A couple of newbie questions

[Gerald]

I've had type 2 diabetes for awhile and previously controlled it with diet alone. Unfortunately I got pretty complacent over the years about it in terms of monitoring it and last month got pneumonia which led to DKA. I ended up in the hospital for a week and am now on insulin shots while the doctor monitors my progress and I'm due to see him in a few months again.

While I wait for that, I had a couple of newbie questions I would like to ask from the more experienced folks here.

1. I find the underside of my feet have become quite sore in the last couple of weeks. Over the last few years I had built up a fairly thick callous on the undersides of my feet and that this callous is fading away. I always assumed it built up as an aging thing, but I guess it could have built up due to poor circulation and now that is fading the nerves and skin are waking up again. Does this make sense and have others gone through this? If so, how long does the soreness typically last?

2. I find my blood sugar tends to be high in the mornings, between 9 and 11 typically even though it was fine the night before, how come?

Thanks for the help.

[princesslinda]

Hi Gerald, welcome! Sounds like you had a BIG wakeup call. Glad things are going better for you.

Can't help you with question # 1, though your explanation does make sense.

As for # 2 question, many of us have trouble keeping the fasting level down. Some people experience what is called "dawn phenomenon a/k/a DP" where they do go low in the early morning hours then their body compensates by releasing glucose, causing higher levels. You might want to take a 2 or 3 a.m. reading one morning and see if it is low. I have found that if I eat a piece of cheese or some almonds jor a tsp of peanut butter just before bedtime, my morning #'s are better.

Glad you found the forum....it's been a big help to me on my journey, I know you'll find lots of great information and fun folks here.

[shockme]

hi gerald and welcome!ditto about the feet[sorry-don't know] and dp.take care,trish

[Gerald]

Thanks guys, I'll do some research on DP.

[xMenace]

What many find is that an evening snack with some protein helps. Many tend to go low in the night which can trigger the liver to release extra sugar. Experiment with size and timings of such.

[mg_2204]

2. I find my blood sugar tends to be high in the mornings, between 9 and 11 typically even though it was fine the night before, how come?

I've got DP really bad sometimes. I go to bed let's say 6.3 mmol (113 mg/dL) and fasting sugars the next morning are 10.2 (183 mg/dL). Yikes! :eek:

It is SO frustrating!!! :banghead:

Otherwise, I have really good levels during the day.

3 times out of 5 I have good results when I have (for supper) a lean meat and veggies... and a light snack 30 mins before bed. Usually a piece of cheese and a piece of apple.

Hope this helps!

[notme]

Hi Gerald and welcome to the forums.

Callous on your feet should be softened and removed by a podiatrist. Generally, it is not the callous that causes the pain, but neuropathy in your feet that is aggravated by the callous. You may also have a crack in that callous that is causing you pain. Either way, you should have your feet looked at by a podiatrist.

One way to help with the problem of high sugar in the morning is to eat a small amount of protein before bed. I know it sounds crazy, but what may be happening is your blood sugar is dropping low and your body is over compensating by dumping glucose from your liver. Try to have a small protein snack before bed. Even if your numbers are good at bedtime have a couple of whole wheat crackers with peanut butter or turkey. You may find you are right on target in the morning.

[Gerald]

Callous on your feet should be softened and removed by a podiatrist. Generally, it is not the callous that causes the pain, but neuropathy in your feet that is aggravated by the callous. You may also have a crack in that callous that is causing you pain. Either way, you should have your feet looked at by a podiatrist.

The thing is I never had sore feet before I got DKA and went on insulin and I have had the calloused feet for a couple of years now. The callous is definitely softening up and fading away, I don't think the problem is a crack since I can't find one and the soreness is evenly distributed along the bottom of both feet rather then being in a specific location.

Having said that, it could be neuropathy as I definitely have that in my legs. Anyways, I told my wife if it persists more then another week I'll go get it checked out, I'm just getting a little tired of missing work due to medical appointments.

As to the DP I did have a snack just before bedtime last night and my level was much better this morning and at lunch. I'll keep doing this and hopefully that will do the trick, thanks for the advice everyone.