Somogyi Effect Vs. Dawn Phenomenon: The Difference Explained
For people who have diabetes , the Somogyi effect and the dawn phenomenon both cause higher blood sugar levels in the morning. The dawn phenomenon happens naturally, but the Somogyi effect usually happens because of problems with your diabetes management routine. Your body uses a form of sugar called glucose as its main source of energy. A hormone called insulin , which your pancreas makes, helps your body move glucose from your bloodstream to your cells. While you sleep , your body doesnt need as much energy. But when youre about to wake up, it gets ready to burn more fuel. It tells your liver to start releasing more glucose into your blood . That should trigger your body to release more insulin to handle more blood sugar . If you have diabetes, your body doesnt make enough insulin to do that. That leaves too much sugar in your blood, a problem called hyperglycemia . High blood sugar can cause serious health problems, so if you have diabetes, youll need help to bring those levels down. Diet and exercise help, and so can medications like insulin. If you have diabetes, your body doesnt release more insulin to match the early-morning rise in blood sugar. Its called the dawn phenomenon, since it usually happens between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. The dawn phenomenon happens to nearly everyone with diabetes. But there are a few ways to prevent it, including: Dont eat carbohydrates before you go to bed. Take insulin before bedtime instead of earlier in the evening. Ask your doctor about adjusting your dose of insulin or other diabetes medicines. Continue reading >>
Dawn Phenomenon And The Somogyi Effect
The dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect cause high blood sugar levels, especially in the morning before breakfast, in people who have diabetes. The dawn phenomenon is a normal rise in blood sugar as a person's body prepares to wake up. In the early morning hours, hormones (growth hormone, cortisol , and catecholamines) cause the liver to release large amounts of sugar into the bloodstream. For most people, the body produces insulin to control the rise in blood sugar. If the body doesn't produce enough insulin, blood sugar levels can rise. This may cause high blood sugar in the morning (before eating). If the blood sugar level drops too low in the early morning hours, hormones (such as growth hormone, cortisol, and catecholamines) are released. These help reverse the low blood sugar level but may lead to blood sugar levels that are higher than normal in the morning. An example of the Somogyi effect is: A person who takes insulin doesn't eat a regular bedtime snack, and the person's blood sugar level drops during the night. The person's body responds to the low blood sugar by releasing hormones that raise the blood sugar level. This may cause a high blood sugar level in the early morning. The Somogyi effect can occur any time you or your child has extra insulin in the body. To sort out whether an early morning high blood sugar level is caused by the dawn phenomenon or Somogyi effect, check blood sugar levels at bedtime, around 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., and at your normal wake-up time for several nights. A continuous glucose monitor could also be used throughout the night. If the blood sugar level is low at 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., suspect the Somogyi effect. If the blood sugar level is normal or high at 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., it's likely the dawn phenomenon. Continue reading >>
Somogyi Phenomenon - Rebound Hyperglycemia
Tweet The Somogyi phenomenon (also known as post-hypoglycemic hyperglycemia, chronic Somogyi rebound) describes a rebound high blood glucose level in response to low blood glucose. Amongst those people with diabetes who manage their blood glucose using insulin injections, this may take the form of high blood sugar in the morning due to an excess amount of insulin during the night. The Somogyi effect is controversial despite being widely reported. Why is rebound hyperglycemia called The Somogyi effect? The Somogyi phenomenon was named after a Hungarian-born professor called Dr. Michael Somogyi. He prepared the first insulin treatment given to a child with diabetes in the USA, and also showed that too much insulin would make diabetes management unstable and more difficult. Is Somogyi Phenomenon the same as Dawn Phenomenon? No, although they are often confused by healthcare professionals. The Dawn Effect (or Dawn Phenomenon) is a morning rise in blood sugar which occurs as a response to waning levels of insulin and a surge in growth hormones. How does Somogyi Phenomenon occur? Somogyi theorised that prolonged levels of untreated hypoglycemia could lead to stress (due to low blood sugar) and a high blood sugar levels rebound. This is a defensive response by the body as it released endocrine hormone glucagon, backed up by the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine. This means an instant increase in blood glucose, and stress hormones cause insulin resistance for several hours, and this in turn leads to elevated blood sugar. How do I avoid Somogyi rebound? Somogyi phenomenom is avoidable in several ways. Firstly, intense blood glucose testing allows the individual experiencing Somogyi effect to detect and then prevent the circumstances leading to it. Testing blood sugar regu Continue reading >>
The Dawn Phenomenon: What Can You Do?
