fasting BG

[timbla]

hello all,

i know there are some on here who have been getting much higher fasting BG levels than i am seeing now, so perhaps i shouldnt complain, but still, any input that might throw light on this would help a lot.

when i was first diagnosed 3 months ago i was a robust 18 stone and getting heavier. i was given three months to see if diet and exercise alone would be enough to control levels and so i embarked on a diet and started exercising regularly.

at the time, my morning levels were somewhere in the 5s - occasionally they would creep over 6, but on the whole that was quite rare.

i am now two stone lighter, exercising almost every day and really watching my food intake carefully, and yet my morning numbers have increased. i havent seen anything under 6 in weeks now, and am nudging 7 most mornings.

any ideas why this would be? why would i be getting lower FBGs as a fatter, more sedentary person than i am now?

i am more or less at the 3 month point, and will be seeing my doctor again within the next week or two to discuss my progress. while my weight has dropped, a positive development, my morning numbers have increased, a not so positive development.

is it possible that the increased activity has somehow fired my metabolism with both positive (weight loss) and negative (increased rate of beta cell death) consequences?

is it time to start popping the metformin for its protective qualities? i am almost certain my doctor will be suggesting this to me, as he was not entirely supportive of me going D/E in the first place.

as i am writing up my masters dissertation now too, and am feeling quite stressed out because of it, is it possible to suggest that when i am finished with it and stress levels drop, the FBGs will drop too?

the thing is, i have been pretty stressed out since diagnosis as it is, which is why i find it hard to put this rise down to the stress of school work.

such a hassle. i just dont get it.

tim

 

[Northerner]

I don't think that the efforts you have been making will have accelerated the decline in your beta cell function. It is puzzling though, as you say you would expect an improvement in your insulin sensitivity with your (fantastic!) weight loss and increased activity, but nothing it seems is ever simple. It may be that you were diagnosed coincidentally at a time when your beat cell function was in decline and to date your improvements have not quite arrested this decline. This isn't something you can have much control over of course, but bear in mind that if this is the case then your lifestyle changes will most certainly have kept things at a far better level than they might otherwise have been.

I suspect you are right, and the doctor may prescribe metformin for now, but there have been many people here who have been down the same route and been able to stop the metformin eventually - so much depends on how your body responds and all you can do is to support it as best you can by continuing to improve your weight and stick to a friendly diet.

 

[mcdonagh47]

hello all,

i know there are some on here who have been getting much higher fasting BG levels than i am seeing now, so perhaps i shouldnt complain, but still, any input that might throw light on this would help a lot.


tim

Hi Tim,

sounds like the old Dawn Phenomenon. The Liver puts out a burst of glucose at about Dawn to get you up and running for the day. After all, you should be up early, a quick wash and shave and off chasing Mamoths. In non-diabetics its no problem but for us it can be. Classicly you go to bed on 6.0 and wake on 7 or 8 when you know nothing except sleep has happened in between.

The traditional view is that the Dp starts at 4 and ends at 8 but recent research has shown that it starts at 4 in most people, peaks at 10 and only finally subsides at 1 p.m in many people. One reason to be abstemious with carbs at breakfast because you are "piling Pelion on top of Ossa".

Cheating the DP is an old chestnut under discussion for years - a small snack of long acting glucose at bedtime is generally recommended - the Liver thinks all is well and no more needed at Dawn. Such snacks as cheese and oatcake or a green apple.

David Mendosa is big on the Dawn Phenomenon ......
http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/1388/taming-dawn/

Mendosa's website and newsletter are a must anyway for Type 2s ...
http://www.mendosa.com/

 

[trophywench]

Different stress can affect us ... differently! LOL

You can go for 40 years with the same stress and nothing happens to your BG, life throws hand grenades at you from time to time (divorce, move house, move jobs, get married, have children, people die - whatever) and nothing bad happens.

Then one day out of the blue, your body suddenly says 'That's enough! I ain't playing nicely any more now, so there!' and gets its own back on you.

You might think you've been really nice to your body but it just goes to show it's basic instincts don't work quite the same way your brain does ......

You just have to deal with the symptoms and hope it appreciates it.

Just a little glitch in the everyday life of an average diabetic .......

 

[timbla]

thanks for that.

i have read about the dawn thing. its just weird that pre exercise/diet phase that i am now in, it didnt happen. my FBGs were relatively lower than they are now.

i think im just going to have to accept the unpredictable nature of this illness and get on with it.

i am just trying so hard to figure out what it is that makes my body comply with accepted norms and what doesnt. exercise and diet control clearly, in my case, do not necessarily equate to better morning figures.

its hard to stay positive in the face of such inconsistency though.

thanks again.