question re hypos and liver

[Cleo]

Hi all

I woke up this morning at 6.00am feeling a bit funny so I tested myself, I was 3.1, so I treated with 4 jelly babies = 20gr CHO. Then I tested myself before breakfast (around 8.45) and I was 11.9. Why is it that sometimes when you treat a night time hypo you end up being quite high afterwards?. I understand that the liver releases glucose as a response to the hypo, but I've had night time hypos when I've treated them and subsequently had reasonable BGs a few hours afterwards. I understand that 11.9 is not disastrous but I'm interested in understanding why the liver overcompensates in some instances but not in others??.

Hope my question makes some sort of sense!
thanks
Cleo.
PS I realize that I need to tweak my basal which is something I am working on 🙂

 

[Northerner]

Hi Cleo, it's possible that your liver had already reacted to the hypo before you tested and treated, so was already in the process of releasing extra glucose to bring you up. Possibly, you had dropped lower before you woke (the lowest point for blood glucose levels during the night is often around 3 am), triggering the mechanism.

 

[Cleo]

thanks alan - thats helpful, and makes a lot of sense 🙂