Newbie

Hi Dave.
Welcome.

This might explain what is happening to you overnight.

DAWN PHENOMENON
Everyone, diabetic or not, exhibits some Dawn Phenomenon. It is a natural part of our bodies' circadian rhythms. Some have said it is the way our ancestors had the strength to rise and slay a wooly behemoth for breakfast.

Since most of us fast while sleeping, with teenagers a possible exception, our bodies use stored energy during sleep. The body uses all three macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) to store energy.

The most easily used is the storage medium of carbohydrates, called glycogen. Glycogen is made from glucose, and is stored in the liver and muscles. Since it is basically nothing more than a complex matrix of glucose, it is easy for the body to store and use, something the body does all day long. The technical term for the act of creating and storing glycogen is glycogenesis. When the body calls for the conversion of glycogen back to glucose it is called glycogenolysis.

Another macro-nutrient that is available to be converted to glucose is protein. Most of us think of our protein as being stored in muscle, but the body has protective mechanisms to make muscle wasting its last choice. One of the most useful and readily available sources of protein storage is in blood components, i.e., albumin (plasma). The body uses a process performed in the liver to convert amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, into glucose. The name for this process is gluconeogenesis, literally "the creation of new glucose".

So, what does all this have to do with a high fasting BG? Overnight, usually between 4am and 11am, your body releases some hormones. These are Growth Hormone (GH) from the anterior pituitary gland, cortisol from the adrenal cortex, glucagon from your pancreatic alpha-cells, and epinephrine (adrenalin). These hormones cause an increase in insulin resistance, raising your BG. In addition, these hormones trigger glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, adding stored or new glucose to your bloodstream.
The 2009 guideline Bg figures to aim for are as follows:
Fasting (waking).................Between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals.................No more than 8.5 mmol/l.


Ken.

Hi ken
I can just visualise you hunting and eating a wooly behemoth, by the light of the early dawn. Having trouble visualising it. Is it like mammoth? :lol:

Hana.

Your eyesight must be improving if you can see me from where you are ? :shock:

Yes, Mammoth as in gargantuan.......I eat a lot of meat. :lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behemoth

Ken.

Hi Ken

Almost 4 years since I was diagnosed and I have had this problem all along. What can we do to try and bring down the fasting levels? - or are we just lumbered with it?!! :lol:

Thanks. Jude

Hi Jude.

You will have to forgive me Jude but I cannot remember what your diet consists of or what meds you are on ? Not sure what we have suggested before ? Will help if you help me here ?

Ken

Re: New to self testing

Very recently I have experienced a burning, stabbing pain in my thighs and occassional numbness in toes.
I have read various horror stories about amputations and blindness and must admit that even in my darkest nightmares did I ever see myself as middle aged ****** about in the dark.

I know the feeling - panic :evil: I went to the Dr 10 years ago with numbness in one thigh, & he tested for diabetes. My averages have been around 7 through the years, & I was told they were satisfactorily controlled. Then the leg muscle pain set in a year ago & I feared becoming disabled. It was painful just getting out of bed. Advice from contributors to this forum resulted in me drastically reducing my carbohydrates to only very small portions. In 3 months I was fully active again, & had lost a stone in wt. My BS averages dropped to 6.

My recommendation is a reduced carb diet if you want an active rest-of-your-life.


I have been using a blood tester since being on Gliclazide and can't understand why the reading before breakfast is much higher than it was before bed time. Last night for instance was 5.2 and this morning wass 9.6. Can anyone shed any light on it?

Its called the "dawn effect" as the liver releases glucose to energise you for the day ahead. What time do you get up. I can go from say 5.3 at 7 a.m. to 6.1 at 11 a.m. when I have a fasting blood test.

p.s. Non-diab BS is 4-5.

Click to expand...

cugila said:

Hana.

Your eyesight must be improving if you can see me from where you are ? :shock:

Yes, Mammoth as in gargantuan.......I eat a lot of meat. :lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behemoth

Ken.

Click to expand...

I support that WIKI suggestion:

Some Young Earth Creationists propose that the Behemoth is a dinosaur. Some sort of sauropod is usually proposed since large sauropods had tails "like a cedar".

Click to expand...

Hi Ian.
Young Earth creationists ? :? you missed this bit out ?
However, certain scholars postulate that the reference to the cedar tree actually refers to its needle-like leaves, which resemble the bristly hair present on the tails of modern elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses.


BEHEMOTH
Wiki definition....and mine.
Behemoth (Hebrew בהמות, behemot; Arabic بهيموث bahīmūth, or بهموت bahamūt), pronounced /bɨˈhiməθ/, is a biblical creature mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. The word is most likely a plural form of בהמה (bəhēmāh), meaning beast or large animal. It may be an example of pluralis excellentiae, a Hebrew method of expressing greatness by pluralizing a noun; it thus indicates that Behemoth is the largest and most powerful animal ever to exist. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity. Like a Mammoth or Elephant.

Anyway, back to the topic in hand.......