What is the dawn phenomenon that some people with diabetes experience? Can anything be done about it? Answers from M. Regina Castro, M.D. The dawn phenomenon, also called the dawn effect, is the term used to describe an abnormal early-morning increase in blood sugar (glucose) — usually between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. — in people with diabetes. Some researchers believe the natural overnight release of the so-called counter-regulatory hormones — including growth hormone, cortisol, glucagon and epinephrine — increases insulin resistance, causing blood sugar to rise. High morning blood sugar may also be caused by insufficient insulin the night before, insufficient anti-diabetic medication dosages or carbohydrate snack consumption at bedtime. If you have persistently elevated blood sugar in the morning, checking your blood sugar once during the night — around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. — for several nights in a row will help you and your doctor determine if you have the dawn phenomenon or if there's another reason for an elevated morning blood sugar reading. What you can do Your doctor may recommend a number of options to help you prevent or correct high blood sugar levels in the morning: Avoid carbohydrates at bedtime. Adjust your dose of medication or insulin. Switch to a different medication. Change the time when you take your medication or insulin from dinnertime to bedtime. Use an insulin pump to administer extra insulin during early-morning hours. Continue reading >>
Dawn Phenomenon And Somogyi Effect In Iddm
We examined the clinical relevance of a rise in fasting blood glucose (BG) between 0300 and 0600 in 97 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) receiving sequentially conventional (CT) and basal-bolus (BBIT) insulin therapies and assessed the impact of one potential causal factor, i.e., posthypoglycemic hyperglycemia, with 231 BG profiles (97 during CT, 134 during BBIT) in which BG was measured every 3 h over a 24-h period. A rise in BG between 0300 and 0600 occurred in 157 of 231 (68%) profiles. The mean magnitude of this rise was 56 ±39 mg/dl and was lower (P < .05) during BBIT (48 ± 35 mg/dl, n = 97) than CT (62±43 mg/dl, n = 97). A dawn rise (between 0300 and 0600) >50 mg/dl occurred in 40 of 97 (41%) profiles during CT and 26 of 97 (27%) during BBIT (P < .05). When all profiles were grouped according to the magnitude of this rise in BG, the mean daytime BG (from 0900 to 1800) was higher (P < .05) after an 0300–0600 BG rise >50 mg/dl compared with groups of profiles showing either a fall in BG or a rise <50 mg/dl; a rise in BG between 0300 and 0600 correlated (r = .38, P < .0001) with the subsequent mean daytime BG. Nocturnal hypoglycemia (BG <60 mg/dl) recorded at 2400 and/or 0300 occurred in 57 of 231 (25%) profiles. After nocturnal hypoglycemia, the highest BG recorded before breakfast was only 215 mg/dl, and the mean BG at 0600 was considerably lower (P < .0001) in profiles showing at least one episode of nocturnal hypoglycemia (116 ± 45 mg/dl, n = 57) compared with all profiles in which no nocturnal hypoglycemia was detected (174 ± 85 mg/dl, n = 174). In addition, postbreakfast BG levels at 0900 were lower (P < .0001) after nocturnal hypoglycemia (171 ± 87 mg/dl, n = 57) than when no nocturnal hypoglycemia was detected (211 ± 91 mg/dl, Continue reading >>
Rocky Morning Highs?
