Why Is Blood Sugar High In The Morning?
At the moment we are following Yvonne (a type 2 diabetic) on a 6-8 week journey to lower her blood sugar, a1c levels and hopefully cholesterol and other health markers. Yvonne has been sending me her blood sugar charts every few days and on those she always makes some notes for me. I noticed she had 3 big question marks (???) against one of her morning blood sugar results and then again on another morning when her blood sugar levels were high at 160 (mg/dl – or 8.9mmol/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.” So I thought this would be a good opportunity to provide some information on the question: Why is blood sugar high in the morning?? While you’re here be sure to subscribe for our type 2 diabetes updates Why Is Blood Sugar High In The Morning? Although it would seem like the body would have the lowest blood glucose in the morning this often isn’t the case for these 5 reasons. 1. Glucose Happens 24/7 All the cells in the body need glucose to fuel their function, even when we sleep. So the body breaks down stores in the liver so that the body and brain can continue to go about their functions. This glucose production will still occur when you don’t eat and in fact if you skip a meal it can increase the livers production of glucose. 2. Morning Hormones Raise Blood Glucose Cortisol (our stress hormone) is the hormone that slowly increases in levels from around 3 am onwards to reach it’s peak early in the morning. This occurs to get us moving and to give us energy. But cortisol stimulates a rise in blood sugar response so it is in fact a ‘normal’ response but if you are diabetic there is one factor that impacts both the overnight g Continue reading >>
Common Questions About Blood Sugar
How often should I test my blood sugar? This is a very common question, and the answer isn't the same for everyone. In general, you should test as often as you need to get helpful information. There's no point in testing if the information you get doesn't help you manage your diabetes. If you've been told to test at certain times, but you don't know why or what to do with the test results, then testing won't seem very meaningful. Here are some general guidelines for deciding how often to test: If you can only test once a day, then do it before breakfast. Keep a written record so that you can see the pattern of the numbers. If you control your blood sugar by diet and exercise only, this once-a-day test might be enough. If you take medicine (diabetes pills or insulin), you will probably want to know how well that medicine is working. The general rule is to test before meals and keep a record. If you want to know how your meals affect your blood sugar, testing about 2 hours after eating can be helpful. Test whenever you feel your blood sugar is either too high or too low. Testing will give you important information about what you need to do to raise or lower your blood sugar. If you take more than 2 insulin shots a day or use an insulin pump, you should test 4 to 6 times a day. You should test more often if you're having unusually high or low readings, if you're sick, under more stress than usual, or are pregnant. If you change your schedule or travel, you should also test your blood sugar more often than usual. Talk to a member of your health care team about how often to test based on your personal care plan. What should my test numbers be? There isn't one blood sugar target that's right for everyone with diabetes. It's important to work with your health care team to set Continue reading >>
Correcting Morning Blood Sugar Highs — Know The Causes Of These Spikes And Ways To Treat Them
Today’s Dietitian Vol. 14 No. 11 P. 18 Jill is frustrated. Her type 1 diabetes seems out of control, and she comes to your office at her wits’ end. She says she’s doing everything right: counting carbs, taking her insulin as prescribed, monitoring her blood glucose levels four times per day. A look at Jill’s testing logs and most recent blood work confirms there’s a problem. She has a hemoglobin A1c of 9.2, and her blood glucose levels are all over the map. Her numbers generally are fine before she goes to bed but incredibly high in the morning. Recently, her physician increased her nighttime basal insulin dose to counteract the morning highs, but things seem worse now than ever. Her breakfast bolus doesn’t seem to be effective, and her high blood glucose levels persist into the afternoon. “Fluctuating blood sugars can be very frustrating,” says Eileen M. Sturner, RD, LDN, CDE, BC-ADM. “RDs can play an important role in helping patients get to the bottom of problems such as morning highs. Working with patients to gather the appropriate data and facilitating the sharing of those data with the healthcare provider that’s managing their diabetes can have life-changing results.” Hyperglycemia In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas can no longer provide either the steady drip of basal insulin that keeps blood sugar levels stable between meals or the bolus release of insulin that directs the uptake of glucose after eating. Patients must take basal insulin to keep their fasting blood sugar levels steady and bolus insulin to match their carbohydrate intake and correct highs. The primary cause of hyperglycemia in type 1 diabetes is carbohydrate intake that isn’t matched with bolus insulin dosing. Perhaps Jill is underreporting her carbohydrate intake, administer Continue reading >>
Understanding Fasting Blood Sugar
