Hi, I’m Bob and new to the forum. I have Type 2 diagnosed since 2006.
I started using insulin (Novolin 70/30) about three weeks ago. I was on a regimen of Metformin/Glipizide. I’m still in the adjustment stage, attempting to find the correct dosage for my injections. I do have one question that is bugging me. Has anyone found that drinking morning coffee (two cups with small amount of 2% milk) substantially increases their morning b/c levels?
Hi Bob, welcome to our community! Coffee spiking some PWDs is a perennial favorite topic here. Here’s the latest one
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Welcome to the forum, Bob! Regarding coffee, have you tried half-and-half instead of milk in your coffee? 
#Welcome!!
Many of us (both Type 1 and Type 2) have trouble in the mornings. Our blood sugars can rise no matter what we do, this is called Darn Phenomenon (DP) (I call it Darn Phenomenon). To deal with my DP I inject rapid insulin in the morning. It really helps.
At some point when you are comfortable you should talk with your doctor about moving from your current insulin regime (which is called a Conventional Insulin Therapy) to Intensive Insulin Therapy (IIT). In 1993, the DCCT trial showed that IIT works a lot better and since then it has been the standard of care. IIT can give you the freedom to deal with those pesky mornings.
Lots of good comments here, I just want to add 2¢ to CatLady’s.
Milk contains lactose, a sugar. There won’t be much of it in the amount that goes into coffee, ordinarily, but it is there. Half and half contains less, of course, and pure cream (which I use exclusively) contains functionally none.
I don’t think the “minute” amount of 2% milk added to coffee would cause a spike, perhaps a small rise. Coffee on its own however has been know to be a concern, in that area, for many.
No I haven’t. We don’t use half & half. Does that make a difference vs. milk?
Yet another reason to use pure cream! 
️
Ahh, the good old Dawn Syndrome. Yes, I have it. Even before my intro to insulin I experienced high readings in the A.M. It’s just now that I’m finding that drinking coffee causes a rise in my b/g. Example: Just this morning; first reading upon wakening was 182. When I went to bed it was 172. After drinking the coffee (no injection yet), the next reading was 222. This is very frustrating.
Might 'cos it’s only 1 carb per tablespoon.
ETA: That’s a big jump. A bit might be due just to getting up and moving but it might be the coffee. Maybe try a “control” experiment of hot water with the same amount of milk as usual?
We have the totally best cream from a local dairy… 
For most people a gram of carbs will raise your blood sugar 5-10 mg/dl. A cup of milk or 2% milk is about 12 g of carbs. That makes a tablespoon less than 1 g of carbs. Not enough to explain a rise from 182 mg/dl to 222 mg/dl. It is more likely DP and the effect of coffee.
ps. I actually find that eating (anything even zero carbs) can help me stop my DP from getting worse in the morning. You should eat breakfast.
Wow…that’s quite a leap. Might want to take that up with your dietician or your doc. Something else might be at play here…other than coffee. Cream vs milk should not be a concern for your bg…it’s more fat, but I don’t see that as being the problem.
I have heard that some people experience higher blood glucose from drinking coffee, so it’s not unheard of at all. Breakfast is usually the most problematic meal for most diabetics, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be caused just by the coffee. It took me quite a while to figure out what works best for me for breakfast.
My post-breakfast bg can also be influenced by my activity level AFTER, so factoring in your expected exertion is helpful (but it takes a while to figure THAT out, too)!
Thanks for the input Brian.
When I was in honeymoon phase, my endo explained that caffeine can (temporarily) inhibit beta cell production of insulin. I didn’t verify this in the medical literature but he’s a sharp guy and it explained a lot about how my morning BG levels were doing then. Now that I’m not producing much if any insulin things are actually easier to manage, and I use a fair bit of insulin in the morning just to cover life during that time of day, irrespective of any breakfast carbs. Who knows, maybe caffeine has other effects on the body’s morning/DP responses, but so long as I can balance those effects with insulin I’ll continue with my coffee and tea, hard to imagine a morning without!
Like @MarieB said, you can find a LOT more discussion about caffeine, and dawn phenomenon in other threads; here’s another one on coffee and morning responses - https://forum.tudiabetes.org/t/coffee-spiking