With a little sleuthing you can identify—and fight—the causes of those rises in waking blood glucose Sometimes diabetes doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Take those mornings when you wake up with blood glucose that's higher than it was when you went to sleep. You'd think that not eating for those seven or eight hours would give you lower blood glucose. But in fact, there are three reasons your blood glucose may be higher in the morning: the dawn phenomenon, the Somogyi effect, or waning insulin. The dawn phenomenon is a natural rise in blood glucose between the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., and it occurs because of hormonal changes in the body. "The body does several things to get ready for the day," says David S. Schade, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Endocrinology at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque. "The body releases hormones like cortisol and growth hormone and the blood glucose rises. People without diabetes just secrete more insulin to handle the blood glucose, but for people with diabetes, the rise in blood glucose can be substantial." Schade notes that the effects of dawn phenomenon vary in each person, and your blood glucose may be higher on some mornings than on others. "You can do the same exercise and eat the same thing every day and have different blood glucose [levels] on different mornings because of dawn phenomenon," he says. "That makes it a little problematic." He adds that the scientific community is still figuring out the relationship between the release of these hormones and the rise in blood glucose. However, one thing scientists do know is that the liver produces glucose as part of the dawn phenomenon. Treatment for dawn phenomenon depends on how you treat your diabetes, says Stuart Continue reading >>
Differences Between Dawn Phenomenon Or Somogyi Effect
The dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect increase fasting (aka morning) blood glucose levels for people with diabetes, but for different reasons. Both occurrences have to do with hormones that tell the liver to release glucose into your blood stream while you sleep. The difference is why the hormones are released. Arandom elevated blood sugar could be a result of a variety of things: perhaps you ate too many carbohydrates the night before , you took less medicine than you're supposed to or you forgot to take it altogether . But,if you've noticed a pattern of elevated blood sugars in the morning, it could be a result of the dawn phenomenon or the Somogyi effect. Find out what causes this hormonal hyperglycemia and how you can prevent and can treat it. The dawn phenomenon is caused by a surge of hormones that the body puts out in the early morning hours. According to the American Diabetes Association, "everyone has the dawn phenomenon if they have diabetes or not. People with diabetes don't have normal insulin responses to adjust for it and that is why their blood sugars go up." This happens because: During the evening hours the body is making less insulin. Hormones trigger the liver to put out more glucose. Lack of insulin results in a blood sugar rise in the a.m. The Somogyi effect (or rebound hyperglycemia)results in morning high blood sugar ( hyperglycemia ) as a result very low bloodsugar (hypoglycemia) during the night. It's a very rare phenomenon and most often occurs in people with Type 1 diabetes. It occurs: More commonly in people who take night-time insulin , as a result of taking too much; Or if you are required to eat a snack before bed to keep your blood sugars stable and you skip it. The abundance of insulin in the blood and lack of glucose, causes the b Continue reading >>
The Dawn Phenomenon – T2d 8
The occurrence of 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 Continue reading >>
Somogyi Effect: Causes And Prevention
The Somogyi effect, also known as the rebound effect, occurs in people with diabetes. Hypoglycemia or low blood glucose in the late evening causes a rebound effect in the body, leading to hyperglycemia or high blood glucose in the early morning. This phenomenon, known as the Somogyi effect, is widely reported but remains controversial due to a lack of scientific evidence. It is reported more by people with type 1 diabetes than by people with type 2 diabetes. Contents of this article: What is the Somogyi effect? Named after Michael Somogyi, a Hungarian-born researcher who first described it, the Somogyi effect is the body's defensive response to prolonged periods of low blood sugar. A dose of insulin before bed that is too high can be a cause. When insulin reduces the amount of glucose in the blood by too much, it causes hypoglycemia. In turn, hypoglycemia makes the body stressed, triggering the release of the stress hormones epinephrine (adrenaline), cortisol, and growth hormone. The endocrine hormone glucagon is also released. Glucagon triggers the liver to convert stores of glycogen into glucose, which can send blood glucose levels into a rebound high. The stress hormones keep the blood glucose levels raised by making the cells less responsive to insulin. This is known as insulin resistance. Controversy The Somogyi effect is widely cited among doctors and people with diabetes, but there is little scientific evidence for the theory. For example, one small study found that hyperglycemia upon waking is likely to be caused by not enough insulin before bed. Researchers also found that participants who appeared to have rebound hyperglycemia did not have higher levels of growth hormone, cortisol, or glucagon than others. A 2007 study of 88 people with type 1 diabetes using c Continue reading >>
The Dawn Phenomenon And The Somogyi Effect - Two Phenomena Of Morning Hyperglycaemia.