Among the most common questions people have about Type 2 diabetes is this: how can they lower their fasting blood sugar? To answer this question in a way that will help you lower your blood sugar we are going to have to first explain why doctors measure fasting blood sugar and what it does--and does not--tell us about our blood sugar health. WHAT IS FASTING BLOOD SUGAR? Traditionally, fasting blood sugar is the value you get when you test your blood sugar after an 8 hour long fast--which is usually immediately upon waking. In a normal person this fasting blood sugar would also be the "baseline" blood sugar--the level to which blood sugar returns a few hours after every meal all day long. However, for reasons we will discuss later on, this is often NOT the case for people with Type 2 diabetes, whose morning blood sugars may be much higher than the baseline level they achieve after meals for the rest of the day. Doctors have for decades relied on the FPG (fasting plasma glucose) test which measures fasting blood sugar to diagnose diabetes. The reason for this is NOT that FPG test results predict diabetic complications. They don't. Post-meal blood sugar tests are a much better indicator of whether a person will get the classic diabetic complications, and the A1c test is a better indicator of potential heart disease. But the FPG test is cheap and easy to administer, hence its popularity. The value most of us would find much more helpful in assessing our health is not fasting blood sugar but something else: the number of hours a day our blood sugar spends elevated over the level known to cause complications, which is roughly 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/L). A person can wake up with a FPG of 130 mg/dl (7.2 mmol/L), but if it drops after breakfast and most hours of the day are spent w Continue reading >>
Why Is My Blood Sugar High In The Morning?
That early morning jump in your blood sugar? It's called the dawn phenomenon or the dawn effect. It usually happens between 2 and 8 a.m. But why? Generally, the normal hormonal changes your body makes in the morning will boost your blood sugar, whether you have diabetes or not. If you don't, your body just makes more insulin to balance everything out. You don't even notice that it's happening. But if you have diabetes, it's different. Since your body doesn't respond to insulin the same as most, your fasting blood sugar reading can go up, even if you follow a strict diet. The boost in sugar is your body's way of making sure you have enough energy to get up and start the day. If you have diabetes, your body may not have enough insulin to counteract these hormones. That disrupts the delicate balance that you work so hard to keep, and your sugar readings can be too high by morning. The effects of the dawn phenomenon can vary from person to person, even from day to day. Some researchers believe the natural overnight release of what are called counter-regulatory hormones -- like growth hormones, cortisol, glucagon and epinephrine -- makes your insulin resistance stronger. This will make your blood sugar go up. You may also have high blood sugar in the morning because: You didn't have enough insulin the night before. You took too much or too little medicine. You ate the wrong snack before bedtime. If the dawn phenomenon affects you, try to: Eat dinner earlier in the evening. Do something active after dinner, like going for a walk. Check with your health care provider about the medicine you’re taking. Eat breakfast. It helps bring your blood sugar back to normal, which tells your body that it's time to rein in the anti-insulin hormones. Eat a snack with some carbohydrates and Continue reading >>
Why Is Blood Sugar Highest In The Morning?
Many people with diabetes find that their fasting blood sugar first thing in the morning is the hardest blood sugar to control. In addition, they find that if they eat the same food for breakfast as they do for lunch or dinner they will see a much higher blood sugar number when testing after breakfast than they see at the other meals. The reason for this is a normal alteration in hormones experienced by many people not just people with diabetes. It is called "Dawn Phenomenon." What Causes Dawn Phenomenon? The body prepares for waking up by secreting several different hormones. First, between 4:00 and 6:30 a.m. it secretes cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. You may recognize these as the hormones involved in the "fight or flight response." In this case, their job is more benign, to give you the energy to get up and moving so you can find the food your body needs for energy. To help you do this, these hormones also raise your blood sugar. After a long night's sleep, the fuel your body turns to to get you going is the glucose stored in the liver. So after these stress hormones are secreted, around 5:30 a.m., plasma glucose rises. In a person with normal blood sugar, insulin will also start to rise at this time but many people with diabetes won't experience the corresponding rise in insulin. So instead of giving their cells a dose of morning energy, all they get is a rise in blood sugar. Not Everyone Experiences Dawn Phenomenon Researchers who have infused different hormones into experimental subjects have found that the trigger for dawn phenomenon is a nocturnal surge in growth hormone. If they block the growth hormone, blood sugars stay flat. This may explain why some people, particularly older people, do not experience a rise in blood sugar first thing in the mor Continue reading >>
Why Is My Blood Glucose Level Higher In The Morning Than At Bedtime?
