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Dawn phenomenon

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Tonybeedsy1

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Type 2
Hi there. I've been diagnosed 5 months ago now and have pretty much got the hang of it all now. My readings are usually between 5 and 7 all day now except in a morning when I'm always about 8.5. Will this ever start to come down. I do fasting from 6pm to 10am. Also is 8.5 fairly high for a first reading of the day.
Thanks.
 
Hi
When do you take your morning "fasting" reading? If it is just before breakfast at 10am rather than as soon as you get out of bed (or better still, before you get out of bed) then it may never come down.
Have you tried having a low carb snack like a piece of cheese or a boiled egg or a piece of cooked meat or a few nuts either at bedtime or as soon as you get up to try to stop DP from kicking in. That is something to experiment with if you haven't. We are all different and it will work for some and not for others. If your other readings are mostly between 5 and 7 then you are doing great but I know it can be frustrating to get those higher morning readings, especially when you are putting a lot of effort into diet and exercise to bring your levels down.

For me, my levels start to rise as soon as I get out of bed so I test before I get up and as a Type 1 I can inject insulin to cover it. Some people are less fortunate and their DP starts to kick in during the early hours whilst they are still asleep which is harder to deal with.

Let us know if you find a strategy which helps to control it.... either one of the above suggestions or something else, but don't lose sleep over it if you don't manage to tame it. Your other readings are great so you should be in line for a good HbA1c reading if you can keep those up. Fasting longer isn't always the best strategy for everyone. You have to find what works for your body.
 
I take a reading about 6.30am just after I get up. I know it's not that high, but I see other people have readings of much less than me. Will mine start to drop the longer I keep doing what I'm doing. I've gone from a hba1c of 123 when diagnosed down to 60 after 2 months. My next test is in March and I'm quite confident of being in the low 40s. I think I'm just trying too hard. I want to get off these meds.
 
I have suffered this phenomenon for years and I can find no reason for it at all, it’s marginally better with the CGM and pump but I still get the high readings quite often. When I used the libre it showed it starting at 4:00 and gradually building until I got up and injected. If you find a reason please share lol
 
If that is the case, then try a bedtime snack of some cheese or a piece of meat or a boiled egg with some mayonnaise and see if that helps.
You have done amazing to half your HbA1c in 2 months from such a high starting point but your fasting reading may be something which will improve over the longer term if the bedtime snack doesn't help.
What medication are you on for diabetes?
 
Are you able to go out and get some exercise as soon as you get up to help bring it down, so that your levels are not running high all morning or is your body able to produce enough insulin to bring it down before breakfast at 10am..
 
rebrascora said:
Are you able to go out and get some exercise as soon as you get up to help bring it down, so that your levels are not running high all morning or is your body able to produce enough insulin to bring it down before breakfast at 10am..
Click to expand...
Yeah it comes down again within an hour or 2.
 
rebrascora said:
If that is the case, then try a bedtime snack of some cheese or a piece of meat or a boiled egg with some mayonnaise and see if that helps.
You have done amazing to half your HbA1c in 2 months from such a high starting point but your fasting reading may be something which will improve over the longer term if the bedtime snack doesn't help.
What medication are you on for diabetes?
Click to expand...
I'm on 2g of metformin and glimepiride 2mg
 
Don't get stressed about your high(er) fasting BG levels. In theory your liver should eventually get used to your new lower BG levels and stop being so 'helpful' in providing energy for you to hunt/gather your breakfast.

It is quite usual for the fasting BG to be the last level to reduce - I have been waiting for over 1yr for mine to get down to the levels that some others report. Having said that, mine now seems to be in the 5.8 to 7.5 range
 
Thanks. That makes me feel better. I can't try any harder than I am doing. I think it's seeing other people having much lower readings than myself. I'll stick at it
 
I know what you mean! It is easy to compare with other people and feel a bit deflated, but we are all at different points in our journey with diabetes and with different issues affecting control. As long as things are generally going in the right direction, that is the best you can do as an individual and comparing with others is probably not particularly helpful in that respect.
Diabetes is an incredibly individual condition. You are doing fantastic., so be happy with that and keep plugging away. You will get there.
 
Well done on your amazing progress so far @Tonybeedsy1

Sorry to hear your pesky liver is giving you the runaround :(

Keep doing what you are doing! Hopefully as your BGs stabilise you will be able to safely reduce some or all of your medications, and your body should adapt to the ‘new normal’.

Just remember you are in this for the long haul, and need to find ways to adapt your current approach for the long term. 🙂
 
Great to hear your fasting readings are improving. Well done!
I know that it probably seems really slow progress now compared to your initial amazing reduction but diabetes is usually slow moving in both directions and as long as you are mostly moving in the right direction but accepting that the odd hiccup or two happens, then you are doing great. Keep doing what you are doing and look forward to you perhaps reporting 6s or even 5s at some point in the New Year.
 
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