Night time snack?

[Emmaathome]

30/04 11.8
01/05 13
02/05 11.9

The dietician I saw on Monday suggested a slice of bread before bed, to see if that would help lower the fasting levels - tried it for 2 of the above results - not sure its helping. Apparently it might stop the release of glucose overnight so may help lower the waking levels? (or something along those lines). I said I would give anything a go!!!

Going to try for another couple of nights to see if it helps but then I guess its over to the docs to suggest something further. I suppose if it was going to have an effect, it would have done immediately, given the nature of this beast....

I know I am new to this whole thing still - but good lord am flippin bored of it!!!!

 

[Northerner]

30/04 11.8
01/05 13
02/05 11.9

The dietician I saw on Monday suggested a slice of bread before bed, to see if that would help lower the fasting levels - tried it for 2 of the above results - not sure its helping. Apparently it might stop the release of glucose overnight so may help lower the waking levels? (or something along those lines). I said I would give anything a go!!!

Going to try for another couple of nights to see if it helps but then I guess its over to the docs to suggest something further. I suppose if it was going to have an effect, it would have done immediately, given the nature of this beast....

I know I am new to this whole thing still - but good lord am flippin bored of it!!!!

What are your bedtime levels like? Some people recommend having a small protein snack rather than a carb snack to prevent levels rising in the morning, or perhaps try half a slice of seeded bread with some peanut butter on. 🙂

 

[DeusXM]

Yes, your pre-bed levels are crucial to this. There's three things that can cause high blood sugar in the mornings:

1. Going to bed with high blood sugars -if you don't have enough medication to lower your BG over the night, you'll just wake up with high blood sugar the next day.

2. Somogyi effect - if your BG actually drops to hypo levels in the night and you don't wake up, your liver will just dump a load of glucose to save you and you'll wake up feeling hungover and have high BG. The way to stop this is generally to reduce your medication.

3. Dawn phenomenon - for some people, their liver starts dumping glucose into their blood shortly before waking. It's a standard part of the waking process. There are myriad ways of preventing this. A small quantity of alcohol before retiring 'distracts' your liver from doing this the next morning but the flipside is if you're having night hypos, it also impairs your body's ability to fix the problem itself. Other ways involve training your body to expect a carb hit first thing in the morning.

You'll need to find out what is going on to plan your treatment. In addition to your bedtime reading, you should also do a reading at something like 2am and then a couple of hours before you would usually wake. This will show you what your BG is doing during the night and inform your approach.

 

[Emmaathome]

Bedtime levels anywhere in the low to mid teens. Very similar to waking levels. We do joke that for it not to drop overnight, I must get up and eat chocolate in my sleep!!!

Will try half a slice rather than a whole one (already do the seeded bread), but peanut butter is off the menu - i dont do nuts of any description. Can you suggest anything else I could try? Dry bread is quite boring 🙄

 

[Northerner]

Bedtime levels anywhere in the low to mid teens. Very similar to waking levels. We do joke that for it not to drop overnight, I must get up and eat chocolate in my sleep!!!

Will try half a slice rather than a whole one (already do the seeded bread), but peanut butter is off the menu - i dont do nuts of any description. Can you suggest anything else I could try? Dry bread is quite boring 🙄

The idea of the peanut butter is just to add something fatty that will slow the digestion - you could try a little melted cheese perhaps 🙂 It's early days for you yet, but your numbers are quite high before bed, so it would be worth looking at what you are eating in the evening, and what levels you are at before eating it.

 

[DeusXM]

If your bedtime readings are in the mid teens and you're waking up in the 11-13 range, I'd suggest that you're not dropping in the night.

Therefore, probably the last thing you need is to add more carbohydrate just before going to bed. All that'll do is push your BGs even higher. Although you should definitely verify this first by doing a few night-time BG tests.

I'd suggest the single best thing you can do is focus on getting your pre-bed levels in a better range. Ideally they should be in the 5-7 range. As a T2 you're less at risk of hypos and should therefore probably be less concerned about dropping in the night.

 

[Emmaathome]

Roll on Thursday - its the Xpert course week where we cover the GI / GL of food. Am hoping that may give me some help with evening meals etc. We tend to stick to chicken / turkey / pork and veg for evening meals. Hoping the Xpert course will make some suggestions for alternatives as we do tend to have reasonably bland but I thought healthy food.....

