How can I get my morning numbers down

High morning fasting levels are a symptom of insulin resistance and a fatty liver because when these two things are present our natural insulin cannot do its job properly, so when our livers dump glucose the insulin is hampered from pushing the glucose into the cells for energy. This results in higher glucose levels until the pancreas has secreted lots more insulin, which can take many hours to "get rid" of the dumped glucose. Getting rid of the fatty liver and insulin resistance is the way to get rid of high FBG.

If this is upsetting you, and that is a normal reaction, it may be best if you have a good rest from testing at that time and concentrate on pre and post your main meals (lunch and dinner) and keeping any rises from before to after as small as you can. (the flatter the better). Several other members here have stopped testing FBG, at least for now.

One thing you can do to stop the high levels after breakfast is to have a breakfast without any carbs in it - eggs or cheese or similar. If you have carbs, the glucose released from these carbs will just be added to the liver's glucose, and will take even longer to come down.

PenguinMum said:

Thank you will try non carby breakfast and try not to stress about it. I think my carb intake daily is around 50 when I have wine more. But I wonder how long it will take me to get the magic 4 readings. Will it come or do I need to reduce carbs further.

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Just checked my app. In the last nine and a half months of testing I have only ever had 16 readings out of around 2000 be in the 4s yet my HbA1c is non Diabetic. Take Bluetit’s advice and remember this is a marathon not a sprint.

PenguinMum said:

Thank you will try non carby breakfast and try not to stress about it. I think my carb intake daily is around 50 when I have wine more. But I wonder how long it will take me to get the magic 4 readings. Will it come or do I need to reduce carbs further.

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No-one can say how long it will take for you to see 4s. It may come, it may not. Let your meter tell you how many carbs your body can cope with. Testing before and after, and keeping any rise down as low as you can will guide you, but you do need to keep a food diary including portion sizes and all ingredients. If you can't get your post meal rises down, then there are too many carbs.

I find that my trampoline is really easy on my joints, and I can sit or kneel on it to do stretching too, but I can't kneel down on a flat surface without pain.
I did not lose much weight over the first 3 months - which really puzzled the diabetes education team, but I got my Hba1c down below diabetic levels, and then my waist started to shrink and I lost weight, but it was a symptom of the good BG numbers, not the reverse.
I reduced my Hba1c during the next 3 months, which I think has to be the morning readings reducing - I was not testing much as I was getting all the same numbers after meals - so for the average to fall it has to be lower to start with, logically.

PenguinMum said:

Thank you both. The one thing that does please me is so far and it is only days the pre/post meal difference is less than 2 except for one occasion. I have ankle problems which often prevent me walking but if that improves and I can get more exercise it should help. Thanks again.

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After more than 2 years of ultra low carbing I still rarely see 4's first thing in the morning and a couple of days ago woke to 6.3. In your shoes I wouldn't stress about it as your other readings are great. My FBG's took over 6 months to get down to what I considered a respectable level. Give it time and it will happen.

PenguinMum said:

I have only been metering a few days but have been lchf for couple of months. However my pre and post breakfast (eat 8 to 8.30am) is in the 8 range whereas my previous nights suppers are usually 5/6 never higher. It takes till pre lunch reading to come down significantly better at 5/6. Ihave read about Dawn Phenominum but what can I do about it? Should my numbers be better after 2 months? Thank you.

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I've been on LCHF since last September and still have simiar numbers to you, so I don't do fasting blood sugars at all these days, might try again in a few months time, I have been Type 2 for about six/seven years so I think it takes quite a while for your body to adjust to lower levels of glucose intake.