# high sugars first thing in morning



## hellbell84 (May 28, 2014)

hi ladies, hope you are all doing well?

i am now 32 weeks preg and i am having MAJOR issues with my morning readings. perfect example was last night, was 8.7 before i went to sleep, woke up at 3am and it was 5.7 (prefect) now just tested my sugars before having breakfast and they were 11.9!?!?

i stab 50 units of lantus in the evening, which i think is a lot anyway (the DSM seems to think so too) but i dont know why they are shooting up first thing in the morning when i havent eaten or drunk anything to make it go up?

VERY FRUSTRATING!! anyone else having the same problems or any advice on how to manage it?

ta

xxxxxx


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## Northerner (May 28, 2014)

It could be your liver is releasing extra glucose and raising your levels. Are you testing the moment you get up, or a bit later (after you've made breakfast, for example)? Personally, I find that testing/injecting as soon as I get up helps to keep levels under better control, but obviously I've never been pregnant!

Hopefully our experienced ladies can offer some sort of solution for you


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## hellbell84 (May 28, 2014)

yeah well i did it as soon as i woke up and it was that high, then stabbed 7 units for it to go down, then when i got to work my sugars were 9.8 (WTF)

i could probably stab 30 units after dinner and still be in double figures an hour after, i feel like i am fighting a losing battle...

rargh


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## Northerner (May 28, 2014)

Eek! I know that things can go a bit crazy, but that's no help! Can your DSN offer any advice?


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## trophywench (May 28, 2014)

Helbell - 

All it is in the morning is jolly old Dawn Phenomenon which actually happens to non-diabetics too, as described by Alan - but there again if you have a fully operational pancreas you'd never know.  You'll have to try and find out what time it hits and set the alarm for that time, jab and snooze until normal time.  Pregnancy is all about 'fire-fighting' - NOT what you do normally or for the rest of your life.  Do what you need to do.

Re meals - have you tried bolusing well upfront of your meal?  It may mean you hypo at about 2 hours or so cos the food hasn't got there yet, in which case snack.

It's very important in the latter stages to try and get rid of high spikes, both for your sanity and the risk of retinopathy - but majorly, to try and avoid a big baby.  The last trimester, the foetus is full formed and it's ONLY about growth.  And you don't want it putting on any more weight than a non-diabetic's baby if you can help it.

A lot of ladies find they need up to 3 x the amount of insulin they normally use.


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## hellbell84 (May 28, 2014)

argh this sucks big hairy gonads, i didnt have dawn phenomenon prior to pregnancy or up til now, but now i cant control it. i find it weird at 3am they were 5.7 then they got up to 11 few hours later.

hes already big (95th centile)do they deliver before 36 weeks if he is getting scarily big?

i have another growth scan thursday but just thought id ask before "scary Mary" the consultant tells me off again.

x


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## Cleo (May 28, 2014)

Hi 
 In addition to whats already been mentioned re dawn phenomenon , you could also be experiencing a bit of insulin resistance which s very common and actually perfectly normal in the third trimester ! As TW said the 3rd trimester is all about growth , so your placenta needs to do a lot of work to meet the needs of your growing bub - this involves secreting hormones which counter insulin - it's very. Frustrating as it makes things more difficult but actually a good sign that your placenta is doing what it's supposed to do ! 

Hang in there- you are almost there and I promise you all the hard work your putting in now is so worth it. My little fella. Is 8 weeks and I love him more than anything - he was def worth all th hard work.  Stay focused on the bundle you'll get at the end of this - you'll be fine ! Xx


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## Cleo (May 28, 2014)

Ps : also, don't know what your morning routine is , but I noticed that you posted at 9am - I used to always have to eat by breakfast BY 8am ( week dys and sadly weekends!) otherwise they'd creep up if I didn't intervene early on ... Might be strategy worth considering x


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## hellbell84 (May 29, 2014)

thanks cleo, I know its bad but I don't really have breakfast purely for the fact theyre usually high in the morning now...

my consultant (scary mary) said that type 1 diabetics do not get insulin resistance, its just type2's or those with GD

may I ask how your labour went Cleo? did you have c section or natural birth via induction?

thanks

x


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## Northerner (May 29, 2014)

hellbell84 said:


> thanks cleo, I know its bad but I don't really have breakfast purely for the fact theyre usually high in the morning now...
> 
> my consultant (scary mary) said that type 1 diabetics do not get insulin resistance, its just type2's or those with GD
> 
> ...



Eating breakfast will 'switch off' the liver's response - if you don't eat then it will just keep pouring out the glucose. Doesn't have to be carbs, just a little something to tell your liver that you're not starving 

Your consultant is wrong, lots of T1s have insulin resistance, it's sometimes called 'double diabetes', although that's probably not an official term. As a consequence many take metformin to help reduce the amount of insulin they need to inject. Whilst you may not normally suffer from insulin resistance, pregnancy is a different matter. I dare you to tell Scary Mary!


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## Cleo (May 29, 2014)

Oh dear - scary Mary doesn't sound helpful or knowledgable at all ! 
As Alan said- she's wrong - also she sounds like she's not acknowledging that when we talk about insulin resistance there are several "types " ...

1) one is relevant to type 2s and GDs - which is what she is thinking about 
2) dawn phenomenon - as discussed above 
3) specific to pregnancy only - due to placenta in 3rd trimester secreting hormones to support growth of baby - these hormones counter insulin therefore we need more insulin.  I have never heard of a type 1 not needing more insulin in the third trimester ... 
I was actually on metformin from 28 weeks as my quick acting ratios were getting ridiculously High - in the mornings I was on 5 times my pre preg ratio- the metformin brought this down.  

Also I terms of breakfast - I had the same issue as you so I had low carb / carb free breakfasts : eggs or natural yogurt with berries.  My dietician also suggested pilchards (?!) but I personally couldn't stomach that ! 

I was induced at 38 weeks- unfortunately I wasn't monitored adequately when I had the prostaglandin pessary - so I ended up needing an emergency c section.  That was just my experience -  have heard of many positive Induction experiences so please don't feel disheartened.  

Hope that's helpful and please feel free to PM me anytime if you need Anything 
Good luck !  X
Ps Oh : and just in case you get the whole "diabetic women always have big babies .." (Nonsense) my son was born at 38 weeks weighing 2.53kg - he was tiny !


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## trophywench (May 29, 2014)

Hear hear, Cleo !


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## Cleo (May 30, 2014)

trophywench said:


> Hear hear, Cleo !



Thanks !


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