I have Type 2 diabetes. I have a reading of around 100-150 at bedtime, but when I get up it is frequently 200 or more. What can I do to adjust this activity better?
Q: When I go to bed my levels are around 150 but in the morning frequently over 200, how can I control?
Answers (20)
12/19/08 12:52am
Kathy-
Hello! I also battle with high fasting numbers from time to time. What you could be experiencing is the Dawn Phenomenon or the Somogyi Effect. I was battling the Dawn P. I cut out my bedtime snack and figured out exercise helps with fasting bg's.
Cherise
Community Moderator
12/25/08 12:58pm
I wish I could answer your question, but I can't. I can only share my experiences with you. I have a very similar problem as I caanot seem to control my overnight (fasting) BG level.
I'm on Metformin and I take my last dosage with dinner. I generally do not snack after dinner, yet my morning levels are usually between 150 and 180. When I take the next dosage with breakfast my BG level tends to move into the normal range within two to three hours of eating.
12/25/08 2:24pm
I HAVE THAT PROBLEM TOO SOMETIMES ,, MY DR. BELIEVE IT OR NOT SUGGESTED FASTING IN THE AM BEFORE EATING !!!
12/25/08 3:39pm
You all need to take a metformin at bedtime , since my doctor had me start taking one at bedtime my numbers are great in the morning. Your liver receives a signal in the middle of the night that your sugar is low and it dumps insulin it has stored into your system and that is why you have high morning numbers.
12/25/08 4:05pm
i dont know
12/25/08 4:40pm
I take my meds at bedtime rather than at dinnertime. Sometimes its hours before I go to bed after dinner. Now my numbers are perfect when I get up in the mornings.
12/25/08 7:34pm
I had the very same problem. First watch what you eat during the day, portion control is the key to it all. I learned this being on weight watchers. Never lost any weight but got my blood sugar very much under control.
Also make sure you are not over medicating your self. I talked to my doctor and we actuly cut back on one of my pills.
12/25/08 8:12pm
I take my insulin shot at 10:00 P.M. and eat protein for a snack.
This has helped me to have readings in the morning of 90-110. Don't know if this would help you (we are all different) but it is well worth a try.
12/25/08 9:20pm
My numbers were very similar to yours, Kathy, and this may sound odd, but I now eat a protein snack within an hour of going to bed and my morning BGL is right around 100....a bit lower than my night time level. I stumbled onto this quite by accident, but I think it has to with how the protein allows the glucose to metabolize. I'm sure there's someone on here that knows......
4/30/09 10:44pm
What type of snack to do you eat?
4/30/09 10:47pm
what type of protein snack do you eat. The highest my BS read ac breakfast is from 120-159 but the rest of the day they are so perfect. Ranging from 109 to 120 So I was thinking if you had a portein snack that worked for you maybe it will work for my.
5/ 1/09 1:36am
Cheese, peanut butter, hard-boiled egg, deli meat....whatever you like. With a morning BS less than 160, you're just "tweaking"......good luck!
12/25/08 9:51pm
my doctor was yelling at me two months ago, about the samething your going throw, so what i do i'm a very light sleeper so anything wakes me up, so at 2am when i'm awake go check my blood to see where i'm at, in the morining i'm low and where i'm surpose to be at sometimes we do sleep right throw the night. i'm type 2 also so i understand what you are talking about and what you are going throw.I make my self get up and go check, my husband even push me out of the bed and go check three hours after i'm sleeping there have been sometimes i got up and my blood will be at 54 and sometimes 190, so if you can in the middle of the night make your feet go into that kicthen and see where you are at, it toke me a very long time to do that so trust me i really do understand, it's not easy but we do it anyway. plus you can keep your meter next to you bed side i have two yes one is bed side and i have one in my kicthen, it help my out lot and my doctor was very surpise on my blood sugars i had diabetes since i was 14 so i know what your going throw. try that and see if that helps ok hope to hear from you again and to see how your doing, don't give up.
