up, rising to around 7.5 to 8.5 within 15 minutes. I am following a low carb diet with approx 30g carbs a day, mostly from vegetables.

this morning after a low carb meal last night, a very poor nights sleep (following a mild hypo down to 3.3 around 10pm) my blood sugar was 5.1 at 3.30, 7.3 at 7am just before getting up and rapidly rose to 9.7 at 9am, still 7.6 at 11am.

my breakfast was Greek yoghurt and 5 walnut halves which usually has no impact on my blood sugar.

So I have two questions really.

Does poor sleep make the dawn phenomenon worse?

is there anything I can actually do to improve Dawn phenomenon, other than carrying on with the low carb?

Brunneria said:

Yes, poor sleep can make a big difference.

I have discovered (by various self experiments wearing a Libre) that my Blood glucose rises until I eat. If that breakfast contains carbs (eg yog and berries) then my bg just keeps climbing. However, if my breakfast is protein and fat, not carbs, then my bg stops rising and drops to its normal (non DP) levels.

further experiments showed that a few cashews, or an oz of cheese, is sufficient to stop my bg rising between waking and breakfasting. Or lunching, if I am skipping brekkie.

of course, your body may respond differently.

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thank you. It helps to know I’m not the only one. I have a very small amount of yoghurt which was just 4g carbs this morning. But I’ll try the cheese instead and see if that makes a difference.

I definitely recommend trying the libre for better insight. I’m not sure if it’s still going but they did have a free 14 day trial on.

this morning my blood sugar was 4 at 4am, 6 at 8 am when I got up, I had a piece of cheese as suggested, then BS rapidly rising to 9 at 9am (lower than yesterday’s peak. It has also come down faster today with a reading of 5.7 at 11am.

so it’s cheese for breakfast again tomorrow! Or maybe hard boiled egg.