Hi! I feel that if it is the dawn phenomenon (DP) then I have some tips which might help. I take my long-lasting in the evening before bed (Tresiba). What I have found helps is
A. Shifting my overnight dose. If during the day I ate lower carb and was more active I would take the lower end of my scale, but if I had more carbs during the day/ was less active, I up my dose. It sometimes takes a moment to find what this range for you may be, but it has changed the dawn phenomenon for me a lot and I'm now super steady in the AM.
B. If you notice a time that your sugar is rising (I think the average rise time for the DP is 5-6 AM, but everyone is different), then set an alarm and take some fast-acting to keep it from rising. I had to use this method for a little bit when I was recovering from high sugars and it reset my body to then just use my Long-lasting scale.
C. High protein meals can also hit a lot later. If you eat chicken or steak for dinner for example, they actually cause a rise in sugar hours later. For some, this effect is minimal, but for others, it will go up a lot. Of course this also depends on serving size and what time you eat too. If I do have steak and hour or two before bed, I do see myself rise during the night about four to five hours later. Every body is different and the same goes for everyone's reaction to foods/insulin, so don't be hard on yourself if some of this is the case.
If it is not the DP I have some other tips:
A. Some people are more insulin resistant in the AM. This is normal as the body is still waking. If you like working out or walking in the morning, it helps lower insulin resistance and lowers sugar. Keep in mind though, if you do this and do high intensity workouts, to take some insulin before as those actually will up sugar. But it still will make your body less insulin resistant that day. Low intensity lowers, so no insulin needed before!
B. Take insulin further in time before you eat/correction if needed and wait until you start dropping in lower numbers. If it is a little insulin resistant and you usually wake then eat, I would maybe set an alarm a little earlier, take a shot, and go back to sleep until you need to wake. Then the insulin can really start working so you can eat and enjoy your morning without the high sugar stress.
C. I actually don't know how I got on UK Diabetes as I am from US, so I will have to double check this next one, but in the US we had a newer insulin called Afrezza released which is inhaled. This powder works ASAP so you can use to bring down frustrating raising sugars or take before you eat (I do combo with injection). But this helped me immensely with higher sugars. Its peak is shorter than injection but it works faster which is why I do the combo. If you do have the ability to get this, it is amazing, but also the dosing is different than injection so keep in mind
Lastly, this again effects all people differently, but for me stress is big challenge to my numbers. Be aware if you do have this spicy little extra challenge and are a stressed person or find your AM to be more hectic, take higher doses and correction more frequently. Stress for me is always a battle as it is different depending on the situation, but I do have to up my intake when I have some. Again, there's always a little trial and error for this.
Good luck and you will get to the bottom of it! I promise. Personally I had high sugars for six years and was diagnosed at 17. My situation was solved in literally a day when I found a doctor who genuinely listened to me and created a very personal plan (that fit my life and needs)! Make sure you're heard by your team too when sharing concerns or 'betes stress. It's truly not one size fits all!
