Why Is Blood Sugar Higher When Fasting

Why Is My Blood Glucose So High In The Morning?

I am puzzled by my blood sugar pattern. I am not on any medications. My morning fasting blood sugar is always the highest of the day—between 120 and 140 mg/dl. The rest of the day it is in the normal range. Why does this occur? Continue reading >>

Why Are Fasting Blood Sugars Higher Than Postprandial?

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or simply monitor your blood sugar levels to track your health, fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels are frequently measured. Since your fasting blood sugar is taken before eating a meal and your postprandial blood sugar is taken after the meal, your fasting level should be lower than your postprandial level. But if the numbers are reversed and your fasting blood sugar levels are higher than your postprandial levels, it could indicate a serious health problem. Know the Norms The American Diabetes Association, or ADA, recommends specific pre-meal and post-meal blood sugar ranges for healthy adults. According to the ADA, fasting blood sugar should fall between 70 to 130 milligrams per deciliter of blood. After you eat, this number should increase as your body absorbs sugar molecules from food. However, the ADA recommends that the postprandial blood glucose level stays at or below 180 milligrams per deciliter. Dawn Phenomenon The dawn phenomenon is a medical condition characterized by a blood sugar spike that occurs early in the morning, reports MayoClinic.com. The sugar surge could be related to an inadequate dose of insulin the night before or eating too many carbs before bed. But the spike might also be related to natural body fluctuations that occur during sleep. During the night, newly released hormones might increase your body’s resistance to insulin, which ultimately impacts your body’s ability to absorb sugar into the cells, resulting in high sugar levels in the blood. Insulin Resistance Insulin resistance is a daily problem for people with diabetes. Insulin is responsible for pushing sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells to be used as energy. But when the cells are resistant to insulin’s action Continue reading >>

Why Does Fasting Increase Blood Sugar?

Thеrе аrе twо reasons whу уоur blood sugar levels mау bе high in thе morning – thе dawn phenomenon аnd thе Somogyi effect. Dawn phenomenon Thе dawn phenomenon iѕ thе еnd result оf a combination оf natural bоdу сhаngеѕ thаt occur during thе sleep cycle аnd саn bе explained аѕ follows. Yоur bоdу hаѕ littlе nееd fоr insulin bеtwееn аbоut midnight аnd аbоut 3:00 a.m. (a timе whеn уоur bоdу iѕ sleeping mоѕt soundly). Anу insulin tаkеn in thе evening саuѕеѕ blood sugar levels tо drop sharply during thiѕ time. Then, bеtwееn 3:00 a.m. аnd 8:00 a.m., уоur bоdу starts churning оut stored glucose (sugar) tо prepare fоr thе upcoming day аѕ wеll аѕ releases hormones thаt reduce thе body's sensitivity tо insulin. All оf thеѕе events hарреn аѕ уоur bedtime insulin dose iѕ аlѕо wearing off. Thеѕе events, tаkеn together, саuѕе уоur body's blood sugar levels tо rise in thе morning. Somogyi effect A ѕесоnd саuѕе оf high blood sugar levels in thе morning might bе due tо thе Somogyi effect. Thiѕ condition iѕ аlѕо called "rebound hyperglycemia." Althоugh thе cascade оf events аnd еnd result – high blood sugar levels in thе morning – iѕ thе ѕаmе аѕ in thе dawn phenomenon, thе саuѕе iѕ mоrе "man-made" (a result оf poor diabetes management) in thе Somogyi effect. Thеrе аrе twо potential causes. In оnе scenario, уоur blood sugar mау drop tоо lоw in thе middle оf thе night аnd thеn уоur bоdу releases hormones tо raise thе sugar levels. Thiѕ соuld hарреn if уоu tооk tоо muсh insulin earlier оr if уоu did nоt hаvе еnоugh оf a bedtime snack. Thе оthеr scenario iѕ whеn уоur dose � Continue reading >>

