BG high every morning

PinkSurvivorJen

Every morning when I wake up, my BG is up. Is there any way to prevent this? I am always afraid to eat in the morning in fear that it will make it worse. I am still working on getting my BG to a normal level. Usually during the day it will come down (still not within normal range) but getting better. This is still a learning process for me, so any advice is greatly appreciate.

Yadagoy

My morning BG tends to be high, too. I've been testing different options and found that, for me, it's best to have a low carb snack before bed and a low carb breakfast. Delaying breakfast made my BG go even higher.

MurpleCat

It is not unusual (although its also not ideal!) to have a rise in the morning. Google "dawn phenomenon".

Basically, your body knows what time you usually wake up & knows that you're going to need higher blood pressure & higher blood glucose to wake up and start moving (even just walking around & showering requires more fuel than sleeping, and your brain can ONLY run on glucose). Since you haven't eaten (because you've been sleeping) your liver makes blood glucose and sends it out. The problem is that sometimes the liver overshoots the mark and makes too much, because the brain/muscles are not getting the fuel they need despite sufficient BG. Telling the liver to calm down is actually one of the jobs of insulin (in addition to helping BG get into muscles, etc.).

This is definitely what's happening if you are skipping/delaying breakfast. The liver gets REALLY worried and overreacts. The question is why its not getting the message that there's plenty of BG: if you're T1, the answer is clear: you need more insulin in the morning.

For T2, it could mean that you have enough insulin but not using it efficiently by the time morning comes around. If you are taking Metformin in the morning, for example, you might want to discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking it at suppertime to give you better coverage overnight.

Sometimes having a snack with fat/protein/some carbs before bed can help, since you will have some BG floating around in your sleep to reassure your liver it doesn't need to overreact. I've found that having high protein before bed means I'll have VERY high BG in the morning, though, so you'll have to try it for yourself and see -- every person's diabetes is different, unfortunately.

MurpleCat

FYI -- I'm T1, so the answer for me is an insulin pump that can have different delivery rates at different times of day. I have a continuous glucose monitor & can see that my background insulin needs are not constant during the day. Although you are only testing at certain points, I'm sure your body's needs vary with time of day, too. It can be very frustrating and time consuming to figure out what works for your body!

PinkSurvivorJen

Thank you so much, MurpleCat, for your help. I was diagnosed but not really given any pertinent information about the disease. The only experience I have had with diabetes is my parents, but neither was diagnosed until I moved out so I didn't really see the day-to-day care. My mom lives with me now, but her BG stays normal most of the time so I only see her test every once in a blue moon. She hasn't really controlled what she's eating (even though I know she should be). My diagnosis has helped change the family's eating habits, at least at supper, because my son has started looking up diabetic friendly meals. This is all so new to me and I am learning through other's experiences and what I have read online. I have done much better about what I am eating and watching labels. I'm still learning how to control my sugar, though. Thank you for your advice about the Metformin. I may give that a try. My doctor never really said when to take it....just that it needed to be taken once a day.