12/25/08 10:53pm
I had the same problem for a while until i went to the doc and got my a1c levels. It was higher than usual. I then went on a strict diet for a while and excercised and in about a month my readings was back normal. I also was put on another oral med besides metformin to try to help lower it. My best advice to you is to watch what you eat and try to incorporate a little exercise a few hours before bed and see how that goes for awhile, but in the meanwhile, go get your a1c checked and you'll be able to make a better decision afterward.
12/26/08 1:40am
I too have battled this problem off and on for several years. I am type 2 and use both Metformin and Amaryl. When this originally started happening, my first step was too cut out my night time snack. My Dr. reminded me that these pills work better with food so I started taking my night meds with my night time snack and it generally works well for me.
12/26/08 11:11am
I am on the same meds. I take one in AM and One in PM. I find if I eat protein before I go to bed my blood sugar in lower in the AM. Try peanut butter on celery or yogert. Also test first thing in AM. Go to bathroom, wash hands, and test. Don't get dressed first, take a shower or make the bed. TEST FIRST THING.
12/28/08 10:18pm
It could be that your sugar level is droping in the middle of the night, which then would cause your liver to secret the stored sugar -glycogen- to maintain your blood sugar levels. Try checking your blood sugar at 3am, 3-4 times a week for 2-3 weeks & see what your numbers are. Feel Better.
12/29/08 9:52pm
I also have Type 2. There are a lot of good suggestions in the answers you have received. I would add that you might try a low carb diet and also, read Dr. Bernsteins's book Diabetes Solution. Even though Dr. Bernstein is a Type 1 diabetic, his book is a very good eye opener for any diabetic. He explains the "Dawn Phenomenon" in detail. Take control of your diabetes rather than allowing it to control you! 
1/15/09 3:17pm
My MD tells me that I shouldn't eat anything after 6pm and do not exercise for at least 2 hours before bedtime. My fasting sugar during the evening hours always go up until I eat something in the morning. After that, my sugar is perfect all day long. I have problems sleeping at night and if I have just a little something to eat right before bed, I can sleep all night. The longer I go without food, the higher my blood glucose spikes. I know that I haven't answered your question but I thought I'd give you the info that my MD gave me.
5/14/09 2:45pm
Is that called the dawn phenonemon?
7/30/09 3:35pm
Elsewhere it has been said that two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed can help the morning spike. I've bought a bottle but have not tested it enough to say if it works for me. Put the vinegar in a glass of water. I deadened the taste of it with a packet of stevia. However, some claim that some honey with it is good too. Try doing a Google of apple cider vinegar diabetes and you should find some information on the subject.
8/27/09 8:11am
I visit my endocronologist and his PA regularly. Recently, I was told that I was taking my insulin wrong. I also had the same issue. I was snacking after my last injection and not correcting. I take 104 units of Lantus insulin divided by two so I inject 52 in the morning and 52 twelve hours later. I also take Humalog (25 units) about 10 to 15 minutes before every meal. This is what I was doing and I would wake up with 200 or more in the AM. I was told taking insulin on this schedule targets the carb intake to hold my blood sugar at 100. So, counting carbs is very important. The carb intake has to remain about the same for the dosage to be effect. Additional, before going to bed, I was told to check my blood sugar and to use the floating scale to determine my units for Humalog an injection at this time (before bed). Doing this has helped me successfully stay a around 100 reading for my blood sugar levels in the AM. I hopes this helps you. It's a struggle to maintain blood sugar levels when eating, like me, is your favorite past time.
12/14/10 9:49am
For a typical person with a schedule like getting up at a specific time each day, your adrenal glands dump Cortisol into your blood stream between the hours of 4am and 8am.
This is one of the causes of Dawn Phenomenon.
Here are a few suggestions:
1) drink 2 quarts (liters) of water right at bed time.
2) see about taking NPH insulin at bedtime.
3) see about taking a higher or extra dose of long acting insulin
4) try getting an extra hour or two of sleep by going to bed a little earlier the night before.
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By Kathy— Last Modified: 12/27/10, First Published: 12/17/08
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Now, how would cutting back on the meds lower the blood glucose, when that's what the meds do?