[tulips38rm]

I have diabetes..its not as bad as a lot of people I know but I still have to watch it..I take Metformin twice a day for it...But every morning when I get up its higher than the doctor tells me it should be...she says between 70 to 120 is normal for me..it runs usually around 155 to 200...what could be causing this..anyone have any ideas? Another thing I am concerned about is that I read on the net that anyone with congestive heart failure should not take Metformin...I have the heart valve damage (moderate) from taking the phen fen...is this considered congestive heart failure..I have read so much on it I am totally confused.
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[DonnaT]

It seems your medicine is not working anymore and you may need insulin. There is a new medicine out there that might help you. It is called Byetta. I am using it, and I don't have full blown diabetes yet, and my blood sugars in the morning were running in the 120's and now even if I don't eat right it is under 105. I am feeling no side affects from the medicine. It is an injection, but very easy to do and not painful. The needles are very tiny and you barely feel it. I would recommend you ask your doctor about it, and if he/she won't even consider it, I would go elsewhere. It can be used along with your metformin. I don't think your heart valve problem is the same as CHF, but it would be good to ask your doctor. Byetta is actually designed for full blown diabetics, and according to my doctor it may actually help heal the pancreatic system. I don't think they are saying it will cure diabetes, but maybe it would buy you enough help to get the weight off and give your pancreas a rest. Hope this may help you. Morning blood sugars that high is very scary. You need to take care of it right away.

[LizzyMc]

My blood sugars run high quite often in the morning, it's called Dawn Phenomenon (at least for me it is). When I first found out I was diabetic, I was a fanatic at eating only 15 carbs for a snack and 30 for meals, lost about 25 pounds, but my morning blood sugar was still high, in the 130s, not as high as yours. Even though they were running high in the morning, my A1c went from 7.7 down to 5.8, so I don't worry too much about the morning ones. You should still check with your doc though and do some research. Byetta can be given to people who don't require insulin also, but it is a daily injection and I am trying to avoid that. Also, in my case, it is expensive and my insurance won't cover it until oral meds are proven to be ineffective. My hope is that once I get down to a more 'normal' weight, I won't need any meds at all!!!

[tulips38rm]

I read about the dawn phenomenon online and sounds like what is happening to me..I have a doctors appointment monday and I am taking my meter with me that I have saved my testings in and let her look at it..I am hoping she will just change my meds and try that before thinking shots...I am not ready for that..I am hoping also that it is only my weight that is causing most of this...and after more weight loss it goes back to normal..thank you for your info..

Thank you as well DonnaT
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[bluejay111]

tulips38rm,
I am also diabetic and my fbs were also in the low 200's when I started on this WOE in Sept. 2006. It takes a while but now my fbs are usually between 90 and 110 without meds. I think a very good book for diabetics to read is "Diabetes Solutions" by Dr. Richard Bernstein. He is a type 1 diabetic and follows a low carb regime. I found the book very helpful. There is a 2007 edition available. He also has a web site www.diabetes-book.com.
There are many good recipes on this site and many helpful people. Good luck.
Bluejay111
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[tulips38rm]

Thank you bluejay111, I will definetly check that site out..I thought with cutting out as much sugar as I have my readings would go down..silly aren't I? Just goes to show how much I know about diabetes :/
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[LizzyMc]

Diabetes can be funky, that's for sure. I am hoping with the weight loss that I can get off the meds too. Good luck with your appointment, keep us posted, we can all learn through each other

[joy828]

Well, I came here to post on this very topic!! It has been interesting reading your posts about this problem.

When I was first diagnosed, my bg readings were always (as long as I ate low carb) about 95 - 110. Now my morning reading is higher - this morning was 125 and that is about what it has been reading - slowly dropping during the day. It is not so much the actual number I'm concerned about, but something has changed to cause the higher number - and I don't know what that is.

I'm learning about the Dawn Phonomenon with Diabetes, too. I'm on no meds, at this point and, of course, want to keep it that way.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to get very strict in what I'm eating for about a week ...... lean meat, lettuce, very low carb veggies - no coffee (no cream - no splenda) - only drink water. I should be able to tell if something like the coffee ....... or ??? is contributing to the higher number.

I haven't eaten any sugar & high carb foods that I know would cause the change, so I'm really baffled. Maybe with strict food control, a food diary & close monitoring of my bg levels, I can learn something that will help.

I'm certainly open to any suggestions or ideas - or your own personal experiences ........

I have a doctor's appointment on the 17th so maybe I can find out something then.

Does anyone go to an endocronologist for their diabetes? I have a general practitioner that I see, so I'm wondering if it is time for a specialist.

Joyce
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[tulips38rm]

joy, last time I seen my doctor...she explained the morning rise in mine like this...for some reason my blood sugars are dropping very low during the night..so my body, to keep me from going into a diabetic coma, is shooting up to try to get to a more normal level but over doing it...she told me to have something right before I go to bed to eat..maybe a small green apple or something...sure enough it did the trick...my readings have been more normal now..running at 95 - 110...where they were running 155-300 sometimes...I am taking metformin and didn't want to have to go to shots...

