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Morning Blood levels

benack1992

benack1992

Member
Messages
10
Location
Bristol
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi All!
I have noticed first thing in the morning my blood will usually be between 3.5 and 6.5mmol. Between then and before breakfast (about 2 hours) I will only have a black coffee on my bus journey and when i test my blood before i eat it has usually gone up by about 3.0mmol so to 6.5/9.5mmol.
Most of this time is spent on a bus but also about 25minutes walking so i assumed my sugars would stay th same or go down.

Not really a problem just very curious as to why it might be and if anyone else has the same.

Thanks in advance.
 
benack1992 said:
Hi All!
I have noticed first thing in the morning my blood will usually be between 3.5 and 6.5mmol. Between then and before breakfast (about 2 hours) I will only have a black coffee on my bus journey and when i test my blood before i eat it has usually gone up by about 3.0mmol so to 6.5/9.5mmol.
Most of this time is spent on a bus but also about 25minutes walking so i assumed my sugars would stay th same or go down.

Not really a problem just very curious as to why it might be and if anyone else has the same.

Thanks in advance.
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I suspect it is your commute to work on an empty stomach that is doing it. Your body has got up in the morning and is expecting some glucose. It doesn't get it and then it's thinking, here he is expecting me to get him on a bus and walking to work with no fuel, I know, let's get the glucose stored in the liver to drop a bit out. I get the same thing when I am on earlies, up at 5am, don't have time for breakfast until I get to work by which time it's gone up by 1 or 2 points. To stop this, I now have my breakfast just after I get up before setting off and this works fine for me. You could even just try a small snack before setting off and seeing if that works. Then have your proper breakfast when you get there.
 
This is very common.
It has multiple names like "foot on the floor effect", "Dawn Phenomenon" and "liver dump".

Our liver releases glucose to give us energy to start our day.
It happens pretty much to everyone regardless of whether they have diabetes or not.
The only difference is those with a healthy pancreas will release sufficient insulin to convert the glucose into energy.
 
Amazing, Thanks.

Maybe I will try having a bannana on my way into work and see how that affects things.
 
helensaramay said:
This is very common.
It has multiple names like "foot on the floor effect", "Dawn Phenomenon" and "liver dump".

Our liver releases glucose to give us energy to start our day.
It happens pretty much to everyone regardless of whether they have diabetes or not.
The only difference is those with a healthy pancreas will release sufficient insulin to convert the glucose into energy.
Click to expand...

Hi Helen, would you say this is a 'delayed' liver dump in this case then? It sounds like benack's readings are 'good' when he gets up and puts his feet on the floor as such (ie 3.5 to 6.5) but 2 hours later it has gone up which is what made me think it could be resolved by a snack before he sets out.
 
KK123 said:
Hi Helen, would you say this is a 'delayed' liver dump in this case then? It sounds like benack's readings are 'good' when he gets up and puts his feet on the floor as such (ie 3.5 to 6.5) but 2 hours later it has gone up which is what made me think it could be resolved by a snack before he sets out.
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The timing of liver dumps is different for all of us - some wake at 4am as they start to see their BG rise and others may not see the rise until they have got up.
A snack is definitely worth trying (with insulin). I know it works with some people ... but not all.
 
As mentioned, this is the Dawn Phenomenon, you just need extra insulin to cover it. I take an extra unit at breakfast to cover it. One unit of Novorapid drops my BGs by 2mmol/l, so in your case I'd take an extra 1.5 units for a 3mmol/l rise.
 
This happened to me more and more the less I cared about breakfast as a type 1.

I used to eat 1 apple before work on a morning and have good blood sugars when I checked my sugar 3 hours later.

I havent eaten an apple with insulin in a month and my sugar has risen all the time on a morning when I leave on an empty stomach.

I didn't put 2 and 2 together until I seen this thread
 
helensaramay said:
The timing of liver dumps is different for all of us - some wake at 4am as they start to see their BG rise and others may not see the rise until they have got up.
A snack is definitely worth trying (with insulin). I know it works with some people ... but not all.
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Interesting, I get that but I didn't know the dawn phenomenon could happen two hours later, thank you.
 
I'd agree that it's dawn dump. I dislike the term "phenomenon" because we know the cause
 
Dixon1995 said:
Exactly why its called a phenomenon, i.e a known fact
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Hi there @Dixon1995 I disagree a phenomenon is defined as "a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question." so it is not a known fact.
 
SueJB said:
Hi there @Dixon1995 I disagree a phenomenon is defined as "a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question." so it is not a known fact.
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Your definition contradicts your end statement. It states it is a fact, that is questionable. The dawn phenomenon is that such a thing because there are many possible reasons as to why it occurs which are frequently questioned

P.s, friendly debate :)
 
Dixon1995 said:
Your definition contradicts your end statement. It states it is a fact, that is questionable. The dawn phenomenon is that such a thing because there are many possible reasons as to why it occurs which are frequently questioned

P.s, friendly debate :)
Click to expand...
Right on for friendly debate and it was a definition I cut and pasted. I just don't agree with or like the term as it sounds a bit weird and for me, is not a phenomenon. Prefer "liver dump" and I hate it because it ruins my morning;)
 
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