Monitoring blood sugar levels

Hi Steve,

What you're describing is known as the Dawn Phenomenon. It's very common for diabetics to experience high blood sugars in the morning hours and need more basal insulin during this time.

Basically our livers release stored glycogen during the night which slowly raises blood sugar. I'm sure some of the medical professional experts could explain the physiological details...

If you're taking insulin, you'll probably need to increase your basal insulin to cover the dawn phenomenon. Also, the kind of snack you eat before bed can help minimize the effect. Usually eating some extra protein will stablize your blood sugar.

Thanks, Kelsey

In addition to Kelsey's comments about the Dawn Phenomenon, there's another possible reason for awakening with a high BG level: it's called Rebound.

The idea behind "Rebound" is that if you have a low BG in the middle of the night, while asleep, there's a chance you might sleep through it and wake up with a high BG. The reasoning is that the low BG triggers the release of "counterregulatory" hormones (such as epinephrine and cortisol) that result in the BG going up. And it doesn't quit going up at normal levels, but continues to climb to high...

Ironically, the therapy to treat rebound hyperglycemia is the reverse of that to treat the Dawn Phenomenon: if the BG is going too low, it probably would be best to reduce the dose of the insulin that's working during the night-time hours.

How to tell if you have the Dawn Phenomenon or Rebound? Check your BG in the middle of the night (at about 3AM) as well as at bedtime and on awakening. If you're okay at bedtime, low at 3AM and high at dawn, you probably have rebounded.

Hope this helps!