BG can anyone explain why…

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OhJoy

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
In the evening my BG rises last thing at night? For example yesterday was typical. Tested before dinner 5.1, At 7pm ate a meal of roast pork and roast Mediterranean veg followed by some nuts, seeds blueberries and Greek yogurt. Tested at 8pm 6.2. Spent 30 mins moderate exercise on the bike. Tested again at 9pm back to 5. Spent the rest of the evening pottering and watching tv. I did not eat or drink anything after dinner. Tested again before bed about 10.45 and it was back to 6.3. This happens every night but I don’t understand why. Can anyone suggest a reason?
 
It is probably your liver releasing glucose just to keep things ticking over and anyway those readings are pretty well all the same and within the accuracy of the monitor. It is more useful to be looking for trends. Any reason why you are testing so much? 2 hours post meal is the usual time to test rather than 1 hour.
 
OhJoy said:
In the evening my BG rises last thing at night? For example yesterday was typical. Tested before dinner 5.1, At 7pm ate a meal of roast pork and roast Mediterranean veg followed by some nuts, seeds blueberries and Greek yogurt. Tested at 8pm 6.2. Spent 30 mins moderate exercise on the bike. Tested again at 9pm back to 5. Spent the rest of the evening pottering and watching tv. I did not eat or drink anything after dinner. Tested again before bed about 10.45 and it was back to 6.3. This happens every night but I don’t understand why. Can anyone suggest a reason?
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I wouldn’t have tested for any of those. I presume you’ve eaten meat with roast veg before and know it’s fine for your blood sugars, and you’re not at risk of hypos from exercise as only on 1 metformin, so none of those tests informed any decisions you made in any way. I’d stop testing so much especially as it seems to make you worry.
 
That’s pretty stable to be honest, I wouldn’t even count it as a rise. Give yourself a pat on the back for managing things well and stop worrying about it!
 
Leadinglights said:
Any reason why you are testing so much? 2 hours post meal is the usual time to test rather than 1 hour.
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I usually test last thing before bed. The last few weeks I noticed a rise, it’s not much I accept that, but I always want to know why. I don’t test that much normally just trying to see what’s happening
 
Please also be aware that the meters only have to be accurate to within 15%, which means 5.1 and 5.8 are basically the same, so a rise from 5.1 to 6.2 is virtually nothing. Also, if you eat very few carbs, the protein in your food will convert to glucose instead which may give you a slight rise.
 
Temps have been higher at nights, stupid global warming, could be affecting your bg. Remember when it used to be cooler in the evenings. Not any more. :(
 
There are 42 known factors which affect BG levels. Food, exercise and medication are the 3 big hitters but lots and lots of other factors, which cause our BG levels to go up and down throughout the day and night, including our liver releasing glucose in response to several factors. A rise of 1mmol-2 mmols is all within the normal variation of the various factors at play. I can understand, when you are doing your best to lower your levels that a rise is a bit perplexing and demoralizing but keep at the dietary and exercise efforts you are making and I am sure that over the weeks and monsths you will see a steady overall downward trend, so that the 5s become 4s and the 6s become 5s.

This particular rise could be something as simple as watching something on TV which excited you or agitated you. I am particularly sensitive to stress and anything with suspense like a close run sports match that I have a vested interest in or a thriller can easily send my levels up several mmols. During the climax of the Top Gun 2 movie mission my levels shot up to 17mmols 😱 and I had to inject insulin to bring them down, so 1.3mmol rise is nothing in the scheme of things and just part of the normal ups and downs of everyday life.
 
Sally71 said:
Please also be aware that the meters only have to be accurate to within 15%, which means 5.1 and 5.8 are basically the same, so a rise from 5.1 to 6.2 is virtually nothing. Also, if you eat very few carbs, the protein in your food will convert to glucose instead which may give you a slight rise.
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And that conversion of proteins to glucose can be very much later in your metabolic processes than conversion of carbs

One of the challenges of adopting keto diets for people who are insulin dependent is mastering the timing. Protein conversion has different rates for different proteins. Another challenge is that different proteins need different ratios.

@OhJoy, you are at risk of trying to understand something which has its own logic and apply a level of science to something which is more of an art.
 
Protein stimulates gluconeogenesis as it's broken down into amino acids which is the source material for this process. It's a slow process and can be dealt with by a healthy person without seeing a rise.
 
rebrascora said:
I can understand, when you are doing your best to lower your levels that a rise is a bit perplexing and demoralizing but keep at the dietary and exercise efforts you are making and I am sure that over the weeks and monsths you will see a steady overall downward trend, so that the 5s become 4s and the 6s become 5s.
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Thank you for being so encouraging and understanding, that really makes me feel better
 
Thank you all for your answers and wisdom, the slower conversation of protein makes sense to me. I will satisfy my curiosity with that for now whilst accepting there are many other factors at play
 
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