4 December 2012why Is My Blood Glucose So High When I Wake Up?

It doesn't seem fair, does it? You haven't eaten anything all night and you still wake up with high blood glucose! What is going on and how can you lower it? For those of you with diabetes, this post is for you! Basics Your body strives to keep blood glucose (BG) within a safe range, but with diabetes the balance is disturbed. The insulin your pancreas produces might not be sufficient to cover your BG lowering needs. As well, the insulin it does produce might not be handled properly by target body cells. And to make matters worse, your liver might be on glucose production overdrive. All of this results in your body's failure to control BG overnight as well as after meals or snacks. For more basic information about diabetes, please be sure to read my article, Diabetes Basics at MyNetDiary's library. Dawn Phenomenon Due to normal daily changes in our body's release of hormones during sleep and wake cycles, BG typically starts to rise in the very early morning – starting about 3 AM - and continues to rise as the morning progresses. For folks without diabetes, insulin production simply increases and takes care of the rising BG. However, for folks with diabetes, unless there is medication on board to cover this early morning rise, BG will eventually rise out of target range by the time they wake up. The classic pattern is to see BG within target range at both bedtime and during the middle of the night, and then see a high fasting BG. If you have noticed that your fasting BG is creeping up over time and is no longer within target range despite sticking to a carb controlled eating plan and taking your diabetes medication as prescribed, then it might be time to talk with your doctor about your diabetes medication. The type, dose, and/or timing might need to be adjusted to bet Continue reading >>

Why Is My Fasting Blood Glucose Level High?

The body uses complex mechanisms to maintain blood sugar within a healthy, narrow range. Your fasting blood glucose, or FBG, is the amount of sugar in your blood after not eating or drinking fluids other than water for at least 8 hours. Elevated FBG can mean the body's ability to regulate glucose is faltering, which most commonly indicates either prediabetes or diabetes. Less frequently, a high FBG may be due to another medical condition or a medication side effect. For those already living with diabetes or prediabetes, high FBG levels often indicate the condition is progressing or a medication adjustment is needed. Whatever your current status, it's important to determine the cause of an elevated FBG so you can receive appropriate treatment. Video of the Day Prediabetes occurs prior to the onset of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), as the body loses its ability to metabolize glucose normally. The condition causes no symptoms, so the first detectable sign is usually an elevated FBG. With prediabetes, FBG is higher than normal but not high enough to signal T2DM. People with prediabetes have a metabolic abnormality called insulin resistance, in which the body doesn't respond normally to the hormone insulin. This pancreatic hormone enables body tissues to absorb blood glucose and use it to generate energy. With insulin resistance, the pancreas initially produces more insulin to compensate. Prediabetes develops when the extra insulin isn't sufficient to keep blood glucose levels normal. Insulin resistance also causes the liver to overproduce glucose, further contributing to high blood sugar. Without intervention, prediabetes usually progresses to T2DM. But with modest weight loss, regular exercise and possibly a medicine called metformin (Fortamet, Glucophage, Glumetza), the developm Continue reading >>

A Comparison Of Hba1c And Fasting Blood Sugar Tests In General Population

Go to: Abstract Objectives: Early diagnosis of diabetes is crucially important in reduction of the complications. Although HbA1c is an accurate marker for the prediction of complications, less information is available about its accuracy in diagnosis of diabetes. In this study, the association between HbA1c and FBS was assessed through a cross-sectional population-based study. Methods: A random sample of population in Kerman city was selected. The total number was 604 people. Their HbA1c and fasting blood sugar (FBS) were tested. The association between HbA1c and FBS and also their sensitivity, specificity and predictive values in detection of abnormal values of each other were determined. The association of HbA1c with FBS was relatively strong particularly in diabetic subjects. Generally, FBS was a more accurate predictor for HbA1c compared with HbA1c as a predictor of FBS. Although the optimum cutoff point of HbA1c was >6.15%, its precision was comparable with the conventional cutoff point of >6%. Conclusions: In conclusion, FBS sounds more reliable to separate diabetic from non-diabetic subjects than HbA1c. In case of being interested in using HbA1c in screening, the conventional cutoff points of 6% is an acceptable threshold for discrimination of diabetics from non-diabetics. Keywords: HbA1c, Blood glucose, Diabetics *The adjusted values were computed in a multivariable regression model with sex, BMI and age as independent variables. Continue reading >>

The Dawn Phenomenon – Why Are Blood Sugars High In The Morning?

