Dawn phenomenon and morning lows

#1

For people with a marked dawn phenomenon, when you wake in the morning with a low, do you treat with less carbohydrate than usual?

#2

Molly,

Unless I’m dangerously low, say under 60, I don’t treat at all since I know it’s going to go up. I’ll either cut out my breakfast carbs or skip them.

If I do have to treat a low I use a glucose tablet and cut my breakfast carbs.

Terry

#3

So this is another reason why I should wake up more than 15 minutes before I leave the house.

#4

Never leave the house without having breakfast.

But if you absolutely have to leave without breakfast - eat first.

#5

Absolutely. As Terry said, I would not even think of treating a morning low unless it was like below 60. If I was in the 40’s then of course I’d have to treat, but I’d also be on the lookout for both dp and rebound and probably need a big correction mid-morning.

#6

I’d have to treat at any number - even though my BG rises steadily every single morning, if I’m low it just doesn’t. I’ll keep going lower even though there’s no active insulin (apart from a well tested flat baseline Lantus).

I totally don’t get it… I suspect my pancreas just likes to play with me :smiley:

#7

My daugher is 6, and when she is low I just count 15g less for her insulin, other wise she wouldn’t go up to where she needs to be. It’s just one of those things you need to find what works best for you.