• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Q on BS in the morning

T

toots8298

Member
Messages
20
I've just started to monitor my BS in morning.

My target is 5.5 before breakfast and 6.0 before other meals and before bed......

My question is whether or not you get a lower reading as soon as you wake up or a few hours after you get up?

I generally dont have breakfast for a few hours after i get up so i've been taking my test just before I eat, but just wondering if I should be testing earlier to make sure its more accurate and better for me?

The level I'm getting before breakfast is around 7-8.......

Thanks in advance
 
I have the same problem with my first readings of the day, so much so, that now I only test if I'm feeling 'iffy'. My readings are always in the high 6s or 7s, very occasionally 8. I have also found out through trial and error that if I don't eat very soon after waking, they continue to rise. Eating seems to trigger things to start working properly and 2hours post meal they are usually below 7. I once went for a swim before breakfast in the morning and when I did test it was almost 9 :shock:

You might be helped by looking on the forum about the dawn phenomenon and other posts relating to high morning readings. There are some tips for trying to reduce these readings, sadly none have worked for me :thumbdown: hopefully, there will be something there that will help you :D
 
Hi Toots, I think a FBG should be pretty soon after waking. I put my testing kit on the bedside if I particularly want to get a FBG reading. The thing to remember is that the dawn phenomenon (where the liver dumps glucose in the blood stream to get you going of a morning) can distort that reading, also eating something late at night can have an effect on your FBG reading. I don't always bother because there is so much your body does naturally that you have little control over that effects that reading.

If you test pre breakfast that is a legit pre meal fasting reading but could be distorted by tea or coffee that you have drunk since waking. Caffeine in particular can in some people cause BG rises.
 
Thanks Nikkig and fraddycat, will have a go at first thing in the morning tomorrow and see how it goes if its slightly better will eat earlier than Im used to... i.e. up earlier and eat in house rather than at desk in office lol :)
 
Just an update, i done my test first thing in the morning and it came back lower than the rest of the week, 7.1 not ideal for my average. Have since had a chat with the diabetic nurses and they say that its just the way that the body works and theres probably nothing i can do really.

Think i will try to eat earlier in the evening and less carbs and introduce bitter melon in my diet and see if that helps ;-) always worth a try :)
 
Hi. Testing early in the morning will always be a lottery due to the liver dump effect. Testing 2 hours after a typical meal will give you some idea of the effect of food on your sugar levels and therefore helps you manage your sugar levels. The NHS seems a bit hung-up on the fasting blood test but I'm not sure it's very helpful overall.
 
Back
Top