Getting high blood sugars after a period of fasting is often puzzling to those not familiar with the Dawn Phenomenon. Why are blood sugars elevated if you haven’t eaten overnight? This effect is also seen during fasting, even during prolonged fasting. There are two main effects – the Somogyi Effect and the Dawn Phenomenon. Somogyi effect The Somogyi effect is also called reactive hyperglycaemia and happens in type 2 diabetic patients. The blood sugar sometimes drops in reaction to the night time dose of medication. This low blood sugar is dangerous, and in response, the body tries to raise it. Since the patient is asleep, he/she does not feel the hypoglycaemic symptoms of shakiness or tremors or confusion. By the time the patient awakens, the sugar is elevated without a good explanation. The high blood sugar occurs in reaction to the preceding low. This can be diagnosed by checking the blood sugar at 2am or 3am. If it is very low, then this is diagnostic of the Somogy Effect. Dawn phenomenon The Dawn Effect, sometimes also called the Dawn Phenomenon (DP) was first described about 30 years ago. It is estimated to occur in up to 75% of T2D patients although severity varies widely. It occurs both in those treated with insulin and those that are not. The circadian rhythm creates this DP. Just before awakening (around 4am), the body secretes higher levels of growth hormone, cortisol, glucagon and adrenalin. Together, these are called the counter-regulatory hormones. That is, they counter the blood sugar lowering effects of insulin, meaning that they raise blood sugars. The nocturnal surge of growth hormone is considered the primary cause of the DP. These normal circadian hormonal increases prepare our bodies for the day ahead. That is, glucagon tells the liver to start p Continue reading >>

Why Blood Sugar Can Be High In The Morning

You wouldn’t expect hours of sleep and fasting to leave you with high blood sugar. But elevated morning glucose may be more common than you think. Although it’s not a major problem when it occurs from time to time, consistently high morning levels need your doctor’s attention. Causes of Morning Hyperglycemia High blood glucose in the morning typically occurs due to one of three distinct causes: Dawn Phenomenon The “dawn phenomenon” describes high morning glucose that occurs due to a natural rise in hormone levels. During the early morning hours between about 4 and 8 a.m., your body releases hormones like cortisol and growth hormones to get ready for the day. For reasons experts don’t completely understand, your liver produces extra glucose in response to these hormones. People without diabetes secrete more insulin to handle the extra glucose. But for people with diabetes, blood glucose levels can rise too high. Increased blood sugar due to the dawn phenomenon is usually treated with diabetes medication. If you are on insulin, your insulin levels may need to be changed. The Somogyi Effect It’s possible to experience low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, while sleeping and not even know it. The potentially dangerous problem can occur for a number of different reasons—from not eating enough or taking too much insulin, to drinking too much alcohol. In some people, the body compensates for the hypoglycemia by producing a lot of hormones. This, in turn, causes blood sugar levels to rise. Not everyone wakes in reaction to low blood glucose levels. But being sweaty or having a headache in the morning can be a sign. If you suffer from the Somogyi effect (named after the scientist who first described the condition), your doctor may recommend that you eat a snack befor Continue reading >>

Controlling The Dawn Phenomenon

Do you wake up with a blood glucose level that’s higher than when you went to bed? You might wonder how this could be. Is this “dawn phenomenon” serious, and what can you do about it? Our reader Mishelle commented here, “I don’t eat [much] during the day. [I take metformin morning and night.] My blood sugar is still too high in the morning…sometimes 125–140ish.” How can Mishelle’s glucose levels go up if she didn’t eat anything? She probably has a mild case of dawn phenomenon. Her glucose is going up from sources other than digested food. Some of it is produced by the liver from stored starch and fatty acids. Livers that produce too much glucose are one of the main ways diabetes causes high blood glucose levels. Other organs also produce small amounts of glucose. This is called “gluconeogenesis” for you science freaks out there. Organs do this to keep blood glucose from going too low at night or other times of not eating. From about 2 AM to 8 AM, most people’s bodies produce hormones, including cortisol, glucagon, and epinephrine. All these hormones increase insulin resistance and tell the liver to make more glucose. The idea is to get you enough glucose to get out of bed and start the day. The whole process is apparently started by growth hormones. Everyone has a dawn phenomenon. Otherwise they’d be too weak to get breakfast. But in people without diabetes, insulin levels also increase to handle the extra glucose. People with diabetes can’t increase insulin levels that much, so their early morning blood glucose levels can rise dramatically. Experts disagree on how many people have a dawn phenomenon. Estimates range from 3% to 50% of Type 2s and from 25% to 50% of Type 1s. Is dawn phenomenon a serious problem? It can be serious. According t Continue reading >>