Very high blood glucose in the early morning due to the release of certain hormones in the middle of the night. The body makes certain hormones called counterregulatory hormones, which work against the action of insulin. These hormones, which include glucagon, epinephrine, growth hormone, and cortisol, raise blood glucose levels, when needed, by signaling the liver to release more glucose and by inhibiting glucose utilization throughout the body.

In the middle of the night, there is a surge in the amount of growth hormone the body releases, followed by a surge in cortisol, which effectively cranks up glucose production in the liver, presumably to prepare the body for daytime activity after a period of fasting. In people who don't have diabetes, these processes are offset by increased insulin secretion by the pancreas, so blood glucose levels remain relatively stable. However, in people with Type 1 diabetes, whose pancreases don't make insulin, and in people with Type 2 diabetes, whose livers may not respond to insulin well enough to stop glucose production, changes in glucose metabolism during sleep can have a profound effect on morning blood glucose levels. Typically, the blood glucose level rises between 4 AM and 8 AM.

It is important to realize that high morning blood sugar may be caused by something else: the body's rebound from low blood glucose levels at night. Rebound hyperglycemia, also caused by the release of counterregulatory hormones, represents the body's defense mechanism against low blood sugar. The only way to tell the two phenomena apart is to check your blood glucose level in the middle of the night (around 3 AM). If your blood sugar is high, you are probably experiencing the dawn phenomenon; if it is low, rebound hyperglycemia is probably at work.

If you experience high blood glucose levels when you wake up, talk with your health-care team. They can recommend further testing and changes in your meal, exercise, or insulin regimen to alleviate the problem.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/article.cfm?aid=1023
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[joy828]

Sherry - I thought I had replied to this ........ hmmmm brain cells need to be charged, I guess!!

Thanks so much for the explanation - it did help me understand what might be going on. I have leveled out a little better now - don't know why, but I'll take it.

I go to the doctor next month, so guess my bloodwork will tell me if something else is going on.

Thanks again & Take care!

Joyce
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[mgonser]

Hi Sherry and everyone.

You can't imagine how glad I was to read your posts on this problem. I too have high numbers as you do Sherry and I have printed out both the websites you gals talked about and will take them to my doctor. It is frustrating to go thru the day and have good levels then in the morning YIKES! I am on Metphormin AND Glipizide morning and night and still have high readings in the a.m. they have dropped since starting this WOE but I have a looonnnngggg way to go, but I'll get there. I also deal with MS which apparently some of those meds interact with my diabetes, so I do what I can.

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate your tips so much.

Marylyn

[crazywoman]

Have any of you seen/read this article. http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/1388/taming-dawn/pf//

I have never been diagnosed with diabetes, but I seem to be experiencing this at times (12 hr fasts). At one time recently my NP wanted me to come in for a sugar fast test. But I haven't (actually when my doctor saw the same blood tests that the NP saw, he wasn't concerned).

I found this thread very interesting. Makes me wonder what is going on.
But tho the doctors always said in the past that I didn't have diabetes, I've often wondered if I have glucose intolerance. I know my daughter has been diagnosed with that --- She has PCOS. I've also wondered if I haven't/don't have a very mild case of that as well. I don't think I had bad enough symptoms to have ever been diagnosed with it. And when I was young, it was either unheard of, or most doctors hadn't heard of it. I think they just in more recent years "figured it out" so to speak.

Anyway, it seems that you can be glucose intolerant without actually having diabetes.

Oh, my blood sugars are only borderline high during those 12 hr fasts. Usually around 101-102. That's why my doc hasn't been worried.
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[SoupNut]

There is typically a period of insulin resistance and/or glucose intolerance prior to the development of frank diabetes. Unfortunately, damage can start occurring in the small blood vessels even before frank diabetes develops. The keys to preventing all those problems down the road are exercise and getting the weight down (which will make your body more sensitive to the insulin your body makes) and cutting down on the sugar/starch intake.
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[crazywoman]

[SoupNut]

You've done a heckova job, but if you can get those last few off that should definitely help. There are some studies reported in medical journals of cinnamon supplements lowering blood sugar a little bit. It's not a miracle, but may give you just enough help to get it down into the normal range.

Keep up the low carb diet and don't forget the exercise--it's definitely the way to go. I've seen multiple folks with blood sugars in the 300's when they found out they had diabetes drop their sugars to normal with following a low-glycemic diet.

Sometimes if you have the genetic predisposition, the health problems can get you as you age despite all your good work, but you will postpone things for a long time, if not avoid completely, by doing what you're doing. You may end up taking metformin pills down the road, but if you were eating the typical American diet you might be on insulin by now.....
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