Dawn phenomenon

Lollygaggle

Member
Messages
13
Hello , not posted for a while.
It's now one year since I was diagnosed T2.

I have lost 6 stone and am nearly at target weight
My hba1c has gone from 88 to 31
I am now off metformin and maintaining a low carb , high fat diet

my blood sugar is generally good except for first thing in the morning. It was 7.2 ish and is now 6.2 but has been steady at that for a while. I've tried eating a protein snack before bed, I was wondering about trying vinegar as that seems to have an effect on blood glucose. Is there anything else I should be doing?
 

Caprock94

Well-Known Member
Messages
313
Hello , not posted for a while.
It's now one year since I was diagnosed T2.

I have lost 6 stone and am nearly at target weight
My hba1c has gone from 88 to 31
I am now off metformin and maintaining a low carb , high fat diet

my blood sugar is generally good except for first thing in the morning. It was 7.2 ish and is now 6.2 but has been steady at that for a while. I've tried eating a protein snack before bed, I was wondering about trying vinegar as that seems to have an effect on blood glucose. Is there anything else I should be doing?

Amazing results!! Its been 18 months for me since diagnosis. Normal A1C levels for 15 months now. Despite that, my morning fasting glucose is still a little higher than I would like. My mid afternoon fasting number (right before dinner) is almost always lower than morning fasting number.
 

DCB 2

Well-Known Member
Messages
158
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Carry out out pizza commercials on the TV and people bringing in a fresh box of glazed donuts to work !!! (They are evil)
Hello , not posted for a while.
It's now one year since I was diagnosed T2.

I have lost 6 stone and am nearly at target weight
My hba1c has gone from 88 to 31
I am now off metformin and maintaining a low carb , high fat diet

my blood sugar is generally good except for first thing in the morning. It was 7.2 ish and is now 6.2 but has been steady at that for a while. I've tried eating a protein snack before bed, I was wondering about trying vinegar as that seems to have an effect on blood glucose. Is there anything else I should be doing?
I am in a similar situation being off the meds. I have found that snacking in the the evening can be reflected in the morning. Secondly do you test always at the same time in the morning? I have discovered when I test at 5:30 in the morning it is almost always higher when I test at 8:00 in the morning. Before you ask why 5:30 it is the time I swim. One thought came to mind how much sleep you are getting? Do the numbers are slightly higher when you to bed late? Just some brain drippings.

Congrats on your A1C numbers!!!! Keep it up !!!!!!!!

Dave
 
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KennyA

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,944
Type of diabetes
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Diet only
Six stone? 88 to 31? Fantastic!
I have the same dawn phenom problem. Can be 5.0 at 11pm having eaten nothing since 7pm, and be in the high sixes at 7am. I suspect it's even higher earlier in the morning given the way the reading declines over a fasting day. No solutions here but like you I'd like to know if there's anything I could or should do about it.
 

ianf0ster

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,423
Type of diabetes
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exercise, phone calls
members say that the fasting BG is the last thing to drop to normal. I guess that your liver needs time to get used to your new normal lower BG. Plus there are probably non diabetics who don't even know that their liver is also being helpful first thing, to qive them the energy to hunt/gather breakfast.
I'm quite patient waiting for my fasting BG levels to drop, but it's no big deal if it doesn't - since I know I can turn off my DP quickly by eating eggs or cheese in a morning should I feel the need - though mostly I wait until afternoon before breaking my fast.
 

Lollygaggle

Member
Messages
13
I do the test first thing, before getting dressed etc.
Strangely enough, or not, the thing that has the greatest effect on my blood glucose is stress. I find it quite easy now to stick to the lchf diet so my bloods do not go up very much when I eat unless I get caught out unexpectedly (a can of shop bought mushroom soup gave me my biggest ever spike !) but you can tell the bad days in work very easily. Unfortunately I work in a very stressful profession and am still a while off retiring.
My bloods do not spike very much now at all with eating it really is just the dawn phenomenon. I occasionally use a libre sensor which shows me my bloods staying nicely around the 5 level during the night then rising just before I get up .
 

Lollygaggle

Member
Messages
13
Just to update . My latest hba1c was 31 again but more importantly my morning glucose is now reliably around the 5.1 mark. I have not done anything differently , my weight loss has slowed/stalled at the moment I would like to lose a few more pounds. I have now been following a lchf diet since November 2019 lost over 6 stone and brought my hba1c down from 85. I stopped metformin November last year and am now medication free.
Like everyone said morning glucose is the last thing to come down and sometimes time is all it takes .
On a seperate note I am still making my own low carb bread but treat myself to this every now and again. I order three loaves at a time and freeze it. It is expensive but makes great toast and is lovely addition to breakfast choices https://lowcarbfood.co/shop/low-car...gyFIE6XuKcH2w6BWQZjKMF1lWy6W5LbYaAvb5EALw_wcB
 

DCB 2

Well-Known Member
Messages
158
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Carry out out pizza commercials on the TV and people bringing in a fresh box of glazed donuts to work !!! (They are evil)
Just to update . My latest hba1c was 31 again but more importantly my morning glucose is now reliably around the 5.1 mark. I have not done anything differently , my weight loss has slowed/stalled at the moment I would like to lose a few more pounds. I have now been following a lchf diet since November 2019 lost over 6 stone and brought my hba1c down from 85. I stopped metformin November last year and am now medication free.
Like everyone said morning glucose is the last thing to come down and sometimes time is all it takes .
On a seperate note I am still making my own low carb bread but treat myself to this every now and again. I order three loaves at a time and freeze it. It is expensive but makes great toast and is lovely addition to breakfast choices https://lowcarbfood.co/shop/low-car...gyFIE6XuKcH2w6BWQZjKMF1lWy6W5LbYaAvb5EALw_wcB
That is great !!!!!!! I use my fasting numbers as a barometer to measure how am doing. If they start creeping up I might slightly tune my diet and exercise accordingly. I just use them as a tool as an early warning of things