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morning sugar levels.....

Wil burn

Well-Known Member
Messages
175
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Other
Hello, me again,
so I went to see the diabetic nurse on Tuesday, and she said "you're doing really well keeping your sugar levels down but do you test in the morning?" No was my answer. "Well you need to start doing it" ok, no problem I said and left feeling kinda pleased with myself. Feet ok blood sugar levels good..nothing to worry about.
so I started tested in the morning ***! 7.5 9.0 10....had a quick look into it this morning and found the reason why this happens but how do I get my morning levels down to normalish?

Thanking you in advance

Wil
 
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Others here have experimented Will, you could try eating something small as soon as you wake. @Brunneria has tried cheese straws and brazil nuts ( I don't think together).

The idea behind this is that it tricks you're body into thinking that your about to have a proper breakfast and thus prevents the liver dump.

No doubt others will be along to offer some advice as well.

Good luck with this.
 
What are you when you go to bed? That would be the first question I would ask myself.

Eating something as soon as you wake is cheating because your test is not truly fasting. Testing as soon as you wake is the right way to do it, after washing hands but before doing anything else. Pottering about, showering, even going downstairs can have an effect and raise your levels. Some people find a small non-carb snack before going to bed helps a little. I don't. I find it makes it worse. Others may have some tips, but generally speaking there isn't much you can do. Our livers produce glucose to get us going after fasting (and also at other times such as during/after exercise). This is perfectly normal, and happens to everyone, not just diabetics.
 
I think this obsession with FBG is ridiculous.

It's what your BG level is for most of the day that matters, not what it might be at one particular instant.
 
britishpub said:
I think this obsession with FBG is ridiculous.

It's what your BG level is for most of the day that matters, not what it might be at one particular instant.
Click to expand...

That is very true. However, morning fasting levels impact on post breakfast and even pre-lunch levels. The higher we start, the higher we finish.
 
britishpub said:
I think this obsession with FBG is ridiculous.

It's what your BG level is for most of the day that matters, not what it might be at one particular instant.
Click to expand...

Fbg is an excellent indication of how controlled your diabetes is.
It is often the last reading to subside after adopting a low carb way of eating, so it can be used as a guide to progress.

Thankfully, no one holds a gun against our heads to force us to take the reading. So we are free to ignore or fasting bg levels, if we wish.
 
My cheese and brazil nut experiments were interesting.

Nothing, but NOTHING will stop my bg rising in the morning. If i accept this, and carry out my normal morning routine, my bg continues to rise through the morning - until i eat a low carb brekkie. When it starts to fall.

The result is raised bg for up to 6 hours (assuming it starts at say 3-4am, and ends at 9am ish, when my breakfast hits my bloodstream). And it rises in a steady climb to higher than any other time during the day.

That is enough to seriously impact my HbA1c.

So i tried a few things.
Low carb snack at bedtime - did nothing.
Exercise (shudder) - did nothing
Snack on waking (1oz cheese or 1 brazil nut) before my feet hit the floor - stopped my dp from rising any further.

So, for me, it gives me control of my 'dawn phenomenon' in so far as i can stop it rising during the morning, between waking and eating breakfast.
 
Thanks guys. Before going to bed I'm usually 5-6 . I was 5.9 last night and was 9.8 when I woke up but that was after showering etc. I had porridge for breakfast and was 7, 2hrs later and 5.9 after lunch. My diabetes nurse says that anything below 10 is acceptable but that goes against what I've read (8.5) I have my next blood test the first week in December, I'm now worried that the higher morning readings will impact on my averages. Really want to avoid medication if possible. Going to try a piece of holy ghost before I retire tonight and see what happens. Thanks for your input guys, so much of the stuff I read and have been told by so called professionals tends to conflict which just leaves me totally confused.
 
Try testing as soon as you wake and before showering. It could be the shower that is raising the levels. It can do in some people, and I have read on here that some Type 1's actually inject insulin for showering. Then have a little to eat before you shower. Maybe a few nuts or a piece of cheese. Pottering about on an empty stomach when fasting can also raise levels.

Also, if you wake during the night, for example for a toilet visit, test then. It may give you an idea of when your levels start to rise.

Try not to worry too much. Once any insulin resistance improves you will see those morning numbers coming down, but this can take time.
 
Brilliant thats great news Many thanks, I really do appreciate it
 
britishpub said:
I think this obsession with FBG is ridiculous.

It's what your BG level is for most of the day that matters, not what it might be at one particular instant.
Click to expand...

.....and my endo is only interested in my a1c (or so it seems). But if I was at 10 every single morning, then my 3 monthly a1c would ultimately be higher. I don't necessarily see it as an 'obsession' with FBG but more a desire to retain tight control.
 
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Oops, looks like I said something that is not allowed on these forums.

Good job I didn't say anything bad about eating Fats
 
Just done 50 minutes on my bike at threshold. Did a test when I got back and was 5.3 not sure how exercise affects blood sugar. But pleased with that.
 
Oh! And I haven't a clue what all this a/c and hbct whatever it is means.lol
 
Wil burn said:
Oh! And I haven't a clue what all this a/c and hbct whatever it is means.lol
Click to expand...

The clever people at the test labs can tell how much sugar you've had in your bloodstream over the past 3 months. This is because the glucose attaches itself to your blood cells to form a chain. The length of the chain(s) gives them an indication of your average blood sugar levels. This blood test is called the hba1c test.

The result is often quoted as a percentage and in the UK, 6.5% is the level at which the quacks say you're diabetic. You might also see it quoted in milli-mol per liters, and the equivalent number would be 48mmol/L.
 
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Oh right.. thanks! The quack said I should be below 48 and that I was above 58, didn't have a clue what he was talking about and said so. He said basically you're diabetic. I have to go back early December for the same test. Hba1c got it. Whats a/c then?
 

Don't think I've come across it before, where'd you see it?
 
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