Abstract Morning hyperglycaemia in diabetic subjects may be caused by the dawn phenomenon, or the Somogyi effect, or poor glycaemic control. The dawn phenomenon occurs when endogenous insulin secretion decreases or when the effect of the exogenous insulin administered to the patient the day before disappears, together with a physiological increase in insulin-antagonistic hormones. The Somogyi effect is present in the case of excessive amounts of exogenous insulin. The dawn phenomenon is more common than the Somogyi effect. To diagnose these phenomena, it is useful to measure plasma glucose levels for several nights between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. or use a continuous glucose monitoring system. Although their treatment differs, the best way of preventing both the dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect is an optimal diabetes control with insulin therapy. Continue reading >>
Somogyi Phenomenon: Overview, Pathophysiology, Patient History
Author: Michael Cooperman, MD; Chief Editor: George T Griffing, MD more... In the 1930s, Dr. Michael Somogyi speculated that hypoglycemia during the late evening induced by insulin could cause a counterregulatory hormone response (see the image below) that produces hyperglycemia in the early morning. [ 1 ] This phenomenon is actually less common than the dawn phenomenon, which is an abnormal early morning increase in the blood glucose level because of natural changes in hormone levels. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ] Debate continues in the scientific community as to the actual presence of this reaction to hypoglycemia. Shanik et al, for example, suggested that the hyperglycemia attributed to the Somogyi phenomenon actually is caused by an insulin-induced insulin resistance. [ 5 ] The causes of Somogyi phenomenon include excess or ill-timed insulin, missed meals or snacks, and inadvertent insulin administration. [ 6 , 7 , 8 ] Unrecognized posthypoglycemic hyperglycemia can lead to declining metabolic control and hypoglycemic complications. Although no data on frequency are available, Somogyi phenomenon is probably rare. It occurs in diabetes mellitus type 1 and is less common in diabetes mellitus type 2 . With proper identification and management, the prognosis for Somogyi phenomenon is excellent, and there is no evidence of long-term sequelae. Instruct patients in proper identification of symptoms of hypoglycemia, insulin dose, timing of meals, and insulin administration. For patient education information, see Insulin Reaction . The ability to suppress insulin release is an important physiologic response that people with insulin-requiring diabetes cannot carry out, as displayed in the image below. Defense against hypoglycemia involves counterregulatory hormones, which stimulate glucone Continue reading >>
The Dawn Phenomenon And Somogyi Effect: What You Can Do
Waking up with a high blood sugar reading is not exactly the way you want to start off your day. Besides rushing to get ready for work or getting the kids off to school (or both), you now have to decide if and how you’ll deal with that reading on your meter. Maybe you decide to skip breakfast. If you take mealtime insulin, perhaps you inject a few extra units. Or you put in some additional time during your workout. Another option is to shrug it off and hope that your blood sugar comes down in a few hours. You might also ponder the reason your blood sugar is high. Could it be that you ate dinner later than usual last night? Or you ate too much carb at dinner? Or maybe it was your snack? While it’s normal to have high blood sugars when you have diabetes, it’s time to pay attention when the highs become the norm. Morning hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) is frustrating for many people; figuring out the cause is the first step in dealing with (and preventing) it. Dawn phenomenon: hormones that wreak havoc It’s easy to blame your morning high on the plate of pasta last night. But while that could certainly be a factor, chances are, your “highs” are a result of hormones. An imbalance of insulin, amylin (a hormone released by the pancreas), and incretins (hormones released by the gut) is the likely culprit. Other hormones get in on the act, too, including glucagon, growth hormone, cortisol, and adrenaline. Why? Overnight, the body gets this idea that it needs fuel (glucose). The witching hour seems to be around 3 AM or so. At this time, the liver and muscles obligingly respond to the signal for fuel and release glucose into the bloodstream. In someone without diabetes, insulin and its other hormone pals kick in to keep blood sugar levels on an even keel. In the case Continue reading >>
Somogyi Effect Vs Dawn Phenomenon: Differences Worth Knowing
