How to Prevent High Blood Sugars in the Morning!

Do you ever wake up with high blood sugar? There may be a reason: the Dawn Phenomenon.

To prepare for the day, your body releases hormones - glucagon, epinephrine, growth hormone and cortisol - that raise glucose levels. This typically causes a 10-20 mg/dl (.5-1 mmol/L) rise.

So unless you get up with the birds, around 3 to 6 am, you won’t know your blood sugar is high until you wake up - and feel lousy.

If you didn’t have diabetes, your pancreas would release enough insulin to keep your blood sugars normal. Unfortunately, you don’t have this luxury.

Luckily, we have some tips to help.

First - Confirm It’s the Dawn Phenomenon!

Are your high blood sugars due to hormones, a big meal the night before or a rebound from a nighttime low?

Check your blood glucose levels in the middle of the night - around 3 am. (Don’t worry, you don’t need to do this every night!) If it’s high, then the problem started before you went to bed. If it's low, you may be experiencing rebound high blood sugars.

If your blood sugars are typically normal at 3 am, then you are experiencing Dawn Phenomenon.

Kick the Dawn Phenomenon:

First, take a deep breath. A small rise may be okay if your glucose levels are normal throughout the day. The Dawn Phenomenond usually causes a smaller rise than a typical meal.

The most effective solution is to adjust when you take blood sugar lowering medication. If you can take long acting insulin or medication before bed, it will peak when the Dawn Phenomenon occurs and balance it out. Your doctor may even recommend splitting it into two doses to accomplish this. (If you are taking Metformin or Actos, remember to take it with a snack - they can have unpleasant intestinal side effects).

If you’re on an insulin pump, the solution is as easy as setting a high basal rate for pre-dawn hours.

Remember: talk to your doctor before making any changes!