BGL and not eating question

shellanddiabetes

Hi everyone,
Just a quick question and hope you can help me.

I didn't have lunch today and found my BGL a little higher than normal and was wondering is this normal?

Thanks for your help
Shell...

Cameo530

When our bodies need fuel and we haven't supplied it in the form of food, it has other ways of making that happen. Unfortunately, as diabetics, our bodies don't always do it efficiently or effectively. Here's a brief explanation from Wikipedia (yeah, not the most authoritative source, but it's a good basic explanation).

"Glucagon, a peptide hormone secreted by the pancreas, raises blood glucose levels. Its effect is opposite that of insulin, which lowers blood glucose levels.[1] The pancreas releases glucagon when blood sugar (glucose) levels fall too low. Glucagon causes the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream. High blood glucose levels stimulate the release of insulin. Insulin allows glucose to be taken up and used by insulin-dependent tissues. Thus, glucagon and insulin are part of a feedback system that keeps blood glucose levels at a stable level. Glucagon belongs to a family of several other related hormones."

So it's likely that since you missed a meal (causing your blood sugar to be lower than normal), your body created its own supply of glucose from stored glycogen and, being a T2 diabetic with a pancreas that doesn't work properly, it either caused too much glucagon to be released or the corresponding insulin produced by your body either wasn't enough or your body didn't respond properly to it (i.e. insulin resistance), thus your higher than usual reading. This glucagon release is why some T2s struggle with their morning fasting numbers, since the body goes through this process overnight while we're sleeping too.

shellanddiabetes

Thank you for your answer.. It's helped me a lot to understand. again thank you....

Cameo530

You're welcome!

I'm a bit of an information junkie, so ever since my diagnosis in June I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. Knowledge = Power, right? It can be complicated and confusing because there are so many different factors and systems and organs that all play a part in our bodies' control of BGL. I practically had to draw flow charts when I first started researching it so that I'd understand how one action/reaction led to another!

Sharonks

Yes, BG is so connected to everything. You can eat and exercise exactly the same every day but then emotions or illness can change what is happening.