Hi I have been told I am prediabetic and have been trying to work on my diet to keep my blood sugar levels down. During the day I am finding things I can eat that don't raise my blood sugar, but my problem at the moment is that my readings before breakfast are getting higher. This morning it was 10.4. I actually did a second reading to check but that was 10.5. Does anyone have any ideas why this might be happening? I would really appreciate any help as I am very confused at the moment.
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New to diabetes and new to this forum
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harbottle
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Hi.
What are you eating for breakfast? If it's high in carbs it could send your blood sugar high. Diabetics can also suffer from 'dawn phenomenon' which means blood sugar is higher in the morning.
How long after breakfast did you take the reading? (And did you take a reading before breakfast?)
I eat Fage greek yoghurt (3.3g or carbs per 100g) and berries for breakfast.
What are you eating for breakfast? If it's high in carbs it could send your blood sugar high. Diabetics can also suffer from 'dawn phenomenon' which means blood sugar is higher in the morning.
How long after breakfast did you take the reading? (And did you take a reading before breakfast?)
I eat Fage greek yoghurt (3.3g or carbs per 100g) and berries for breakfast.
rebrascora
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Hi and welcome
When do you do that pre breakfast test. If it is after you have got out of bed, perhaps got dressed and made yourself a coffee etc then that may account for the higher readings. The liver pumps out glucose on a morning to give us energy to start our day. This is often referred to as Dawn Phenomenon or the more sociable version which waits until we get out of bed, colloquially known here on the forum as "Foot on the Floor" syndrome. Eating something sooner rather than later should help to switch the liver off from this unhelpful function of inflating our BG levels.... or you can go out for a brisk walk or run to try to use up that glucose which is primarily what it is for.... to give us energy to hunt or forage for our first meal of the day..... Walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge doesn't quite use as much energy as hunting down a wild wooly mammoth.
You can test that this is happening by taking your BG reading the moment you wake up, before you set foot out of bed and then testing again at your usual time and see if there is any appreciable rise. My BG levels can increase by as much as 4-6 whole mmols in that first hour time period if I don't inject insulin to stop it. Obviously, as someone who doesn't use insulin you can't do that but eating breakfast straight away should stop it and hopefully trigger your pancreas into releasing insulin to deal with it. It is a bit like jump starting the car. Your pancreas is a bit sluggish and isn't responding to that liver output, but eating something should give it a kick up the pants to get going. This sluggishness to respond to the output of glucose from the liver is often associated with a build up of fat in and around the liver and pancreas, meaning that they don't communicate effectively. The Newcastle diet or Fast 800 was created to help lose this visceral fat and push diabetes into remission.
When do you do that pre breakfast test. If it is after you have got out of bed, perhaps got dressed and made yourself a coffee etc then that may account for the higher readings. The liver pumps out glucose on a morning to give us energy to start our day. This is often referred to as Dawn Phenomenon or the more sociable version which waits until we get out of bed, colloquially known here on the forum as "Foot on the Floor" syndrome. Eating something sooner rather than later should help to switch the liver off from this unhelpful function of inflating our BG levels.... or you can go out for a brisk walk or run to try to use up that glucose which is primarily what it is for.... to give us energy to hunt or forage for our first meal of the day..... Walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge doesn't quite use as much energy as hunting down a wild wooly mammoth.
You can test that this is happening by taking your BG reading the moment you wake up, before you set foot out of bed and then testing again at your usual time and see if there is any appreciable rise. My BG levels can increase by as much as 4-6 whole mmols in that first hour time period if I don't inject insulin to stop it. Obviously, as someone who doesn't use insulin you can't do that but eating breakfast straight away should stop it and hopefully trigger your pancreas into releasing insulin to deal with it. It is a bit like jump starting the car. Your pancreas is a bit sluggish and isn't responding to that liver output, but eating something should give it a kick up the pants to get going. This sluggishness to respond to the output of glucose from the liver is often associated with a build up of fat in and around the liver and pancreas, meaning that they don't communicate effectively. The Newcastle diet or Fast 800 was created to help lose this visceral fat and push diabetes into remission.
Thanks so much for the replies. For the last 2 days I checked as soon as I woke up and the figures are much lower. After being confronted with so much information, some bits contradicting each other, it's nice to get help from real people who have actually been through the situation themselves.
janw
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Porridge isn't always a good option as it can cause a spike, to check if it affects you test before you start eating it and again 2 hours after the spoon first goes in the mouth. You are looking for a rise of no more than 2 - 3 mmol - if it is higher then you either need to reduce the amount or find an alternative.
A lot have full fat greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast, but eggs are 0 carb so you can have those with a good quality sausage, or poached with haddock or wilted spinach or bacon and mushrooms. Breakfast cereals are not our best friend and are best avoided.
Hope this helps
A lot have full fat greek yoghurt and berries for breakfast, but eggs are 0 carb so you can have those with a good quality sausage, or poached with haddock or wilted spinach or bacon and mushrooms. Breakfast cereals are not our best friend and are best avoided.
Hope this helps
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Welcome to the forum @jerc55
Glad you are finding it helpful to compare notes with other forum members. 🙂
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