Overnight and fasting BG question...

Nada · #1 (**permalink**) 11-27-2006, 06:34 PM

I started on an insulin pump last week. In order to ensure I'm not spiking or having lows in the night, my nurse has asked that I test at 11pm, 2am and 4am. The trend there seems to be as follows:

11pm - 6.5 (131)
2am - 5.3 (107)
4am - 6.5 (131)
wake up - 7.4 (133)

If I wait a while to eat breakfast, it sometimes climbs all the way up to 8.3 (149). Why is my bg increasing rather then decreasing since I haven't eaten?

Is this a big deal? Is there anything I should be doing?

BlueSky · #2 (**permalink**) 11-27-2006, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nada

11pm - 6.5 (131)
2am - 5.3 (107)
4am - 6.5 (131)
wake up - 7.4 (133)

If I wait a while to eat breakfast, it sometimes climbs all the way up to 8.3 (149). Why is my bg increasing rather then decreasing since I haven't eaten? .....

That is the Dawn Phenomenon kicking in, which is quite normal. As you have a pump, you can increase your basal rate to compensate.

tanyatype1 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-27-2006, 09:26 PM

This always happens to me because I rarely eat breakfast. I was told that when you are doing your thing in the morning, your body needs to get the energy from somewhere, so if it isn't getting the energy from calories, your liver will spit out some glucose to give you the energy that you need. I hope I explained that correctly! Sometimes I'll just have a fat free yogurt (8 carbs)and then my bg doesn't go up from the liver dumping glucose.

Keezheekoni · #4 (**permalink**) 11-27-2006, 09:43 PM

I have my basal rate set to start at 1-1/2 times what my normal daily rate is about 4 hours before I wake up. So, basically I set mine to start at 4 AM at the higher rate. This way, I wake up with a completely normal number for myself.

Other people only start the higher rate around one or two hours before they wake up, but since my schedule is really "unscheduled", 4 AM works really well for me.

What kind of pump do you have?

FrankDr · #5 (**permalink**) 11-27-2006, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nada

I started on an insulin pump last week.

That's not bad at all - esp for the first week. A week into pumping, I was still all over the place.

I still get a 20 point bump when I wake up. Steady before I wake, steady after, but a little jump right when I wake. Strange