High Fasting Levels

High fasting levels are a huge problem for many ladies. Fasting blood sugar levels, levels taken first thing in the morning when you wake up, are the hardest thing to control with gestational diabetes. But why is that? When we're sleeping we are not eating and drinking and we are not active and so the body is left to it's own devices with regards to controlling blood sugar levels. Impacts on fasting blood sugar levels Many things can impact fasting levels: what you've eaten earlier in the evening when you last ate hydration levels how well you've slept the dawn phenomenon the Somogyi effect What you ate earlier in the evening Bearing in mind how much of each food group converts to glucose in the bloodstream and the time taken, your fasting levels may be impacted by this. Too much carbohydrate in your evening meal or as a snack before bed can contribute to high fasting levels, as your body can only produce or use so much insulin, so if you raise your blood sugars too high by eating too much carbohydrate, your body can spend the night battling to try to lower your blood sugar levels. A high fat meal such as takeaway food can also cause higher blood sugar levels and so eating a well paired evening meal is important. When you last ate The key to stabilising blood sugar levels is to eat small amounts, often. We obviously cannot do this throughout the night, but if you eat your evening meal early and do not eat again until breakfast the following day, it can be an extremely long time to go without eating. Likewise, if you eat a large meal just before going to bed, this too can have a detrimental effect on your fasting levels. Hydration levels Dehydration will cause higher blood sugar levels. Water helps to flush excess sugar from the body and so it is important to stay well h Continue reading >>

Why All The Morning Highs?

Sometimes diabetes doesn’t make a lot of sense. Think of those mornings when you wake up to find your blood glucose looking as if you’ve been up all night eating cookies. What’s up with that? You’d think that not eating for those seven or eight hours would give you lower blood glucose, right? Such morning highs are common in people with diabetes, but one of the reasons has a particular name: the dawn phenomenon. The dawn phenomenon is a natural rise in blood glucose between 4 and 8 a.m., which happens because of hormonal changes in the body. All people have the “dawn phenomenon,” whether they have diabetes or not. People without diabetes would never notice it happening, as a normal body’s insulin response adjusts for this. However, because people with diabetes don’t have normal insulin responses, they may see an increase in their fasting blood glucose. This is primarily because people with diabetes produce less insulin and more glucagon than they need. The less insulin produced by the pancreas, the more glucagon the pancreas makes as a result. Glucagon, in turn, signals the liver to break down its storage supplies of glycogen into glucose. This is why high fasting blood glucose levels are commonly seen in patients with type 2 diabetes. The effects of dawn phenomenon vary in each person, and your blood glucose may be higher on some mornings than on others. But not to worry—there are steps you can take to get those numbers down and start your days more comfortably in your target blood glucose range. Treatment for dawn phenomenon depends on how you treat your diabetes. If you take insulin, you may be able to adjust your dosing so that peak action occurs closer to the morning rise in your blood glucose. If you have type 2, diabetes pills provide options as Continue reading >>

Is Your Fasting Blood Glucose Higher On Low Carb Or Keto? Five Things To Know

This past spring, after 18 months of great success on the keto diet, I tested my fasting blood sugar on my home glucose monitor for the first time in many months. The result shocked me. I had purchased the device, which also tests ketones, when I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in the fall of 2015. As I embarked on low-carb keto eating, I tested my blood regularly. Soon my fasting blood sugar was once again in the healthy range. I was in optimal ketosis day after day. Not only that, I lost 10 lbs (5 kg) and felt fantastic — full of energy with no hunger or cravings. Before long I could predict the meter’s results based on what I was eating or doing. I put the meter away and got on with my happy, healthy keto life. When my doctor ordered some lab tests this spring, I brought the meter out again. While I had no health complaints, excellent blood pressure and stable weight, she wanted to see how my cholesterol, lipids, HbA1c, and fasting glucose were doing on my keto diet — and I was curious, too. To check the accuracy of my meter against the lab results, on the morning of the test I sat in my car outside the clinic at 7:30 am, and pricked my finger. I was expecting to see a lovely fasting blood glucose (FBG) of 4.7 or 4.8 mmol/l (85 mg/dl). It was 5.8! (103 mg/dl). What? I bailed on the tests and drove home — I didn’t want my doctor warning me I was pre-diabetic again when I had no explanation for that higher result. The next morning I tested again: 5.9! (104). Huh??? For the next two weeks I tested every morning. No matter what I did, my FBG would be in 5.7 to 6.0 (102 to 106 mg/dl), the pre-diabetic range again. One morning after a restless sleep it was even 6.2 mmol/l (113 mg/dl). But my ketones were still reading an optimal 1.5-2.5 mmol/l. I was still burnin Continue reading >>

