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Type 2's: What was your fasting blood glucose in a morning?

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Brunneria said:
Hi guys, thought I would chip in.

I must say, regular testing is teaching me sooo much.

My dawn phenomenon mucks everything up. By the time I wake up my fasting BG has been long swamped by a deluge of liver dump :bored:

However, I've spotted a pattern of 5.3 emerging in my readings. It only appears in the following circumstances, but seems quite consistent:
  • When relaxed
  • At 3 or more hours after eating
  • No recent exercise
I'm wondering if it is my 'true' fasting BG.

If there's any stress, excitement, exercise in the equation, my liver steps in, and BG levels start to rise...

The irony is that I seem to have a conditioned response to hunger. When I get hungry, I get afraid (based on too many hypos induced by hunger), this makes me stressed, which makes my liver dump. At least, that is what I suspect is happening... Certainly, hunger leads to BG rises.
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I can't blame stress or anxiety as I'm a fairly laid back sort of person on the whole, especially since retiring with no children at home. However, I have noticed my best readings are ALWAYS before my evening meal, which is about 5 hours after lunch with no snacks in between. Just an odd mug of tea. One 20 minute walk. My pre-evening meal AVERAGE is 5.4. My fasting average is 6.1 (which then affects any other readings until well after lunch) I often have readings in the 4's before evening meal.
 
@Brunneria I would call it your base line. Mine is 4.3 at which point my liver steps in. My fasting is normally from 4.7 and I think this just relates to the body clock cycle. Your DP must be really frustrating and I have no suggestions for you other than what you are trying.
 
I've been meditating for years. Love it. Don't think I could bear to stop. :) I am certainly not depressed. I have quite a... buoyant outlook. And until I started with the BG tests I genuinely thought I was an unstressed person. Wish someone had told my liver that!

I'm not actually sure what kind of stress is causing my liver dumps. There are so many factors.

A common feature is physical exercise. Every morning when I wake up, my dawn phenomenon is preparing me for the day - either walking to work, or walking the dog at the weekends. Or going shopping, or gardening. I very rarely wake up with the expectation of doing nothing (do any of us?).

A less common feature is work stress.

I am sure that more exercise would help, but I already do 3x the exercise of 12 months ago...

I do have a hormone disorder that I take medication for, and I suspect that many of my hormones are screwed (technical term) in addition to the ones that are treated.

I must say, this forum is ideal for laying out speculations and theories... Just writing down this list has made it very clear to me that it is either the expectation of activity, or the dodgy hormones.

Will mull this over.

Thank you all.
 
Andrew Colvin said:
@Brunneria I would call it your base line. Mine is 4.3 at which point my liver steps in. My fasting is normally from 4.7 and I think this just relates to the body clock cycle. Your DP must be really frustrating and I have no suggestions for you other than what you are trying.
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I like the Base Line term. Perfect.

So long as I've been eating low carb, and I avoid inducing a liver dump, I can hang around 5.3ish for hours, and be very comfortable. Like being in ketosis.

Is there a ketosis BG level? A sort of home base that your body returns you to? Ok, I am just speculating now, so will stop.

Thanks for the input. Very useful.
 
AndBreathe said:
How long have you been diagnosed Tweetypie? Apologies, I'm on my phone, can't really search any info out right now?
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Hi, diagnosed Jan 2012. Was thought to be type 1 but now controlled with no meds,so draw my own conclusions now
 
6.2 while horizontal
6.5 after sorting out everyone else

Had a bad night with my kids too so poor sleep and am getting a cold :(


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Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
 
Debmcgee said:
6.2 while horizontal
6.5 after sorting out everyone else

Had a bad night with my kids too so poor sleep and am getting a cold :(


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Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
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I feel for you. There's a horrible bug going ground at the moment. I had it about a month ago, and it is slowly working its way round everyone I know! Is yours starting with a vicious sore throat, high up behind the nose?

Oh, don't know if you know this, but colds and viruses make the BG go screwy. Mine rises to about 8 and just sits there for a day or two. So don't worry if it happens to you...
 
Brunneria said:
I feel for you. There's a horrible bug going ground at the moment. I had it about a month ago, and it is slowly working its way round everyone I know! Is yours starting with a vicious sore throat, high up behind the nose?

Oh, don't know if you know this, but colds and viruses make the BG go screwy. Mine rises to about 8 and just sits there for a day or two. So don't worry if it happens to you...
Click to expand...

