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High readings at night?

S

Sanober

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Not really knowing what's going on inside my Endocrine system!!!
Hi all - any idea what's going on here?

In the past fortnight, I have woken in the middle of the night on three occasions (say 1am-2am), boiling hot (esp feet), I have a burning feeling in stomach (definitely not indigestion/heart burn/acid reflux as I've experienced this and it's not the same) and a dry throat and terrible thirst.

I've now managed to test my self on three occasions this has happened and the readings have range from 11.1 - 13.2 - bearing in mind I've only had a snack at around 8 -9pm (this is because I've been at the gym so get home and eat late) therefore several hours have passed by the time I wake up feeling this way.

I don't get these symptoms any other time, I did get a reading of 13.1 after I overindulged in chilli nachos and ended up going to sleep straight after an hour (I'm new an just recently started testing).

My DN is confused by this, she doesn't know any other Diabetic that tests when they wake in the middle of the night so wasn't able to shed any light bar 'remember, you're an unusual case and we're awaiting the genetics results but if you continue to feel poorly, let's get a new Hbac1 done...'
 
Hi Sanobar, exercise can push up levels especially if the exercise is strenuous, also you mention a snack at 8-9pm what did you eat? And do you test regularly before and after meals to see what effect your meals are having on your bg levels?

11 to 13mmol/L is very high relative to your latest HbA1c so there will probably be a reason for the rise, it could be something as simple as a bug or infection given your symptoms. The dry throat and thirst seem in keeping with the high numbers but not the burning pain in your stomach.

Sorry I cant be more specific but it could be a number of things affecting you.
 
Thanks Sid,

you're correct on the strenuous exercise (boxercise, Mu-Thai, Zumba sometimes 2 hours worth...)

Immediately after exercise my readings come in 5.5 - 6.4 once 7.4 - I'll have some nuts straight after. Then maybe an hour later around 8 - 9pm a snack - once it was 2 wholemeal Ryvita (carb 7g per slice) and some cheese. Another it was lettuce, a slice of turkey and some cheese. Can eating this lead to such a jump 4 - 5 hours later?

One night, I ate at about 8pm, I didn't do any exercise, post dinner reading was a better than usual 6.6 this is the only time it's been below 7.5 (had quite a few white wine spritzers the night before...)
Before dinner it was 9.4 - (I had some carby things during the day) but woke at 1.10am with these horrid symptoms and I was 11.6 - this was punishment for bodily abuse perhaps :evil:

I forgot to mention, other symptoms during this high night readings are a raised heart rate and poor sleep for the rest of the night and first morning reading 8.8 and 9.8.

No bug (I have mild hayfever, which I take tablets for, can this affect it?), and there have been other times I've had a full late meal without any issues, once at 3am after a night out with friends and on waking I was a 7.7 - I now just have some nuts and a mini babybell as I have to eat something after exercise.

I'm wondering if there are other late night testers and if anyone else has experienced high readings. I saw something about Dawn Phenomenon on the internet but as always, there are conflicting opinions on what causes this and seems to refer more towards insulin use.
 
It's not dawn phan wrong part of the night..

As 2-3am in the morning is the lowest ebb of the hormone activity in a 24 hour cycle, so has the least effect on blood glucose levels... Hence why a lot of T1'a will on occasions check around this time!

So it's source is likely either to be what you've eaten and/or a back lash from earlier exercise..

About the only way to find out is to take a series of hour BG's over night, when you aren't exercising or having a snack, to see what your basal is like.. Then do the same for exercise with out the snack (unless you go hypo of cause) then again with the snack see what it throws up
 
Hi,
If I was you I would put aside the hope that you may not be a Type2 and treat yourself as though you are. It will not do you any harm as your Diabetes team do not seem to be in a hurry to decide.

It may be the exercise that is causing your erratic readings as Jopar says.

There is also the problem of the antihistamines as they raise blood sugars and blood pressure in some people. They also contribute to dehydration hence the dry throat and thirst.

Try and eat regular meals and if this is difficult then try and cook in batches so that there is always something available.
 
I have had milder versions of this in the past - waking up in the middle of the night very hot and uncomfortable and sometimes with discomfort in the area of the liver.
Sometimes but not always associated with needing a pee as well.
Hasn't happened whilst I am actively testing so I don't know if my BG was elevated.

I have put this down to the liver dumping glycogen in the middle of the night which I understand can be behind 'dawn syndrome' when your blood sugar is higher in the morning than it was in the evening.

This may also be associated with eating carbs in the evening and drinking alchohol which slows the uptake of the carbs and can therfore delay any spike for some hours.

Stress can also be associated with this - if you are sleeping badly due to stress this can also upset your BG control.

Finally (and I have now offered so many suggestions that I have a reasonable chance of claiming I was right whatever the cause) you may just be overheating in the summer temperatures.
If you have a medium to high TOG duvet and a mattress protector which gives additional insulation underneath then you may just be overheating in the middle of the night and upsetting your BG that way. Or your BG may always go high over night and waking up hot and uncomfortable may not be directly related to your BG levels.

HTH

LGC
 
my feet keep tingling plus at times I can only complete half a meal, my lips start tingling. i can't stand it.
 
Try exercise? Keeping metabolism activated over the day and night is what does it for me, and has worked for years. I use the bedtime readings to determine if I've done enough to keep the fasting levels down within goal range overnight. I think it'll be helpful for you also.
 
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