Slideshow: A Visual Guide To Type 2 Diabetes

If you experience symptoms of severe increased thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, increased hunger, tingling of your hands or feet -- your doctor may run a test for diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 29 million children and adults in the U.S., or over 9% of the population, have diabetes today. Yet, millions of Americans are unaware that they have diabetes, because there may be no warning signs. To confirm the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, your doctor will order a fasting plasma glucose test or a casual plasma glucose. The fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) is the preferred method for diagnosing diabetes, because it is easy to do, convenient, and less expensive than other tests, according to the American Diabetes Association. Before taking the blood glucose test, you will not be allowed to eat anything for at least eight hours. During a blood glucose test, blood will be drawn and sent to a lab for analysis. Normal fasting blood glucose -- or blood sugar -- is between 70 and 100 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL for people who do not have diabetes. The standard diagnosis of diabetes is made when two separate blood tests show that your fasting blood glucose level is greater than or equal to 126 mg/dL. However, if you have normal fasting blood sugar, but you have risk factors for diabetes or symptoms of diabetes, your doctor may decide to do a glucose tolerance test (see below) to be sure that you do not have diabetes. Some people have a normal fasting blood sugar reading, but their blood sugar rapidly rises as they eat. These people may have impaired glucose tolerance. If their blood sugar levels are high enough, they may be diagnosed with diabetes. Continue reading >>

Impaired Fasting Glucose

Impaired fasting glucose, or Impaired Fasting Glycemia (IFG) is a type of prediabetes, in which a person's blood sugar levels during fasting are consistently above the normal range, but below the diagnostic cut-off for a formal diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.[1] Together with impaired glucose tolerance, it is a sign of insulin resistance. In this manner, it is also one of the conditions associated with Metabolic Syndrome. Those with impaired fasting glucose are at an increased risk of vascular complications of diabetes, though to a lesser extent. The risks are cumulative, with both higher blood glucose levels, and the total amount of time it spends elevated, increasing the overall complication rate. IFG can eventually progress to type 2 diabetes mellitus without intervention, which typically involves lifestyle modification. Those with impaired fasting glucose have a 1.5 fold increased risk of developing clinical diabetes within 10 years, when compared to the general population. Some studies suggest that without lifestyle changes, IFG will progress to clinically diagnosable diabetes in just under 3 years, on average.[2] Impaired fasting glucose is often, though not always, associated with impaired glucose tolerance, though it may occur in isolation, with such persons having a normal response to a glucose tolerance test. Signs and Symptoms[edit] Impaired fasting glucose is often without any signs or symptoms, other than higher than normal glucose levels being detected in an individual's fasting blood sample. There may be signs and symptoms associated with elevated blood glucose, though these are likely to be minor, with significant symptoms suggestive of complete progression to type 2 diabetes. Such symptoms include:[3] Increased thirst Increased urination, especially wak Continue reading >>

Why Is Blood Sugar High In The Morning?

Here you'll find info about why blood sugar is high in the morning, along with tips and resources to lower those numbers! A while back I had a client sending me her blood sugar charts every few days and on those charts she always made some notes if she had questions. Every time she sent them through, I noticed she had 3 big question marks (???) against her morning blood sugar results. And on another morning when her morning blood sugar levels were high at 160 mg/dl (or 8.9 mmol/l). She had written: I don't understand. 97 mg/dl (or 5.5mmol/l) last night when I went to sleep. I didn't eat anything because I didn't feel well. Humm… I was also over in one of the online diabetes groups I'm involved in today and this message popped up. I'm struggling with my morning BS number. When I went to bed around 11PM my BS was 107. I'm waking up with my BS between 120 – 135. I did put two pieces of string cheese next to my bed and when I woke up around 3am, I ate one. Since I was told to eat protein at night. When I woke up 3 hours later my BS was 130. I didn't want to eat anything large since it's so close to 140 (my goal is to keep it below 140). So I had 1 piece of toast (sugar free wheat bread) and just a tiny bit of peanut butter. I checked it an hour later and it was 161! What am I doing wrong? Do these morning situations sound familiar to you? Are you constantly questioning: Why is blood sugar high in the morning? I mean, logically we'd think that it should be at it's lowest in the morning right? Well don't panic, there is a reason for it, so let's explore why morning blood sugar is often higher. And at the end, I'll also point you toward some resources to help you lower those levels. Why Is Blood Sugar High In The Morning? Although it would seem logical that your body would Continue reading >>