Type 2 Higher blood glucose readings after fasting

[swattam]

My readings are higher in the morning after fasting and a work out in the gym. By the afternoon the readings are lower, after taking them about two hours after eating. Any theories as to an explanation?

 

[bulkbiker]

Dawn phenomenon can push up BG readings as can intense exercise.
Depending on what you are eating your bloods can go up or down. Do you measure before eating as well as after to see the impact of the food?

 

[swattam]

Dawn phenomenon can push up BG readings as can intense exercise.
Depending on what you are eating your bloods can go up or down. Do you measure before eating as well as after to see the impact of the food?

I've not done this systematically, but will now.

 

[Ann1982]

My readings are usually higher in the morning after fasting but with no exercise then. If I exercise say swimming my readings go up too. Sometimes I think there is no rhyme or reason to it, it just goes up because it can!

 

[bulkbiker]

I've not done this systematically, but will now.

It's probably a good idea just to see the impact of various foods on your blood sugars.. it's what a lot of us do "eating to your meter". If a food causes a spike then is usually best avoided in future. Carbs are usually the worst culprits which is why we follow a Low Carb High Fat diet. I'm not sure how much you know about that as you are new but if you have any questions please just ask and we'll endeavour to answer from our personal experience.

 

[Resurgam]

If you go without eating and then exercise your liver provides glucose from your energy reserves - in case you need to chase down your next meal or run away from something wanting to eat you. The longer you move around exerting yourself the more the liver goes on supplying glucose. After resting and eating insulin is released, blood glucose drops in response.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Are you saying you exercise in a morning before you eat anything? For many Type 2s this isn't always a good idea because, as said by others, your liver will provide the glucose you need for the energy required and will most likely produce far too much. Even if you have eaten breakfast first, your liver may still go on producing glucose during strenuous exercise.

A fasting reading as soon as you get up is often higher than you went to bed with, again because your liver is filling your blood stream with the glucose needed to start the day. It is perfectly normal. I'm happy that this has never happened to me, but what did happen to me was after getting out of bed and testing, I found my levels rose and stayed raised until almost lunch time. I have managed to stop this by having a coffee with double cream (lots of cream) as soon as I get up and before doing anything else. I then have nothing until lunch time other than a cup of tea mid morning and water. I also find I can't eat any carbs if I do have a breakfast, and have to keep any exercise to a bare minimum until the afternoon. Others have different methods that work for them. It is trial and error to see what works for you.

 

[Resurgam]

I only eat twice a day, but for my first meal I need to include some carbs, or in the hours before eating again I go very low - my lowest ever readings have been on days when I need to go to the shops and have eaten no carbs, about the time I am supposed to be making dinner I am cold and unmotivated, just want to curl up in bed. If I do, I recover - liver to the rescue I assume, and dinner is ready about midnight.

 

[swattam]

Are you saying you exercise in a morning before you eat anything? For many Type 2s this isn't always a good idea because, as said by others, your liver will provide the glucose you need for the energy required and will most likely produce far too much. Even if you have eaten breakfast first, your liver may still go on producing glucose during strenuous exercise.

A fasting reading as soon as you get up is often higher than you went to bed with, again because your liver is filling your blood stream with the glucose needed to start the day. It is perfectly normal. I'm happy that this has never happened to me, but what did happen to me was after getting out of bed and testing, I found my levels rose and stayed raised until almost lunch time. I have managed to stop this by having a coffee with double cream (lots of cream) as soon as I get up and before doing anything else. I then have nothing until lunch time other than a cup of tea mid morning and water. I also find I can't eat any carbs if I do have a breakfast, and have to keep any exercise to a bare minimum until the afternoon. Others have different methods that work for them. It is trial and error to see what works for you.

 

[swattam]

Thanks for these replies. I am now beginning to work out the physiology of it all. Looks like my liver goes into overdrive when I exercise without first eating anything in order to bang out the energy reserves. I think I will take the advice and try eating breakfast before going to the gym. Hopefully, there will then be some glucose in the blood and the liver won't go into panic mode and churn out the reserves.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks for these replies. I am now beginning to work out the physiology of it all. Looks like my liver goes into overdrive when I exercise without first eating anything in order to bang out the energy reserves. I think I will take the advice and try eating breakfast before going to the gym. Hopefully, there will then be some glucose in the blood and the liver won't go into panic mode and churn out the reserves.

Definitely worth a try. If that doesn't work, change the breakfast and try again.

 

[memememeiii]

Okay, this is very interesting to me...as I am having the Dawn Phenomenon, and this is simply after sleeping, but today at 3:10 am I measured my sugar and it was 110, by 5:30 am after a 2 hour workout (I thought that would HELP!!!) my reading was 138.

I find it incredibly frustrating, but perhaps I need not worry? Someone educate me more, please, if you can?

I'm trying to reverse T2D, and at 6.5 years in with this, with a renewed vigor. My dr. just LABELLED me Diabetic, because of these high morning readings, which are new, and I have to say, it's really ticking me off. That's probably a motivator.

Dawn phenomenon can push up BG readings as can intense exercise.
Depending on what you are eating your bloods can go up or down. Do you measure before eating as well as after to see the impact of the food?

 

[memememeiii]

I'm interested in your response here, because I noted that one of my readings was low after having 2 coffee with creams in 1 day, which I almost never do, and one of them was after dinner. My glucose readings were low.

At present, I'm following the Newcastle Reversal Diet regime, and it calls for NO fat at all for 8 weeks. Mentally, it torques me out, but I'm prepared to follow it, to see where this gets me re. then transitioning onto a KETO or Paleo diet after. I've got 100 lbs to lose or at least 80. I would say 50 to get my blood sugar back to normal and then some. AT 40 lbs down, my levels were still yoyoing into high range.

Thanks for shedding some light on this. I work out in the night, usually, and last night started at 3 am. thinking it would HELP. In fact, my reading was 138 four hours later. GOD. No food at all ingested by that point. At 3, it was low-ish (not low, but...) - 106.

Are you saying you exercise in a morning before you eat anything? For many Type 2s this isn't always a good idea because, as said by others, your liver will provide the glucose you need for the energy required and will most likely produce far too much. Even if you have eaten breakfast first, your liver may still go on producing glucose during strenuous exercise.

A fasting reading as soon as you get up is often higher than you went to bed with, again because your liver is filling your blood stream with the glucose needed to start the day. It is perfectly normal. I'm happy that this has never happened to me, but what did happen to me was after getting out of bed and testing, I found my levels rose and stayed raised until almost lunch time. I have managed to stop this by having a coffee with double cream (lots of cream) as soon as I get up and before doing anything else. I then have nothing until lunch time other than a cup of tea mid morning and water. I also find I can't eat any carbs if I do have a breakfast, and have to keep any exercise to a bare minimum until the afternoon. Others have different methods that work for them. It is trial and error to see what works for you.

 

[memememeiii]

Thanks for these replies. I am now beginning to work out the physiology of it all. Looks like my liver goes into overdrive when I exercise without first eating anything in order to bang out the energy reserves. I think I will take the advice and try eating breakfast before going to the gym. Hopefully, there will then be some glucose in the blood and the liver won't go into panic mode and churn out the reserves.

Has this helped? Eating first?