High morning blood glucose levels before breakfast can be a puzzle. If you haven't eaten, why did your blood glucose level go up? There are two common reasons for high before-breakfast blood glucose levels. One relates to hormones that are released in the early part of sleep (called the Dawn Phenomenon). The other is from taking too little insulin in the evening. To see which one is the cause, set your alarm to self-monitor around 2 or 3 a.m. for several nights and discuss the results with your health care provider. It is completely natural to think that your blood sugar should be lower after a night sleep. After all, you have not eaten anything for many hours. But the body needs glucose 24 hours a day, and if you are not getting it from food, your body will turn to stored glucose in the liver. Your pancreas needs to make insulin to deal with this glucose, just as it does for glucose derived from the food you eat. Unfortunately, in many people with diabetes, insulin production during periods of fasting is as bad as or even worse than during eating. Therefore, the sugar may rise overnight because glucose being produced by the liver is not matched by adequate insulin from the pancreas. Certain medications, including glyburide (brand name Micronase or DiaBeta), glipizide (brand name Glipizide) and glimepiride (brand name Amaryl), improve meal-related insulin production more than fasting insulin production. As a result, many people who take these medicines have higher glucose levels in the morning than before bed at night. Sometimes a snack at bedtime with protein, some healthy fat and a slowly absorbed carbohydrate, such as two teaspoons of peanut butter on a half-slice of stone-ground whole-wheat bread, may actually lower the morning glucose because it prevents you from e Continue reading >>
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- Why do I have high blood sugar levels in the morning?
- Why Is My Fasting Blood Sugar High in the Morning?
Proven Tips & Strategies To Bring High Blood Sugar Down (quickly)
Untreated, high blood sugar can cause many problems and future complications. Recognizing signs of high blood sugar levels and knowing how to lower them can help you prevent these complications and increase the quality and length of your life. Topics covered (click to jump to specific section) High blood sugar level symptoms and signs Symptoms of high blood sugar include: Increased thirst Tired all the time Irritability Increased hunger Urinating a lot Dry mouth Blurred vision Severe high blood sugar can lead to nausea and fruity smelling breath The signs and symptoms for high blood sugar are the same for both type 1 and type 2. Signs usually show up quicker in those who have type 1 because of the nature of their diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to stop making insulin altogether. Type 2 is caused by lifestyle factors when the body eventually stops responding to insulin, which causes the sugar to increase slowly. People with type 2 can live longer without any symptoms creeping because their body is still making enough insulin to help control it a little bit. What causes the blood sugar levels go to high? Our bodies need sugar to make energy for the cells. Without it, we cannot do basic functions. When we eat foods with glucose, insulin pairs with it to allow it to enter into the cell wall. If the insulin is not there, then the glucose molecule can’t get through the wall and cannot be used. The extra glucose hangs out in the bloodstream which is literally high blood sugar. The lack of insulin can be caused by two different things. First, you can have decreased insulin resistance which means that your insulin doesn’t react the way that it is supposed to. It doesn’t partner with glucose to be used as fuel. Secondly, you can have no insuli Continue reading >>
Controlling The Dawn Phenomenon
One of our most stubborn challenges is to control the dawn phenomenon. That’s when our fasting blood glucose readings in the morning are higher than when we went to bed. The dawn phenomenon is a normal physiological process where certain hormones in our body work to raise blood glucose levels before we wake up, as we wrote in The New Glucose Revolution: What Makes My Blood Glucose Go Up…And Down? Professor Jennie Brand-Miller of the University of Sydney, Kaye Foster-Powell, and I co-authored that book (Marlowe & Co., first edition 2003, second American edition 2006). These so-called counter-regulatory hormones, including glucagon, epinephrine, growth hormone, and cortisol, work against the action of insulin. They stimulate glucose release from the liver and inhibit glucose utilization throughout the body. The result is an increase in blood glucose levels, ensuring a supply of fuel in anticipation of the wakening body’s needs. If you take insulin injections, it could be that the effect of insulin you took is waning. Your blood glucose will rise if you didn’t take enough to keep your insulin level up through the night. The dawn phenomenon varies from person to person and can even vary from time to time in each of us. That much was clear when our book came out. But how to control it was a different story. A couple of years ago here I wrote about several efforts for “Taming the Dawn Phenomenon.” People have tried everything from eating a green apple at bedtime to high-maize grain to uncooked cornstarch. None of these remedies that I have been able to try ever worked for me. I always thought that the most promising remedy was one that a correspondent named Renee suggested – vinegar capsules. “I am still using vinegar tablets (usually 8) each night and have us 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 >>
