when things go bump in the night
One of the interesting things that I deal with is a rise in blood glucose overnight. I go to bed with a BG of 84 mg/dL (last night), and wake up with a BG of 104 (this morning)! My last meal was about 12 hours ago so what happened?!
This can be the results of two different processes: Dawn Phenomenon and Somogyi Effect.
The dawn phenomenon is a natural part of our bodies circadian rhythm. The evolutionary process developed this so that our ancestors could get up in the morning after a night of fasting and have enough energy to find food. This is great ability to have when your food can run away ( think woolly mammoth ) but not so great when you just need enough energy to open the refrigerator.
The Somogyi Effect is caused by the bodies response to night time hypoglycemia. When BG drops overnight the body reacts by secreting a hormone, glucagon, which signals the liver to start converting stored glucose (glycogen) into glucose. This of course raises your BG.
I notice that my before breakfast morning BG is always higher (about 20 points higher) than my bedtime BG. I believe it's the dawn phenomenon at work. Have you experienced either the dawn phenomenon or the Somogyi Effect and how have you controlled it?
This can be the results of two different processes: Dawn Phenomenon and Somogyi Effect.
The dawn phenomenon is a natural part of our bodies circadian rhythm. The evolutionary process developed this so that our ancestors could get up in the morning after a night of fasting and have enough energy to find food. This is great ability to have when your food can run away ( think woolly mammoth ) but not so great when you just need enough energy to open the refrigerator.
The Somogyi Effect is caused by the bodies response to night time hypoglycemia. When BG drops overnight the body reacts by secreting a hormone, glucagon, which signals the liver to start converting stored glucose (glycogen) into glucose. This of course raises your BG.
I notice that my before breakfast morning BG is always higher (about 20 points higher) than my bedtime BG. I believe it's the dawn phenomenon at work. Have you experienced either the dawn phenomenon or the Somogyi Effect and how have you controlled it?
Tags: Somogyi, dawn phenomenon, hypoglycemia
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mary on -
Non-diabetics, if tested, could experience a 20mg/dl or more rise difference between p.m. blood sugars as opposed to a.m. blood sugars. That's a normal hormonal "circadian rhythm" thing, and nothing to really be concerned about.
Dawn phenomenon, when it rears it's ugly head, causes one to find upon awakening a bg of 200, 300 or 400mg/dl, for example. My husband was one of the unlucky ones until he received his first insulin pump in 1996. I don't think anyone can understand how difficult life can be with DP unless they've lived it. It's terrible to wake up at 400, worry about how you can bolus and still safely drive to work, esp without eating breakfast, worrying about plummeting to a low # during who-knows-what at work, not to mention how horrible you feel when you're high, or dropping quickly.
I'm not trying to minimize your concerns, but I'm just giving you a different perspective on DP.
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Permalink Reply by Linda G on -
Sorry Mary....I wasn't really comparing myself to anyone, or suggesting that I'm worse off than anyone., or playing the "woe is me" game...I'm only trying to deal with what's in front of me....I know fully well that thousands have it much worse than I .Though my B.S. don't reach the highs of 400, they do dip pretty low...as low as 1.5 (27)...and again, I know that I'm not alone there, but this is a support group; and I just want to see who else has similar issues & what is done about it...sounds like your husband has a very rough go. Linda.
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