Why is sugar level higher in the morning (fasting) than 2 hours after dinner?

[Michiko]

I started painful blood testing yesterday. I am doing twice a day as I was told, but maybe I will try to test more here and there to see what I am doing is okay.

So maybe this is because what I ate yesterday for dinner.. but... here it goes.

Yesterday morning (fasting) 181 mg/dl
2 hours after dinner 153 mg/dl

This morning (fasting) 164 mg/dl

How did I get 164 if I had 153 after dinner?

I know I still have to lower the blood sugar level, and my pcp probably will increase the doses of metformin.

[shockme]

probably due to dp-dawn phenomenon.during the night,your bgs may be low,so your liver dumps alot of glucose to counteract it-and you end up with a high bg.try eating a small snack at bedtime-like some peanut butter-protein helps keep your bg from dropping....you call testing painful-are you using the lowest setting on the lancet? that may help...you don't have to use the lancet that came with the meter-try different ones-you'll find one that is less painful....take care,trish

[LoDeSp]

Even if you don't eat, your liver will convert glycogen into glucose to provide fuel for your body. Thus, your blood sugar levels will naturally rise and fall throughout the day.

There is also the "dawn phenomenon" effect that could cause your fasting blood sugar in the morning to be higher than at other times. Because of the dawn phenomenon, I've noticed that my blood sugar on the weekends (when I get up an hour or two later) is about 10 points higher than on weekdays. As with most things diabetes-related, the dawn phenomenon is person-specific -- it may or may not be a significant factor for your fasting blood sugar levels.

Testing does get less painful after a while. I've been diagnosed for about half a year and I hardly feel it now when testing. As for the frequency, I would suggest testing more frequently, at least at first. Once your numbers have come down a bit, you can ease off on the testing. However, I learned a lot about how diet and exercise affected my blood sugar levels by taking one weekend and testing roughly every half-hour (~50 tests). It cost me about $25, but it was well worth it.

[Michiko]

I think I am just pain sensitive :) I am okay! :)

Thanks for the feedback :)

[xMenace]

Meters are not accurate. Allow a 10% to 20% error.

[tanyatype1]

If you find testing on your fingers painful, there are meters that you can use that are good for testing on alternate sites, like your arms and palms of your hands. I never test on my fingers. Good luck!