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Diabetic, but only in the morning ?

stuffedolive

Well-Known Member
Messages
542
Location
The Marches
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Daily Mail, you know the sort
I was diagnosed T2 nearly 20 years ago based on my FBG levels. For most of the time since I have not tested but relied on my 6 monthly HbA1c tests which have bounced around 41- 48 (once) .
In the last 18 moths I have been testing and find that my FBG is frequently high. Rarely under 6 and quite often 7 or 8, clearly suggesting I am T2.
However, when I test after meals, I fail to record any numbers that would put me in the diabetic range. 90 mins - 2 hours after meals my BG is usually 5.5 - 6.5, even when I have consumed a high carb meal (which is rare). I have only once recorded a BG number over 10 and that was about an hour after eating something quite naughty.
I have tried to discuss this at my GP surgery but they don't seem interested.

Anyone got any insights ?

fwiw I am in my early 60's, active, slim and try to avoid carbs.
 
I have been eating low carb for over three years now - having burnt all the diet sheets to start a barbecue the day after diagnosis. I find that I can eat more carbs than usual - but next day I see that the scales are showing me exactly where they went.
My GP is totally uninterested - I have not seen him since diagnosis, and the nurses do the checks but are not interested in how I got control of my BG.
Day to day I have a maximum of 40 gm of carbs, si my tolerance is pretty low - but it works well enough. I suspect that there are quite a few type twos in a similar situation - also with GPs with fingers in ears going 'lalala can't hear you' because we are not supposed to exist, getting better is just not acceptable, as far as I can work out.
 

I think you might have a a condition called gastroparesis.
 
I can't honestly tell you either way - it was way back when I saw that my levels just kept on rising all morning - presumably from my liver throwing out glucose. I tested a few times after eating breakfast, saw that it was way lower and thought - job done.
The fasting level is not used as a diagnosis here in the UK - and the GP surgery is totally uninterested in anything anyway - so I have tested after eating in the evening to check on my responses to food rather than getting fasting levels.
Having seen such consistent results for almost 3 years now, I am to some extent resting on my laurels and giving advice on past experience.
 
Have you read up on the dawn phenomenon?
My fasting blood sugar was the last thing to drop.
 
If you are not on medications for T2, then what impact will it have if your GP acknowledges your inconsistent evidence of diabetes? If you have a decent diet, feel healthy, and other metabolic markers are normal, then I wouldn't worry too much.
 
TriciaWs said:
Have you read up on the dawn phenomenon?
My fasting blood sugar was the last thing to drop.
Click to expand...
Thanks Tricia. Yes I have. My concern is that the dawn phenomenon is making a large contribution to my HbA1c. I'd like my GP to take an interest and offer some advice. Perhaps I should always eat breakfast instead of delaying it, under the assumption that I shouldn't be adding to my BS load when its already high? I just don't know.
 
I did a few tests to discover if my blood glucose was lower through the day eating breakfast and dinner or lunch and dinner - just tested on the hour throughout the day.
I had been taking metformin and had to go out in the mornings if I went at all - so I was eating lunch to take the tablet and had kept to that schedule. I did that for a week and tested on three days, then swapped to eating breakfast - it was obvious fairly soon that eating breakfast was good - and I found that eating 10 gm of carbs rather than none was also good.
 
@Resurgam that is exactly my experience as well. I am much more sensitive to carbs in the morning than the rest of the day.
I too have found I get better results by adding around 8 grams of carbs at breakfast.
I have four meals per day with the carb content as follows: breakfast 8g lunch 10g, dinner and supper up to 30g each meal.
I have found this pattern works best for me.
My BG is always highest during the morning then good results for the rest of the day.
 
Lowering your carb intake might help bring the morning numbers a bit further down... But really, if you're feeling alright, and your blood sugars return to excellent levels in 2 hours after a meal... No worries.
 
I'm currently eating 2 meals per day, skipping breakfast and trying to stretch the overnight fasting to over 16hrs, but I used to eat a zero carb (less than 1gm carbs) in order to turn off my Dawn Phenomenon. To be precise I found that when I ate 2 boiled eggs (no toast etc) for breakfast my BG 2hrs later would usually be lower but was sometimes unchanged - it never rose,
 
JoKalsbeek said:
Lowering your carb intake might help bring the morning numbers a bit further down...
Click to expand...
Thanks Jo - I do low carb already (usually <50g/day although it does vary, such as over Christmas) but whatever I do I cant see a pattern on my FBG. I'm sure there must be some research on what affects the dawn phenomenon, but I cant find anything useful .
 
ianf0ster said:
I'm currently eating 2 meals per day, skipping breakfast and trying to stretch the overnight fasting to over 16hrs, but I used to eat a zero carb (less than 1gm carbs) in order to turn off my Dawn Phenomenon. ...,
Click to expand...
I tried this too, and even took to an additional 24 hour fast each week - to no avail apart from weight management.. But I suppose we are all different.
 
I am exactly the same. My waking up glucose is 7 or 8, but goes down during the day. The last three days I have also been having my glucose go down after meals by 1 or 1 and a half points. I find that very strange. Anyone had this experience? my meals where salads, heavy on raw baby spinach with baby tomatoes and a few bits of goat cheese and sea bass fish. Another time same salad with home made burgers (beef mince meat and two eggs) 3rd meal, same salad boiled sweet potato and two eggs. I am doing intermittent fasting, eating between 10.30 and 11am and another meal round 5.30 / 6pm. Some times I snack on roasted peanuts in between and drink decafe ground coffee with milk (no sugar of course)
 
Maleth said:
I am exactly the same. ...
Click to expand...
Great to hear its not just me. Your experience definitely sounds like my own. Today my FBG was 7.8 then dropped during the morning to 6.3 (after an hour's bike ride), then I had lunch (cheese, Ryvita, creamy dip, carrot). An hour later it was 5.8 and it stayed at 5.8 another hour later.
 
Hi everyone ive joined this afternoon … I have been pre diabetic for three years and have joined as have been reading your posts and ive been doing fasting sugars for about a fortnight and the last fortnight they are anything between 8 and 12 in the morning but seem to improve in the afternoon Hba1c was 44 but have noticed that 2years ago I am going for blood test tomorrow.. My pre diabetes is escalating … but are these high fasting levels high enough to be diabetic does anyone know please?
 


Hi and welcome @queenie 1957
I'm glad you have taken the first step from reading to posting your first message. I would be interested to hear your HbA1c result when you have. Then you can make a decision (if necessary) on how you want to proceed.
It's good that you are testing already, and I wonder how that is viewed by your GP/ Diabetes Nurse?
 
I'm with you @Resurgam although my DN is secretly impressed by my results through low-carbing and I don't really discuss the hows and whys with my GP.
I test usually 2 hours after lunch and depending on the reading either exercise in the bedroom, or have a snack if I'm hungry.
My readings average around 6.1 for the month. (I did four years of spreadsheets).
This should equate with an HbA1c of around 37. However, I've recorded 47, 47 and 44 for the last three tests.
That probably indicates that I'm high at other parts of the day - like upon waking. The few early morning tests I did were all above 8.
As a footnote, I've stopped recording the scores though I still test. I know what I need to do, and if I do it, I'm fine. If I get tempted with forbidden foods I know what to expect.
 
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