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High morning reading

J

janeislay

Active Member
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29
My fasting reading when I get up is usually over 9, however following an average meal and before taking metformin it's only around 7.

I'm taking 3 x 500 mg metformin a day on a low carb diet - aiming at not more than 60 grams a day. Even after eating a bowl of porridge my blood sugar is only around 7.

What on earth can I do to get that morning reading lower ? I can't exercise much and had a stroke after exercising in the evening !

Any suggestions ?
 
Sometimes there's nothing at all you can do. Before we wake, our liver drops sugar into our blood to prepare us for the day. This is known as the "Dawn Phenomenon". If you test the instant you wake, it could be a fair bit lower than if you test a while later (after showering etc) but still before eating. This is because the sugar continues to rise as you start to get active. When exactly DO you do a fasting BG?
A few things I have found - If I go to bed with a raised BG, I wake up with one. So I make sure that my evening meal is early enough to let my BG recover before bed. I then eat nothing within 2 hours of bedtime. Not even a last snack before bed. Even a glass of milk then will leave me higher the next morning. Some people on insulin and similar meds have a last minute snack to avoid night hypos, but on Metformin only you don't need to worry about that.
 
Thanks Grazer.

I test around 30 mins after getting up. And I have an evening meal at 6pm with nothing afterwards.

I'm very comfortable on just two meals a day; no breakfast, a good lunch and a lighter supper. I don't get hungry and I don't get hypos; no symptoms whatever of diabetes - other than a high test reading at the docs. I have a BP of 105/65 and usually feel very well indeed.

Should I maybe take a metformin at say, 4 a.m. ?
 
Don't think when you take the Met will change things much; they don't really work that way. Take your meter upstairs and test AS SOON as you wake up. You might get a different picture. If it's just going up after you've been around and about for half an hour, then it's not such a big deal. Lots of people find that. You say you don't eat after 6 pm, and have no breakfast, so that's something like 18 hours without food. Might be counterproductive. If your sugar goes a bit low as a result, you can get a liver dump of sugar. Breakfast might help. If you're doing that because it's the only way you can seem to get reasonable BGs, it could mean you need help from some other meds
 
I wouldn't worry about the morning reading at all for the reasons Grazer has said. I would only take measurements 2 hours after a meal. It's also better to spread eating during the day to smooth carb uptake and also avoid liver dumps
 
OK thanks. I don't eat breakfast cos I'm just not hungry until around mid day. Seems silly to eat just for the sake of it. I'm certainly not missing breakfast to try to get my BG low. But I AM wanting to avoid the HBA1c of 8 at the docs.

I've been doing low GI for about eight years now - and simply don't get hungry. And I don't think my BG has ever been below 6 when I've tested it, either 2 hours after a meal or just prior to a meal.

Should I maybe try and eat something at about 2 am in the morning then ? That would be half way between my high tea and lunch ? Seems **** annoying to have to eat, just so my liver doesn't dump

:? Or maybe get on my exercise bike as soon as I get up ?
 
Don't think the 2 am smack is a good idea. Maybe just don't worry about the fasting BG! Do try testing it as soon as you wake up though. Have you done that?
 
Grazer said:
Don't think the 2 am smack is a good idea. Maybe just don't worry about the fasting BG! Do try testing it as soon as you wake up though. Have you done that?
Click to expand...

I overslept this morning - and had a small glass of red wine last night so No; I didn't take it this morning. I'll take it before I get up tomorrow.
 
Ok, although the red wine would probably have helped! I always get best readings after a good glug of red!
 
I'm now even more confused ! On Sunday morning very first thing it was 8. I had two teaspoons of porridge and tested mid morning, and it was 12.4 :crazy: That's the highest reading I've ever had !

Monday morning first thing it was 7.4 and this morning 7.2. So you were right. It's OK first thing but then it must start rising after that.

I've really tried hard to have something at breakfast time - if only to take my metformin with. But it's darn difficult - I really can't face it. I'll keep trying to find something I can eat. I tried eggs this morning, but my little dog had to eat them.
 
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