My morning fasting numbers have gone from 90 - 108 over the last 6 months and just wondering if there is anything I can do to help with this. I know its probably DP but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do that would reduce this? Is it better to have a small snack before bed or no snack?
I'm a thin type 2 or 1.5, exercise 5 times a week and already on low carb diet. I take 2x500mg of met each day but I'm not sure they do anything as my a1c has averaged 5.9 - 6.1 over the last couple of years with and without the met...
Well, I know you worry about it, but I think you should also ask yourself "Should I worry about it?" The AACE guidelines after all are to keep your fasting blood sugars < 110 mg/dl, which you are doing. If your fasting blood sugars are good during the day and your blood sugars come down well in the morning, perhaps it is not something to fret all that much over.
Hmmm. Maybe your right. I see on here many type 1s and yourself who manage to have their a1cs in the mid 5's. I would like to get there but not sure what elese I can do.
Maybe you are right and I should just keep doing as I am...
What do you think about stopping my met? I not sure it does anything for my numbers and do get that "slightly bloated" feeling. I've read that it is a "safe" medication but could do without the bloated feelings.
Only way to know if a snack will help DP is by experimenting to see if it makes a difference for you. Try it for several days to see if a snack improves fasting. Eat a small amount of protein, not carbs, before bed. Protein digests slowly, of course.
I'm T1 & what helped my DP is not eating at least 5 hours before bed to be sure food isn't digesting overnight causing high fasting. Meals that are protein & fat heavy digest take a while to digest, especially in the evening as the body slows down for rest.
Some people have success with a small glass of dry wine before bed. This didn't do anything for my DP.
Could very well be that you are LADA since Metformin isn't having an effect. Unfortunately, doctors wait until BG & A1c is high before prescribing insulin. They don't want to risk hypoglycemia.
Gerri gives you things to try for your DP. My favorite is of course the red wine. But you have to realize that your A1c is like 6%, corresponding to an eAG of 126 mg/dl. In order to get that average, you need to be spending time higher than your morning DP. It is likely that your after meal numbers are having the biggest influence, driving your average blood sugar up far more than your morning DP.
How are your fasting numbers during the day and your postprandial numbers?
ps. I actually consider your morning numbers "right on target" for myself. You can see where my A1c is right now.
Its tough for me sometimes. I'm not complaining about my numbers but I've always been in control of my health in the past (perfect BMI for over 20 years), never smoked and I never eat at fast food restaurants. I see some of the a1c averages on here (congrats on your 5.2!) and just want to try and achieve the same for me :(
I also deal with my slightly elevated cholesterol and SVT heart palps :(
I know that you have probably heard my story, but I follow a very strict diet and exercise regime and also wanted an A1c below 6%. And nothing seemed to work. I tried metformin, and then added medications eventually trying two different triple regimes. But I had constantly elevated blood sugars. These drugs can often really help with the blood sugar rises after meals, but they did little for me. In the end I started insulin and now my A1c is in the 5s. If you eat a strict low carb diet, you may find the metformin of little benefit and not see much change dropping it. But that doesn't bring your A1c into the 5s. If you really want to drop your A1c, then you need to get more aggressive with treatment, diet, exercise and more medication. If you are LADA as Gerri suggests, moving to insulin is certainly something to consider.
Wow. What I want to know, with your morning numbers so tight, is what you're doing right so I can copy you :-).
When I'm having dawn phenomena my morning numbers can rise a couple hundred in just the hour after waking up. (e.g. wake up at 6 with a bg of 90, check again an hour later and I'm at 390). What helps me quash this, is to take my insulin and eat breakfast first thing when I wake up.
Fasting numbers during the day are typically 5.0-6.5. My post meal numbers are usually 6.5-8.0. I just checked now and I'm 6.0 after my morning jog. I only check at 1 hour because I'm usually back down at 2 hours. I do occasionally go past 8.0 but this isn't normal and I know I ate too much of something.
