Newly Diagnosed help / advice needed feel like im loosing my mind :(

[Madhuskies]

Hi Everyone
im reaching out as i have reached a point of desperation, i was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with type 2 ive made massive changes to my diet, to the point where i have currently lost 14lb ( plenty more to go) but my issue is, im struggling to understand what's causing me spikes first thing in a morning, hers an example

Today, woke up, after about 10 mins did the finger prick and reading came back as 6.5, got dressed felt a bit light headed so had 101g soy yogurt with 42g of blackberries, plus my meds of 1x metformin 1 x gliclazide, waited a bit then went for a small 20 min walk with the dog, set an alarm for 1hr so i could check my bloods and it was at 9.3 .

ive had this yogurt and berries before no big spike, ive spent hours looking around the internet on what to do and im really struggling to understand how to stop spikes, does anyone have any advice they can offer, or good websites they trust.

Any help at all would be massively appreciated.

Thanks
Tony

 

[TheSecretCarbAddict]

There could be many reasons for spikes, search for dawn phenomenon / effect with regards to morning spikes specifically. This is something that occurs naturally and can be especially pronounced in diabetics. It is sometimes difficult to see this with fingerprick tests, and CGM can give you much better insights. If you haven't done it already, I think Abbott still do a free trial of Libre 2 for new customers.

 

[In Response]

Welcome @Madhuskies

Whilst food is the main thing that can affect our BG, there are many other things. Unless we eat exactly the same food, get no illness, do exactly the same amount of exercise at the same time of day, have no stress in our lives, that's the life we live in a bubble where the weather never changes, where we go to sleep at exactly the same time and wake at exactly the same time, we are unlikely to have the same reaction to the same food every time. And even then, if we eat it at a different time of day, the reaction may differ.
Yes, our BG is affected by illness, stress, weather, number of hours sleep we have, how much exercise we do, ...

But, on top of that we have Dawn Phenomenon and Foot on the Floor. This is when our really helpful livers help us start the day by dumping glucose into our blood. This happens to most of us regardless whether we have diabetes or not but it is only those of us "lucky" enough to have diabetes who notice the rise. Some of us can spot a rise starting in the early hours of the morning to give us the energy to get out of bed and start the day - this is Dawn Phenomenon. Others can spot the rise after we get up. It's as if putting the first foot on the floor as we get out of bed sends a signal to our liver to start the lever dump.

I am no medical expert but my guess would be that you are experiencing Foot on The Floor rise. Annoyingly, this is the last BG reading that is likely to come down.

But remember you will never get rid of all spikes - these are perfectly normal. If someone without diabetes tested their BG, it would be different at different times of the day, depending what they eat, exercise, etc.

 

[TheSecretCarbAddict]

Here is my example from yesterday. I fasted all day, yet my blood glucose shot up in the morning and stayed there for a while. If I eat food on top of this, it will go even higher.

 

[Madhuskies]

Welcome @Madhuskies

Whilst food is the main thing that can affect our BG, there are many other things. Unless we eat exactly the same food, get no illness, do exactly the same amount of exercise at the same time of day, have no stress in our lives, that's the life we live in a bubble where the weather never changes, where we go to sleep at exactly the same time and wake at exactly the same time, we are unlikely to have the same reaction to the same food every time. And even then, if we eat it at a different time of day, the reaction may differ.
Yes, our BG is affected by illness, stress, weather, number of hours sleep we have, how much exercise we do, ...

But, on top of that we have Dawn Phenomenon and Foot on the Floor. This is when our really helpful livers help us start the day by dumping glucose into our blood. This happens to most of use regardless whether we have diabetes or not but it is only those of us "lucky" enough to have diabetes who notice the rise. Some of us can spot a rise starting in the early hours of the morning to give us the energy to get out of bed and start the day - this is Dawn Phenomenon. Others can spot the rise after we get up. It's as if putting the first foot on the floor as we get out of bed sends a signal to our liver to start the lever dump.

I am no medical expert but my guess would be that you are experiencing Foot on The Floor rise. Annoyingly, this is the last BG reading that is likely to come down.

But remember you will never get rid of all spikes - these are perfectly normal. If someone without diabetes tested their BG, it would be different at different times of the day, depending what they eat, exercise, etc.

Thank you for the response, this has helped calm my nerves a little, its quite daunting being newly diagnosed, there is a wealth of information on the internet, but ive also found a lot of conflicting information. I think because im only 3 weeks in i am extremely cautious of any little blip.

 

[Madhuskies]

There could be many reasons for spikes, search for dawn phenomenon / effect with regards to morning spikes specifically. This is something that occurs naturally and can be especially pronounced in diabetics. It is sometimes difficult to see this with fingerprick tests, and CGM can give you much better insights. If you haven't done it already, I think Abbott still do a free trial of Libre 2 for new customers.

Yes i have the Libre 2 which has helped me a lot, otherwise knowing me i would be pricking my finger every 5 mins. i really like the Libre, so thanks for that advice, appreciated.