7 Morning Rituals Proven To Lower Morning Blood Sugar Naturally
If you’re a diabetic, you may find that your blood sugar levels are at their peak in the morning. This is due to the fasting period overnight. It’s common for blood sugar tests to require a period of fasting beforehand to get the best natural levels. You need to get your blood sugar levels down right away. The good news is you don’t necessarily need to rely on medication. While you will want to take medication in the way that your doctor has prescribed, you will still want to follow these seven-morning rituals. It is possible to reverse type II diabetes and focus on a healthier and more natural lifestyle. Even if you’re not a diabetic, you will want to keep your morning blood sugar levels down. Here are the seven must-follow morning rituals that have proven to lower the blood sugar levels on a morning completely naturally. Wait, Why Is Your Blood Sugar Up In the Morning? Why is it that your blood sugar levels will rise overnight? You don’t eat anything, so how can you possibly add any glucose to your system? Well, those who suffer from type II diabetes will find this is most problematic. The body still creates glucose throughout the night. It needs to, whether you’ve eaten something or not. This natural process is called gluconeogenesis, and there is nothing you can do to stop it – nor would you want to. In a healthy person, this process doesn’t cause a major problem. Those with diabetes will find the gluconeogenesis process is increased. That means your body produces more glucose naturally than it would if you were healthy. Let’s not forget that the stress hormone cortisol also plays a part. This increases slowly on a morning until it reaches a peak early in the morning. The cortisol will elevate the blood sugar levels, so you end up with naturally hi Continue reading >>
What Is The Normal Range For Blood Sugar Levels, And What Blood Sugar Level Constitutes A True Emergency?
Question:What is the normal range for blood sugar levels, and what blood sugar level constitutes a true emergency? Answer:Now, in a normal individual we measure blood sugar under different circumstances. What we call fasting blood sugar or blood glucose levels is usually done six to eight hours after the last meal. So it's most commonly done before breakfast in the morning; and the normal range there is 70 to 100 milligrams per deciliter. Now when you eat a meal, blood sugar generally rises and in a normal individual it usually does not get above a 135 to 140 milligrams per deciliter. So there is a fairly narrow range of blood sugar throughout the entire day. Now in our diabetic patients we see both low blood sugar levels that we call hypoglycemia, or elevated blood sugars, hyperglycemia. Now, if the blood sugar drops below about 60 or 65 milligrams per deciliter, people will generally get symptoms, which are some shakiness, feeling of hunger, maybe a little racing of the heart and they will usually be trenchant or if they eat something, it goes away right away. But if blood sugar drops below 50 and can get down as low as 40 or 30 or even 20, then there is a progressive loss of mental function and eventually unconsciousness and seizures. And of course that is very dangerous and a medical emergency. On the other side, if blood sugar gets up above 180 to 200, then it exceeds the capacity of the kidneys to reabsorb the glucose and we begin to spill glucose into the urine. And if it gets way up high, up in the 400s or even 500s, it can be associated with some alteration in mental function. And in this situation, if it persists for a long time, we can actually see mental changes as well. So either too low or very exceedingly high can cause changes in mental function. Next: W Continue reading >>
Tips Or Tricks For Lowering Fasting Morning Glucose Levels Without Resorting To Insulin? May 15, 2006 10:05 Am Subscribe
