Higher fasting BG- Is the honeymoon over?

I was diagnosed last April with LADA and have managed to keep in good control with a combination of low carb eating, exercise and occasional use of insulin. Over the last few weeks my BG has risen from high 70s to around 100, with some days as high as 115. I was attributing this to travel and stress over the holidays but just realised that the rise started in mid December. Have other people experienced this happening when the pancreas starts to give out? Does it usually happen gradually or all at once? My PP numbers are about the same, relative to the higher fasting levels. (They have shifted up about 20 points.)

Libby,

If you’ve been eating a lot more over the holidays than you had been before, that might have raised your fasting blood sugar.

Extra protein might be digesting slowly and raising the bg. Or you might be fighting an infection. It is so hard to know!

Get back into your usual routine and see whether the fasting bg improves over the next couple weeks. If not, then perhaps it is worsening.

I don’t know if it’s typical, but in my own case my insulin requirements gradually increased after the honeymoon.

My initial treatment was 10 units daily (only 1 shot/day was the treatment back then). After a few months I was able to drop that to 6 - 8 units. That lasted a year or two and then I had to incrementally increase my total daily dose (20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and a high of 55 daily units) over the next few years. Going to multiple daily injections (and now the pump), and better eating habits, I was able to drop my total daily dose to around 40 which is pretty close to where it’s remained for 20 years.

The characteristics listed below (from link) seem to indicate an increasing insulin requirement. It makes sense that not all the Beta cells are destroyed at one time.

Characteristics of LADA

  • Adult age at diagnosis (usually over 25 years of age)
  • Initial presentation masquerades as non-obese type 2 diabetes (does not present as diabetic ketoacidosis)
  • Initially can be controlled with meal planning with or without diabetes pills
  • Insulin dependency gradually occurs, frequently within months
  • Positive antibodies
  • Low C-peptide levels.
  • Unlikely to have a family history of type 2 diabetes.

Hi Libby,
I think we’re kind of similar. I’m not an expert as I was diagnosed just about the same time as you were - but I have occasionally had my fbs spike to the 100s only to settle back down again in a few days. I think the spikes resulted from decreased exercise or a cold or (forgive me those who don’t want this much info), that time of the month - or stress. I have a colleague who makes my bs spike by just walking into my office - seriously! I HOPE we’re both still in the honeymoon phase. I recently increased my Lantus from 7 U to 8 U and that had me worried, but I’ve heard too that one needs a little more insulin in cold weather and less in hot weather.

By the way, I ordered a sprouting kit! Thanks for the tip. I had never heard of it before.
Maria

Hi, Maria,
Well, I am happy to report that my fasting level was 78 yesterday and 86 today so maybe it was stress and the time difference. I have started taking 2 units with each low carb meal and that’s helping me stay more steady. I am keeping an eye on my numbers to see if I need to back off the insulin again. Good luck with the sprouting- it works great for me. What kind did you order?
Libby