 

[Northerner]

Thought I'd move these posts to a separate discussion as it may interest others 🙂

 

[mum2westiesGill]

Thought I'd move these posts to a separate discussion as it may interest others 🙂

Good move Northerner, i've been reading through all the posts on this thread & i for one am very interested 🙂. I've also subscribed to the thread & done an instant email thingy 🙂

 

[Emmaathome]

Nurse just called for a general check on how things are going. She isnt happy with the levels at any time in the day really, and has doubled up the meds. Hopefully that should help!!!

Not sure how over the moon I am about getting up in the night to stick needles in my fingers, but i'll give it a go at the weekend - I assume I only need to do a couple of times, just to see what is happening to me during the night? Too tired as it is at work to set my alarm for 2am, 4am etc through the working week!!!! 😉

 

[Northerner]

Nurse just called for a general check on how things are going. She isnt happy with the levels at any time in the day really, and has doubled up the meds. Hopefully that should help!!!

Not sure how over the moon I am about getting up in the night to stick needles in my fingers, but i'll give it a go at the weekend - I assume I only need to do a couple of times, just to see what is happening to me during the night? Too tired as it is at work to set my alarm for 2am, 4am etc through the working week!!!! 😉

Emma, given that you are waking at similar levels to your bedtime ones it looks like you are fairly steady through the night, and with the medication you are on it is highly unlikely you will be dropping low during the night (or at least, not low enough to be concerned). Night time checks are really only necessary if you are on insulin or medication that may cause hypos i.e. a blood sugar level lower than 4.0 mmol/l. You may want to try it, out of interest, but it doesn't need to be a regular thing with the current medication, I would say.

I hope that the increase in medication doesn't increase any side effects, and that you soon see a good improvement in your overall levels 🙂

 

[DeusXM]

I assume I only need to do a couple of times, just to see what is happening to me during the night? Too tired as it is at work to set my alarm for 2am, 4am etc through the working week!!!!

Yes, you just need to do it for one or two nights just to get the info you need to make any changes required. The end result of all this is when you find out what exactly is causing the issue and you solve it, you'll feel far less tired? I'd feel horrendous waking up in the 11-13 range or going to bed in the mid-teens - once you get this sorted you'll have far more energy and you'll probably sleep better too.

What's your diet like in general as well? If you're concerned with medicine side-effects, there are some effective dietary changes you can make which could help alleviate any dependence on medication.

 

[Emmaathome]

I am only taking Glimepiride, which is the med which is now doubled up to 4mg - I know this can cause hypo's so I need to keep an eye on it.

My diet is fairly healthy - dietician seemed pleased with it and didnt advise many changes apart from the supper suggestion. I do have a reasonably good varied diet, but do know my excercise level is no-where near what it should be - partly because I'm a bit lazy, partly because I'm so exhausted after a day at work and can barely stay awake. Something which gives more energy and makes me feel better would be amazing, so I'm open to any suggestions. 🙂 I may well put a menu up as one of the others on here did (I think it was Lucy) as a critique of it may give me some good ideas!!!

 

[DeusXM]

My diet is fairly healthy - dietician seemed pleased with it and didnt advise many changes apart from the supper suggestion.

That's a good start. Don't forget though, many dieticians only offer general advice and the official NHS diet advice is a one-size-fits-all strategy. I'm sure you're finding we're all different and that pigeon-holing all people to eat in one particular way won't work.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

...partly because I'm so exhausted after a day at work and can barely stay awake.

It will be interesting to see whether your tiredness continues as your levels begin to return toward the 'normal' range. Like Deus XM I get very tired (and quite grumpy) after a few days of BGs in double figures. Having far fewer of those in recent years thankfully.

 

[Emmaathome]

I've had months of tired and grumpy and headaches - but the levels haven't been in single figs since diagnosis about 8 weeks ago at least, I am so looking forward to feeling better - more like myself!!! Although I can be grumpy anyway according to the other half 😱........

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

You are still in the really early days. And it can be better on your fine blood vessels to ease back into 'normal' levels. Too rapid a change can put a strain on things 🙄

Keeping track of the amount of carbs you are eating (and trying to limit/moderate them) can help your meds to work effectively too. You wouldn't want to cut out carbs entirely on Glimepiride I think, but a reduction in portion size (bulk up with lean meats and leafy veg) could help to get your readings back in line.

 

[Northerner]

...I may well put a menu up as one of the others on here did (I think it was Lucy) as a critique of it may give me some good ideas!!!

By all means do Emma, many people have done this in the past and found it has helped them get some feedback, and better in some ways than just hearing it from one person (the dietician) - not that I'm criticising the advice, but knowing that there are things that are fine for one person but no good for another can help you fine tune things 🙂