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Fasting BG level

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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Can anyone tell me why my fasting level upon rising is quite high (6.2 to 6.4 ish) only to have it fall during the day. I'm on a low carb diet. It falls during the morning, even after breakfast. Why is this?

Dave
 
In a word, Dawn Phenomenon. Before we get up, or even wake, our body knows we're about to get into action so releases some glycogen (glucose in our blood) to get us ready for the day. As diabetics, we don't control this sudden release very well so our BG stays highish for a while and then comes back down. That's why fasting BGs are the hardest to get under control. They start to come down eventually as our control at other times improves. That's why I hardly ever test fasting BGs; ther'e not much you can do about it, so why check? I do now and again just to see if there's any change, but in my view the best time to test is still 2 hours after eating so you can see which foods are Ok and which aren't.
 
Well, Grazer, as I understand it, fasting levels do come down eventually, especially after we have lost weight and got our diabetes under control. So, it would be worthwhile testing. After a while, I might test my fasting BG level on a weekly or even a monthly basis as this, apparently, is a good basis for guestimating HBA1C levels.
 
Yes, they do come down eventually, I only said they are the hardest to get under control - but not impossible as you say. Also, I do check now and again as I said, but for a new person with limited supplies of strips I believe it's more useful for them to use their strips working out what they can and can't eat which can give comparitively rapid improvements.
For guestimating HbA1c, I personally don't think they're much help. I keep a graph of all my post prandial readings, and my occasional before bed and fasting BGs, work out a true average allowing for peaks and flat lines etc, and use one of the formulas available to get a guesstimate. Last test, I guessed 5.5% and got 5.7% so not too bad.
 
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