Thanks but I'm not worthy of sympathy just yet - I'm only sneezing and runny nose but I have something wrong with my leg so it really hurts when I sneeze! That's the worst bit x



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Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
 
9:30 last night I was 4.9

I felt a bit strange and by 11 pm decided to have a few blueberries and 25g 85% sainsbury's chocolate. Total 7g carbs.

I've read about the DP but I usually don't have time to find out in my case because I wake, test and eat. I think I once looked into it and my bg did rise a little.

This morning I woke just before 7. Tested 20 minutes later 4.7. 20 minutes later 4.5.
I don't know if I should have left it any longer but my body felt as though it was screaming for food.

As many will know, I had my metformin halved to 500mg a day, with eve meal and to modified release. GP did this but nurse thinks I could try without meds or same dose but original met.

I wanted to see if new regime gave same results when I'm back at work next week but the way I feel at the moment I'm wondering whether to stop meds and regulate if needed. I have between 55 and 85 carbs a day. Yesterday I had 92. I lunched with a friend and struggled to find something on the menu. In the end I had pan fried sea bass on crushed new pots with olives and wilted spinach, followed by a cappuccino. I ate at about 2 but didn't get a chance to test until 7 because I forgot my kit!! At 7pm it was 4.6. I don't eat potatoes and I roughly calculated I had eaten about 40+ g carbs. I've never really had that many in one go.

Still waking in the night with dead hands.


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Bluetit1802 said:
... for evening meal I had a chip shop haddock (scraped off the batter), half a tub of mushy peas and a slice of seeded bread and butter! Eaten at 7pm followed by a mug of tea, then nothing but water. Watched TV.
Before meal was 5.0 Peak was 8.5 (bad) Bed time 6.3 Morning 5.7! Lowest ever! Explain that!
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I remember reading on here a short while ago that some carbs just before you go to bed can induce a lower reading when you get up.

Not sure why that was so - something to do with the slightly higher BG levels causing the liver not to dump as much glucose into your bloodstream in the morning, maybe?

That was with very limited carbs; I don't think anyone intended to go the whole hog, with fried fish, mushy peas and bread, but it's certainly got me drooling all over my keyboard and is going to haunt me all day now ........ :)
 
2131tom said:
I remember reading on here a short while ago that some carbs just before you go to bed can induce a lower reading when you get up.

Not sure why that was so - something to do with the slightly higher BG levels causing the liver not to dump as much glucose into your bloodstream in the morning, maybe?

That was with very limited carbs; I don't think anyone intended to go the whole hog, with fried fish, mushy peas and bread, but it's certainly got me drooling all over my keyboard and is going to haunt me all day now ........ :)
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I read the opposite about carbs at night! So much conflicting advice!!!


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Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
 
A spoonful of peanut butter before bed lowers my fasting blood results, don't know if it's classed as carb or protein and don't care, it's working. xx
 
lunarlinda said:
A spoonful of peanut butter before bed lowers my fasting blood results, don't know if it's classed as carb or protein and don't care, it's working. xx
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I'd say peanut butter was fat and protein.


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Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
 
Well that's great. Wasn't sure if there were carbs in it or not, but I want to thank whoever suggested it on this site, 'cos I like peanut butter and so it's no hardship, it also stops the hunger feelings I used to get before bed. x
 
I think it's about 25% carb but yummmmmy!!!


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Diagnosed prediabetic Easter 2014. Just left to get on with it, no guidance or help from GP. Every day I'm learning something new.
 
4.6 this morning - ate my main meal at lunch time
 
2131tom said:
I remember reading on here a short while ago that some carbs just before you go to bed can induce a lower reading when you get up.

Not sure why that was so - something to do with the slightly higher BG levels causing the liver not to dump as much glucose into your bloodstream in the morning, maybe?

That was with very limited carbs; I don't think anyone intended to go the whole hog, with fried fish, mushy peas and bread, but it's certainly got me drooling all over my keyboard and is going to haunt me all day now ........ :)
Click to expand...


We always have our main meal about 7 to 7-30. It's not feasible to change that. The fish, peas and bread totalled 32g carbs. Went to bed on 6.3. Woke up on 5.7.
Last night I had a salmon salad with a slice of bread. Total 19 carbs. Went to bed on 5.4, woke up on 6.0.
 
6.0 this morning. Still a bit lower than average.

Last 7 days average is a whole 0.5 down on the previous week. I feel I am getting somewhere.
 
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