Dawn phenomenon or gastroparesis?

[kowalski]

Hi everyone,

Does anybody know anything about the Dawn Phenomenon? My bloodsugars keep going up early in the morning, they sometimes go from 7 to like 23 within a very short timespace!! But if i inject more Lantus before i go to bed i get hypo's around 3 in the night. However i also suffer from gastroparesis so i wonder if that's more likely to be the problem (i actually feel my stomach emptying in the morning, which could explain my bloodsugars going up in the morning?) My bloodsugar quickly goes back to normal when i eat something though. It's horrible having to start the days like this...

Hope someone can tell me a bit more about this phenomenon and what you can do about it...

Thanks!

[Mark Munday]

Originally Posted by kowalski

Hi everyone,

Does anybody know anything about the Dawn Phenomenon? My bloodsugars keep going up early in the morning, they sometimes go from 7 to like 23 within a very short timespace!! But if i inject more Lantus before i go to bed i get hypo's around 3 in the night. However i also suffer from gastroparesis so i wonder if that's more likely to be the problem (i actually feel my stomach emptying in the morning, which could explain my bloodsugars going up in the morning?) My bloodsugar quickly goes back to normal when i eat something though. It's horrible having to start the days like this...

Hope someone can tell me a bit more about this phenomenon and what you can do about it...

Thanks!

Sounds very similar to the problem I started having when I switched to Lantus. My blood sugar would start surging in the early hours of the morning. And I concluded that it was the DP. I got around that by halving the morning Lantus dose and injecting a similar amount of NPH in the evening.

I now inject 8 units of Lantus in the morning and 8 units of NPH before going to bed. The NPH peaks in the early morning and keeps my blood sugar in the target range. By lunchtime, the NPH is mostly finished. And the Lantus keeps my blood sugar in check for the rest of the day. It works very well for me.

Cheers,

Mark

[fishdude]

In my opinion, I agree with Mark in that it sounds like the DP and not gastroparesis, but I'm not a Doctor, so I really don't know for sure. I've tried 2 completely different approaches to easing the Dawn Phenomenon and ironically, they both seem to work for me. I've tried having a little bit of a carb snack before bedtime and I've tried Dr. Bernstein's low carb diet approach. Bernstein discusses both DP and gastroparesis in great detail in his book Diabetes Solution, The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. My Doctor won't prescribe insulin to me nor lantus, so I only know of dietetic approaches to help the symptoms. I suggest you get all of the info you can, pick an approach and try it, crossing different approaches off of your list as you test them until you figure out what works for you. Remember, Your Mileage May Vary.

[kowalski]

Thanks for the replies! Mark with NPH do you mean an insulin like Insulatard? And at what time in the morning do you inject your Lantus? I like the sound of a low carb diet but my doctor doesn't seem to agree and he says i'll end up getting ketones because of a lack of carbs. I'd really like to give it a try though...

[PhyllisAnn]

I take 1000 mg of glucophage and 15 units of Lantus in the PM. I have that problem..with blood sugar being too high when I wake up. Tell me...should I take the lantus and glucophage immediately after supper...which has been about 6:30 -7 PM..or wait and take later ..right before going to bed? I've been taking it later...right before bedtime..about 10. I was wondering...would taking it right after eating..bring it down and keep it down..or taking it later..help it to stay in my system longer..till morning? I'm still all new at this.

P.S. I take amaryl in the AM. Was taking 4 mg..now dr. says take only 2 mg.