I dont understand how it works

[Dizzydi]

I know this has probably been asked before, but what I dont seem to be able to understand is

If my BS is 5.9 at bedtime, and I have had my levemir and nothing to eat since tea time. How can I wake at 7.7 (I know this is not high).

Just can;t seem to get my head around why

 

[Northerner]

It's your liver, that is constantly outputting a steady stream of glucose into your blood. The only time it doesn't do this is when it is busy processing alcohol, which is why you need to be careful going to bed after boozing. This is the reason for your levemir - to 'mop up' this liver glucose. It's quite difficult to get the exact amount of levemir right to cope with the liver as you can have different levels of resistance, plus in some people the liver puts out extra glucose in the morning to give you a boost, but for people with diabetes this can lead to high morning readings (also known as 'Dawn Phenomenon'). Your waking levels aren't too bad, if they are constantly in the 7s though, you might benefit from slightly more levemir - best to consult your DSN 🙂

 

[Dizzydi]

Right I'm with you Northy.

My BS since Sunday morning have been in the 7's, since I started on the novorapid and levemir they have been generally in the 5's. I did have a few drinky poo's Saturday night (3 large glasses of wine) - could this still be in my system from Saturday ?

Must admit I was going to increase levemir by 1 unit tonight to see if I could bring it back in the 5's again for a few days and then adjust again accordingly more or less depending on morning BS.

PS could the alcohol of Saturday sent me into Hypo Sunday evening ?

 

[bigpurpleduck]

Hi Di,

I agree with Northerner that you may need to increase your Levemir. I would talk to your DSN about this, though, and be careful - depending how sensitive you are to insulin, you may end up hypo-ing if you increase by too much.

7.7 is a great starting point, though, and should only take a little bit of tweaking to get it down. Recently my waking BG has been 9-10 so I'd be very pleased with a 7 at the moment!

And the 5.9 at bedtime... Green-eyed monster much!

 

[bigpurpleduck]

Right I'm with you Northy.

My BS since Sunday morning have been in the 7's, since I started on the novorapid and levemir they have been generally in the 5's. I did have a few drinky poo's Saturday night (3 large glasses of wine) - could this still be in my system from Saturday ?

Must admit I was going to increase levemir by 1 unit tonight to see if I could bring it back in the 5's again for a few days and then adjust again accordingly more or less depending on morning BS.

PS could the alcohol of Saturday sent me into Hypo Sunday evening ?

Everyone reacts differently to alcohol, so this could well have played a part in a hypo Sunday night.

I find that alcohol increases my BG on the night I'm drinking, and drops my BG the day after (not great on top of a hangover). Lots of fun!

 

[MeanMom]

It's your liver, that is constantly outputting a steady stream of glucose into your blood. The only time it doesn't do this is when it is busy processing alcohol, which is why you need to be careful going to bed after boozing. This is the reason for your levemir - to 'mop up' this liver glucose. It's quite difficult to get the exact amount of levemir right to cope with the liver as you can have different levels of resistance, plus in some people the liver puts out extra glucose in the morning to give you a boost, but for people with diabetes this can lead to high morning readings (also known as 'Dawn Phenomenon'). Your waking levels aren't too bad, if they are constantly in the 7s though, you might benefit from slightly more levemir - best to consult your DSN 🙂

Thank you once again Northerner for explaining things far better than our DSN. A little light bulb came on over my head

 

[Dizzydi]

Everyone reacts differently to alcohol, so this could well have played a part in a hypo Sunday night.

I find that alcohol increases my BG on the night I'm drinking, and drops my BG the day after (not great on top of a hangover). Lots of fun!

I didn't test Saturday night I was a bit squiffy and distressed from not being able to breath properly - stayed at my sisters friends for a 30th Day out and evening drinks and she has got cats - nearly killed me. I had been taking anti hystermines (sorry cant spell) and they didnt touch me, ended up dropping double so I would pass out and slepp and stop being distressed. Not good

 

[FM001]

7.7 on waking isn't to bad at all, but if you want to stay around your bedtime reading it may be worth injecting a extra 1 unit of levemir to compensate. Toby.