Have you ever gone to sleep with a relatively normal glucose reading and woke up with a much higher value? If Yes! Then you must be wondering why glucose numbers swing during sleep or during pre-dawn hours? Well! In the current article we will talk about the two possibilities namely the Somogyi Effect and The Dawn phenomenon. We will know about the differences between the two possibilities in the following sections. Before we talk about the differences between Somogyi Effect and the Dawn Phenomenon, we would mention that both these phenomenon can raise your fasting blood glucose levels during the morning hours, but for different reasons. Somogyi Effect is also known as "Rebound Hyperglycemia". The Somogyi Effect is a pattern of undetected hypoglycaemia or low blood glucose values of less than 70, followed by hyperglycemia or high blood glucose levels of more than 200. This effect generally happens in the middle of the night, though it can also occur when too much insulin is circulating in the system. During hypoglycaemia period, the body releases hormones which cause a chain reaction to release the stored glucose. The end result is that the level of glucose can swing extremely high in the other direction, causing hyperglycemia. The Dawn effect is named after the time of the day it occurs. This phenomenon is the body's response to hormones released in the early morning hours. Such an effect occurs for everyone. When we sleep, hormones are released in order to help maintain and restore cells within our bodies. These counter-regulatory hormones like growth hormones, catecholamines, and cortisol cause the rise in glucose level. There is a high glucose reading in the morning for those people with diabetes who do not have enough circulating insulin for keeping this increase o Continue reading >>
Szkolenie Podyplomowe/postgraduate Education
Endokrynologia Polska/Polish Journal of Endocrinology Tom/Volume 62; Numer/Number 3/2011 ISSN 0423–104X The dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect — two phenomena of morning hyperglycaemia Zjawisko brzasku i efekt Somogyi — dwa zjawiska porannej hiperglikemii Malwina Rybicka, Robert Krysiak, Bogusław Okopień Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland Abstract Morning hyperglycaemia in diabetic subjects may be caused by the dawn phenomenon, or the Somogyi effect, or poor glycaemic control. The dawn phenomenon occurs when endogenous insulin secretion decreases or when the effect of the exogenous insulin administered to the patient the day before disappears, together with a physiological increase in insulin-antagonistic hormones. The Somogyi effect is present in the case of excessive amounts of exogenous insulin. The dawn phenomenon is more common than the Somogyi effect. To diagnose these phenomena, it is useful to measure plasma glucose levels for several nights between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. or use a continuous glucose monitoring system. Although their treatment differs, the best way of preventing both the dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect is an optimal diabetes control with insulin therapy. (Pol J Endocrinol 2011; 62 (3): 276–283) Key words: morning hyperglycaemia, dawn phenomenon, Somogyi effect Streszczenie Poranna hiperglikemia wśród pacjentów z cukrzycą może być spowodowana zjawiskiem brzasku, efektem Somogyi lub złą kontrolą glikemii. Zjawisko brzasku pojawia się, gdy zmniejsza się wydzielanie endogennej insuliny lub gdy skończy się działanie podanej pa- cjentowi egzogennej insuliny łącznie z fizjologiczny Continue reading >>
Dawn Phenomenon (liver Dump)
Tweet Dawn phenomenon is the term given to an increase in blood sugar in the morning caused by the body's release of certain hormones. It is a relatively common phenomenon amongst diabetics. Although often confused, Dawn Phenomenon is different from Chronic Somogyi Rebound, because it is not brought on by nocturnal hypoglycemia. How is dawn phenomenon caused? Dawn effect occurs when hormones (including cortisol, glucagon, epinephrine) are released by the body, causing the liver to release glucose. The dawn effect therefore describes abnormally high early morning increases in blood glucose: Usually abnormally high blood glucose levels occur between 8 and 10 hours after going to sleep for people with diabetes Why does the dawn phenomenon occur? Researchers think that the release of the above-mentioned hormones may give rise to a brief period of insulin resistance which would also explain a rise in blood glucose levels. How is dawn phenomenon treated? Typically dawn phenomenon is treated by avoiding intake of carbohydrates at bedtime, adjusting how much insulin or medication is administered, switching to other medications or using an insulin pump. Tweet Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that results in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) due to the body: Being ineffective at using the insulin it has produced; also known as insulin resistance and/or Being unable to produce enough insulin Type 2 diabetes is characterised by the body being unable to metabolise glucose (a simple sugar). This leads to high levels of blood glucose which over time may damage the organs of the body. From this, it can be understood that for someone with diabetes something that is food for ordinary people can become a sort of metabolic poison. This is why people with diabetes ar Continue reading >>
