[Chris A]

I had nothing but some tuna eggs and a little cheese for three days straight but been low carbing for a few months. Lost about 25lbs in two months close to my ideal weight. Looking good and feeling good. On metformin 500 xr sa. Once a day.

After almost no carbs for 3 days I test myself with a meter in the morning and hit 119. Today went to the movies and splurged popcorn with extra butter. Got home and tested 100? Went to sizzler had steak and salad bar with ice cream after. 2 hours later tested 110. Went back on super low carbs and can't hit below 120.

 

[Guest]

The "Dawn Effect" makes your BS highest in the morning, often higher than any other time of the day including after meals (as long as you watch your carbs)

 

[Chris A]

Just seems strange that I test lower on high carb days then I do on after several low carb days.

 

[Shanny]

You were very strict for quite some time which gives a few of us a pass for occasional short excursions into carbville. All the butter on the popcorn surely helped greatly in slowing down the absorption of those carbs. Again, the fats in the ice cream could slow the absorption of the carbs there too. As Peter says, some of us are afflicted with dawn phenomenon which brings higher fasting readings. Sometimes our diabetes just does its own thing and there's no accounting for what's happening. As long as there's stored glycogen in our livers, we're liable to get a liver dump any time our liver thinks we're going a little low. My own numbers are apt to be messed up for several days after I detour into carbville - enough that I resist the temptation because it takes so bloomin' long to get them back in line.

You've made terrific progress & I congratulate you on your weight loss & getting your numbers reined in quickly. I hope you'll be visiting often - we look forward to getting better acquainted.

Thanks for joining us, Chris!

 

[jwags]

A couple of things may be going on here. First of all when you are dieting your body may kick in extra glucose if you are not eating enough. This is why it is important to eat enough calories everyday. I eat 1600-2000 calories to keep up my metabolism and prevent those "liver dumps" of glucose. Another thing is when you eat fat like the steak and the ice cream, the fat may delay or prevent a spike. But protein can be converted to glucose much later. I find when I cheat a little my 2 hour readings are pretty good, but the next few days my numbers are higher because of stored glycogen. When you low carb you deplete your glycogen, but when you cheat with carbs you replensish those glycogen which then increase liver dumps.

 

[NotBubba]

Good time to ask this...

Is the "Dawn Effect" something that occurs as the body is beginning to awaken from sleep (like maybe triggered by the pre-awakening drop in melatonin?), or is it something that kicks in once you've kind of gotten going (perhaps brought on by adrenaline or something)? IOW, is it something you'll see in your tests immediately upon arising from bed, or is it something you'll see in a test about an hour or so after getting up?

I tested 117 right out of bed, and 5 units Novolog (taken in anticipation of eating in two hours, delayed reaction) + a few sips of coffee w/ cream and s/f syrup + 2 hours = 124.

~~~~~

And then 131 after two more hours. Gonna be one of those days, I guess...

 

[julian]

For me, the dawn effect kicks in after I get up and "going". So about 30-60 minutes later it will spike ~60 mg/dl.
So I inject about 2-3 units usually before I even go to the bathroom.

As far as I know it is caused by hormones.

 

[Chris A]

Some good reading thanks every one

 

[jwags]

DP usually happens early in the morning . It is caused by your body producing stress hormones to begin the wake up process. It happens to everyone but what happens in non D's is their pancreas then puts out insulin to deal with this. Most D's are insulin insufficient especially in the morning, so our bgs go up. This same process can also happen during the day. As our body perceives we are going low, even if it is not low, our body produces stress hormones which then cause liver to change glycogen into glucose.

 

[MCS]

A couple of things. When I go off the rails on the weekends and eat more carbs than during the week I see lower numbers than expected. Then when I get back on the rails my numbers are a little higher than normal. This routine, I think is due to my body storing as much glycogen as it can after I eat a more carby meal which strips my blood of glucose. When I get back on the rails its my body purging the glycogens it has stored. Plus you get a kick from stored phase I insulin after low carbing for a while.

Morning numbers differ from person to person which is due to their built in biological clocks and their ability to handle the rush of morning hormones. The term morning person, evening person, etc. My FBG is good when I awake but soon will start to rise if I don't do anything to halt the rise. For over a year now when I awake the first thing I do is make a cup of coffee. I put in that cup of coffee, 4 grams of real sugar, 4 packets of art sweetener, heavy cream and a tsp of coconut oil. The sugar and art sweeteners act together to signal a GLP-1 release which cranks up my pancreas and tells my liver its ok to stop the glucose. My FBGs are in the mid 70-80 range, drink the coffee, eat breakfast (low carb eggs, fake oatmeal, etc) go for a 2 mile walk, 1 hr PP is usually in the mid 80's, 2 hr PP are about the same. The fake oatmeal will drop me into the 70's before lunch for some reason I am unaware of.

 

[Patdart]

MCS, What is fake oatmeal? Sounds interesting...

 

[MCS]

http://www.diabetesforum.com/diabetes-recipes/6821-instant-oatmeal-like.html

I eat this about 2-3 days a week in the winter time. I try to keep up with the above recipe but I have found that I can boil a cup of water in which I add a tbs of coconut oil, 1 cup of almond meal, 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed, cinn, and pecan pieces. Boil for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. I then add a tab of butter, some heavy cream and Splenda. It truly is wonderful.

MCS, What is fake oatmeal? Sounds interesting...

 

[Guest]

A couple of things. When I go off the rails on the weekends and eat more carbs than during the week I see lower numbers than expected. Then when I get back on the rails my numbers are a little higher than normal.

Balancing glucose in the blood is a complicated dance of homones and glucose. It's more than just Glucose and Insulin.

In a normal person, when blood sugar levels get to low, the pancreas release glucagon into the blood that tracels to the liver and triggers the conversion of stored glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood. When BG gets to high the pancreas releases Insulin into the blood which causes the liver to convert glucose back into glycogen.

Apparently with many diabetics the dance get's out of step, especially in the AM. Either the liver releases too much glucose or the pancreas does not release enough insulin, etc.

Some diabetics actually find that having a small carb snack in the evening can lower their FBG. My guess is the extra carbs at night raise the BG and stops the pancreas from releasing as much glucagon so the liver doesn't release as much glucose into the blood.

It sounds like you might be one of these types of diabetics. You might try eating a small snack with some carbs in the evening before going to bed and see what effect it has on your FBG.

 

[MCS]

I might try that in the future, but for the past 6 months my FBG's have been between 72-87 in the mornings. I had a 88 yesterday morning after not sleeping most of the night with this darned flu bug, man I ache every where, can barely swallow water right now.

Balancing glucose in the blood is a complicated dance of homones and glucose. It's more than just Glucose and Insulin.

In a normal person, when blood sugar levels get to low, the pancreas release glucagon into the blood that tracels to the liver and triggers the conversion of stored glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood. When BG gets to high the pancreas releases Insulin into the blood which causes the liver to convert glucose back into glycogen.

Apparently with many diabetics the dance get's out of step, especially in the AM. Either the liver releases too much glucose or the pancreas does not release enough insulin, etc.

Some diabetics actually find that having a small carb snack in the evening can lower their FBG. My guess is the extra carbs at night raise the BG and stops the pancreas from releasing as much glucagon so the liver doesn't release as much glucose into the blood.

It sounds like you might be one of these types of diabetics. You might try eating a small snack with some carbs in the evening before going to bed and see what effect it has on your FBG.