Does Metformin have any effect for people with LADA? Since dx about 3 years ago my a1c has been around 6.0 +/- .3. If I am LADA how long does it take to progress into requiring insulin, or will it?
Please note, I'm not complaining about my numbers I'm just a control freak when it comes to my health. I want to grow old with my wife and watch my kids grow up and be complication free when I'm 65 ;)
Know you're not complaining:) You work so hard staying healthy & understand your frustration. You're doing everything you can. Wish you had more cooperation from your doctor. Low doses of basal would probably greatly assist. Hard to keep lipids in-line when BG goes high, not that yours is way high at all.
Something I forgot to mention & don't know if it applies to you. I've found that if I don't eat breakfast soon after waking, my BG increases as a continuation of DP. Learned that the hard way.
I know that you would like to improve things, but it is not like your numbers are bad. There are people here who would gladly drive all the way up to Canada and pay you for your numbers.
If you are LADA, it might take you literally years before you require insulin, especially if you keep your A1c down at 6%. I've heard the number that 80% of LADA progress to insulin within 6 years. But some of that may be accelerated when your blood sugar gets high. I've also heard from the same literature that some patients have gone as long as 12 years without requiring insulin.
Sometimes, you we just have to accept that we do the best that we can.
ps. And Tim's suggestion to have breakfast is really good. I found a breakfast helped stabilize my morning blood sugars averting further rise.
If I have blood work and don't eat until I'm back from the lab (9:30ish) I am always higher (7.0-8.0). This has always skewed my fasting results because I usually eat first thing in morning (7am). I told this to my Dr and she just told me this is your true fasting number.
I agree, I remember one of the members on here started using a pen? I think for post meal numbers this would be a benefit for me.
If you can get your doctor to prescribe insulin, they tend to start people on basal first. Agree that bolus for meals would be beneficial & you'd only need small doses. What are your typical readings after meals? Postprandial spikes are ones to control.
I think your "true" fasting is what it is when you wake up, not 2.5 hours later racing to the lab. Not a biggie for normal people, but makes a difference to us.
Post meal numbers for me always depends on the meal and exercise afterwards. If I had one piece of bread at lunch (I haven't for about a year now) I would rise to about 12.0 at one hour and then back to about 7.5 at 2 hours. I always walk after dinner for 75-80 mins and this helps my spike so I introduce a few more carbs. I'll usually be around 6.5 after my walk. Sometimes when I cant walk I'm 10.0-12.0, at 1 hour, with the same meal.
Maybe I should just learn to be ok with my current schedule/treatment until numbers start to get higher and then push for the pen...
Hi Paul My Endo thinks I have MODY and we sound quite a bit alike, my fasting numbers run from 80 to 95. I had no response to Metformin, was doing quite well with a low-carb diet (A1C of 5.9) but I kept losing weight. I asked to be put on insulin and have had wonderful results, I can now eat up to 30 carbs in a meal. I'm not on a basel insulin at all just novolog for meals.
30 carbs per meal would be excellent... I know if I had 30 carbs for lunch I would probably be around 12-15 an hour later :(
I lost quite a bit of weight when first dx because I wasn't sure what to eat and I overreacted. I went down to 142 lbs and at 6-1 that's way too skinny. I still have a hard time putting the weight on (currently 155 lbs) and wish I could introduce a few more carbs at meals.
Maybe its time I started looking for a better Dr (current Dr treats me as a typical type 2 and tells me to watch carbs and exercise... Duh). The problem here in Ontario you need to be refereed to see an Endo and my Dr tells me she has "it" under control...
I wish my numbers were that low in the first thing in the morning. My first test is usually between 5:30 am and 7:30 am depending on my work shift. I seem to be between 135 and 166 as a fasting reading. if I test 2 hours after eating it may be around 280 to 325 and after 5 hours just before eating lunnch between noon and 2 pm it drops to 95 to 105. Same kind of readings for just before dinner about 7 pm. Taking Metformin 500 mg for the blood sugar twice a day after morning test and right after the evening test.
