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Dawn phenomenon

Nomi

Nomi

Well-Known Member
Messages
151
Hi all,

I have noticed a rise in my blood sugar in a morning which i’m fairly sure is the dawn phenomenon.

Thing is, it seems to move around so over the summer it kicked in about 4am, now it’s darker mornings it seems to kick in about 7am.

Is this a thing? Has anyone else experienced this and how do you manage it?

I’m on a pump, but I feel like I’m always chasing the peak in a morning, and have given up on breakfast altogether as I spend all morning correcting the high :/

Thanks in advance

Naomi
 
Nomi said:
Hi all,

I have noticed a rise in my blood sugar in a morning which i’m fairly sure is the dawn phenomenon.

Thing is, it seems to move around so over the summer it kicked in about 4am, now it’s darker mornings it seems to kick in about 7am.

Is this a thing? Has anyone else experienced this and how do you manage it?

I’m on a pump, but I feel like I’m always chasing the peak in a morning, and have given up on breakfast altogether as I spend all morning correcting the high :/

Thanks in advance

Naomi
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Hi @Nomi I have noticed a lot of discussions about the dawn phenomenon. I have never had it :D am always low in the mornings, to the extent that i have dropped my Levemir down to 15 unit....Just managing to get a 5.6 in the mornings now. Hope someone can give some advice for you
 
All you can do is increase your basal about 2 hours prior to when your DP starts setting in. You may also notice that it gets worse after waking up and you need even more insulin. You can deal with this by taking a bolus the minute you wake up or running a temp basal increase for an hour or 2 immediately upon waking. You may also need more insulin for breakfast, so try lowering your I:C ratio.
 
Have bad dawn phenomenon myself. Found not eating at all the worst thing. However, I did change what I was eating from Shredded Wheat (4cps) to brambles and plain yoghurt (1cp). I would then bolus for that and a correction bolus. This seems to have done the trick, halting the rise and not spiking. When I didn’t eat and just corrected I would crash into a hypo. If I didn’t give a big enough correction, onwards and upwards. Although retired, I do rouse and eat early 6-7am. Also, if awake earlier will give just a unit to slow it down a bit.
 
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