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Blood sugar high only in the morning??
dkwdkw posted:
So, just was diagnosed with diabetes last week and have been monitoring my blood sugar often. Strange thing to me is that my blood sugar is higher in the morning after all night fasting (like 160). Then, after a very low carb breakfast, it is high again 2 hours later (like 200). By the time 2 hours after lunch rolls around, it is back to a lower level (like 150) and at night is fine (like 150).

Why would my BS be high upon waking? And why would a low carb breakfast cause such a large increase? By "low carb" I mean 3 carbs (1 net carb).
davedsel57 responded:

This could be a condition known as "Dawn Phenomenon". Here is a link to information about this:


hootyowl2 responded:
Are you having a small snack at bedtime ? You should have 1 protien and 1 carb at bedtime to keep from going low while asleep. I was always told on here when I first joined, that your sugar should not be below 140 at bedtime.

Your body CANNOT live without carbs, you will die without them. Perhaps you are not eating enough carbs ? How does 3 carbs = 1 net carb ? That does not make sense to me. I am not saying to eat cake and white breads, and other not so healthy carbs, BUT you do need healthy carbs like whole grains --which are also protiens--, fruits, veggies, and such.

I was always told that you should have 1 protien, and 3 or 4 carbs with a meal. And a snack should be 1 protien and 1 carb if you need a snack. I go easy on the snacks to try and keep the calories down, and only eat them if I am low.

Do you have a copy of a diabetic exchange diet since you are still new to all of this ? You can get a free one at . They will send you a kit with a lot of helpful freebies.

DavidHueben responded:
Personally, I never have a snack at bedtime.

When I go to bed, my glucose is usually in the 90's or low 100's. When I awaken, it is in the 90's.

I take 500mg of Metformin once per day with dinner..

- Winston S. Churchill

dkwdkw replied to hootyowl2's response:
The concept of a "net carb" is amount of carbohydrate minus amount of dietary fiber. So, an item that has 3 carbs and 2 fiber, is one net carb.

No, I am not snacking at bedtime. Nothing to eat or drink between dinner and waking, but BS goes up by as much as 21 points.
kieub replied to hootyowl2's response:
I am with David, rarely have a snack at bedtime, only if I stayed up very late, like pass mid-night. My bedtime mostly at below 100 and only sometimes between 100-110. And morning highest would be below 110, most the time under 100. I do not take any medication.
I have been trying to bring my morning down to below 90, but unsucessfull. Only able to do that if I have a small snack before bed, like 1/2 glass of unsweeten soy milk. But I try not to do it from trying to loose weight. The last 5 pounds were very stubborn ones. Three months and not budging!!
dkwdkw replied to kieub's response:
One additional interesting piece of information. I have been taking several supplements just before bedtime... Glucosamine and Chondroitin, fish oil, vitamin d3, flax seed oil, cinnamon, and odorless garlic. I stopped taking them and the next morning my BS was somewhat lower. (Saturday AM 172 with supplements and Sunday AM 137 w/o supplements). On Sunday night, I took only the cinnamon and garlic and Monday AM, BS was 155. I'll continue trying to isolate to see which (if any) supplements are raising blood sugar. Anyone else seen similar situation?
Anon_74671 responded:
by 3 carbs, do you mean 3 grams of carbohydrates or 3 carb choices which would equal 45 grams of carbohydrates (3 choices x 15g each)?

if you elaborate on what it is you are eating we may be able to give more insight
dkwdkw replied to Anon_74671's response:
flutetooter replied to dkwdkw's response:
You say that you eat only 3 mg. of carbohydrates for breakfast. I don't think you understand measurements at all. A half cup of raw chopped broccoli has less than 3 grams of carbohydrate. 3 millegrams is 1000 times LESS. 1000 mg = 1 gram. No wonder you are having trouble deciding what to eat. Please tell us item for item and amount of each what a typical breakfast for you would be, and maybe we can figure this out.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!
jscott418 responded:
You have to realize that part of being diabetic is that you body does not use energy well. It does not turn all that you eat into fueling your body. So when your body goes through such a long period of fasting like sleeping. Your liver could be triggering a push of glucose into your system to satisfy its need. Hence your early am high levels. I would certainly say you need to eat some complex carbs and protein that would break down slowly overnight to reduce this. As with during the day its better to have several small meals then 3 big ones. Same goes for bedtime. Don't go to bed without a snack.
jscott418 replied to DavidHueben's response:
Your diabetes is obviously controlled very well. But for example I am on 2000mg of Metformin and typically have a fasting in the AM of 140 even though I may go to bed at the same level. I never used to be that way. I used to have levels like yours. But in time that becomes worse. Take my advice and enjoy your good numbers now and keep doing what your doing. It will help those numbers stay that way longer.
JonnaT replied to jscott418's response:
I was diagnosed with Type 2 eight years ago and have fortunately been able to control it with diet and exercise since.

It took me about six months and a loss of 50 pounds to reach my target A.M. fasting numbers under 110. For a couple of years I was consistently around 95-105. Then, the numbers began to creep up in the mornings, but my a1c has always been between 5.5 and 6.5.

I experience those "dawn phenomena" caused by nighttime lows triggering the liver to release glucose into my system. The lower my bedtime reading, the more likely I am to see 115-125 in the A.M.

But, I have learned that diabetes is complicated and can be influenced by stress, amount of sleep, changes in schedule and many other things besides just diet and exercise.

Try the bedtime snacks and any other helpful suggestions your doctor or dietitian offers. You need to find out how your body responds. Then, watch the A1C results to guide you.

Good luck!
gldancer replied to dkwdkw's response:
Glucosamine can increase blood sugar. Look it and all that you are taking on the web. But it is glucosamine that does it. I even asked my doc about it.
gldancer replied to JonnaT's response:
My morning BS is usually 110-130 depending on my night's sleep. At bedtime, I eat an Atkins treat bar and that seems to keep my BS fairly even. If I get up 2-3 times a night, I know that my BS will be on the higher end.
Do you get sweaty at night and wake up with a headache? You may be having a low BS episode. Then the BS will increase in the morning as a result. Try taking your BS when that happens.
I take Victoza 1.8mg/day and metformin 1000mg twice a day. I do not eat carbs from white flour, rice, potatoes or pasta. I have found that they will greatly increase my BS.

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