Tips or tricks for lowering fasting morning glucose levels without resorting to insulin? Yes, yes, I know ... see my doctor, etc. etc. etc. I'm getting quality medical care, I just want more opinions, and maybe some non-traditional approaches. Short form: I may or may not have gestational diabetes. My 1 hour and 3 hour glucose tollerance tests were extremely high, but there is some debate as to whether the after effects of a recent severe illness may account for some of that. My blood glucose levels are fine during the day (always below 120 tested 2 hours postprandial, provided I don't eat anything stupid) but when I test in the morning my levels are between 102 - 115 (most often 107). If I'm not able to drop those morning fasting levels down to about 95 in the next few days, I'm going to have to start taking insulin in the evenings, with the end result that I'll have to leave my current midwife's practice and get an OB and give birth at a hospital rather than at the birth center where I'm currently a client. I'm pretty desperate to avoid this if at all possible. My diabetes councelor has advised me to try eating a snack directly before bed that is mainly protein (peanut butter or chicken, etc), and exercising right before bed. I'm going to do both of these, but was wondering if any diabetic or medical type metafilter folks had any other suggestions, either for diet suppliments or other diet-related approaches that have worked for them. I am currently adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to my diet daily as seen in this study and it does seem to help... I'm no doctor, but I am diabetic, and I'd second-guess some of what you're being told. Your blood glucose levels are a little high for a non-diabetic, but they're very low for a diabetic. You seem to be borderline. I'd say you Continue reading >>
Why Blood Sugar Levels Rise Overnight
get the scoop When you go to bed, your blood sugar reading is 110, but when you wake up in the morning, it has shot up to 150. Why does this happen? To understand how blood sugar levels can rise overnight without your eating anything, we have to look at where glucose comes from — and where it goes — while we sleep. During the day, the carbohydrates we eat are digested into glucose and absorbed into the bloodstream. Some of this glucose goes to the liver, where it is stored for later use. At night, while we are asleep, the liver releases glucose into the bloodstream. The liver acts as our glucose warehouse and keeps us supplied until we eat breakfast. The amount of glucose being used is matched by the amount of glucose being released by the liver, so blood sugar levels should remain constant. what is the dawn phenomenon? A rise in blood sugar level between approximately 3 A.M. and the time you wake up is called the “dawn phenomenon.” The liver is supposed to release just enough glucose to replace what is being used, and insulin works as the messenger to tell the liver how much is enough. But if there's not enough insulin (as with type 1 diabetes), or if there's enough insulin but it cannot communicate its message to the liver (as with type 2 diabetes), the liver starts to release glucose much too quickly. In addition, levels of hormones such as cortisol begin to increase in the early morning hours, which can contribute to altered insulin sensitivity. The result? Blood sugar levels rise. This is why blood sugar levels can go up between the time you go to bed and the time you wake up. what can you do about it? You might be able to make changes in the timing of your meals, medications, or insulin injections to help prevent dawn phenomenon. First, keep a detailed rec Continue reading >>
Why Is My Fasting Blood Sugar High In The Morning?
People often wonder the reasons for the high level of blood glucose when they wake up early in the morning. There can be several reasons for the same. This article deals with the topic “Why is My Fasting Blood Sugar High in the Morning?” so, join in for this article and read on: What is Fasting Glucose? Fasting blood glucose is the level of blood glucose that you have when you check it early in the morning before eating anything. It is usually high and there are two main reasons to explain the same. The following phenomena are responsible for the high levels of fasting blood glucose in the morning: What is the Dawn Phenomenon? There is a host of changes that take place in the body while we are sleeping. These changes are known as the “Dawn Phenomenon.” One of the reasons for high blood glucose levels when we wake up in the morning is this dawn phenomenon. 3 A.M is the time when our body is experiencing the soundest sleep. Hence, around this time the body hardly needs any insulin. Whatever insulin is taken by the body in the evening leads to a sharp loss in the level of blood glucose at this time. As a result, between 3 A.M to 8 A.M, the body is slowly getting more and more resistant to the hormone insulin and the stored glucose of our body is being used for the release of some energy. When all the above things are taking place, the insulin you must have taken at bedtime is also getting used up in the process. All these are responsible for the increase in the level of blood glucose early in the morning when you wake up. What is the Somogyi Effect? Another reason for the high level of blood glucose in the mornings is the Somogyi effect as described for the first time by the famous researcher, Michael Somogyi. This effect is also known as the rebound effect due to Continue reading >>
