why is it that my husband's blood sugar level is highest in the morning?

Your husband is most likely experiencing what is known as the "Dawn Phenomenon" or Somogyi Phenomenon.

Although the mechanisms behind this 'phenomenon" are not entirely clear, research suggests that the liver is deactivating more of the circulating insulin (self made or injected) during the early morning hours than at other times of the day. With inadeqaute circulating insulin to prevent gluconeogenesis blood sugars may be higher in the morning than they are at bedtime the prior night. This isn't a problem for non-diabetics because they would just produce more insulin automatically in response.

Investigators have actually measured blood sugar every hour throughout the night under similar circumstances and found that the entire blood sugar increase occurs about 8-10 hours after bedtime for most affected people. The amount of the increase may vary from person to person.

Though it is more apparent in type I (Insulin-dependent) diabetics, many type 2 diabetics also show signs of the Dawn Phenomenon.

If your husband is Type I he needs to be taking a long-acting insulin to cover this phenomenon AND limiting the amount of carbohydrate he takes with breakfast---or at the very least increase the insulin/carb ratio for injecting.....

-with me i need to inject more insulin per 10 g carb in the morning than I do for the same meal if I had it at lunch......again, the liver is deactivating more circulating insulin in the early morning hours and therefore I would need to inject more.

If your husband is Type 2, I would suggest he limit the carbs in the morning.....I don't eat any carbohydrate in the morning as my body is heavily affected by the Dawn Phenomenon.

Your diabetes doctor should have discussed this with you. Please bring it up at your next appointment. And it may be a good idea to speak to a clinical dietician about this as well.

Type II for 18 months.

My blood glucose monitor readings are always higher (average 115) in the morning and lowest before evening meal (average 85) . I try not to eat anything after 8:00 p.m. This was true in the beginning when my number were mid 500 and 300 on insulin.

Bottom line my body is less active at night an stores glucose in the blood or as some form of fat. My doctor agrees this is normal. I visit him every 90 days and still consume 500 mg of metformin. He is tough and I am healthier as a result.

Best Wishes.

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Mostly it has to do with liver function and pancreas function. Get a blood insulin test done, to find out if the problem is insulin resistance, (or "Syndrome X). Eating less than 6 hours before you go to bed causes problems, because everything shifts gears when you go to sleep, and partially digested food is sort of in limbo. (That is the non-technical answer--- If you need more, try again, There are answers to these questions, but most people aren't asking the right questions, so they don't get the right answers.)

A lot of times when we sleep, our blood glucose goes down. Our body thinks it's going too low and will release more glucose into the blood. It's just our body trying to do what it thinks is right, even though it's wrong. Mine does this a lot, but it isn't a real high reading in the morning, just higher than it is the rest of the day. He could also try not eating anything after 7pm. Just in case he may be eating too much before bed.

He may have what I have, Dawn Phenomenon. Funny name, but many people's bodies start producing Human Growth Hormone in the middle of the night (even when we're fully grown!) and that hormone infusion causes blood sugar to rise. Have him eat a low-fat dinner one night, and then start checking his glucose hourly starting around 11pm until 7am, without making any corrections with his pump. He won't get a very good night's sleep, but it really helps tell what's happening overnight. If you see his BG rise sharply around 3am or so, then it's probably dawn phenomenon, and he can adjust the basal rates on his pump (or if he takes Lantus he can take it at another time of day) to help cover it.

This sounds like Somogyi Phenomenon which is caused by hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) at night which stimulates the body to produce chemicals which in turn raise the blood glucose level. This phenomenon is more common in insulin dependent patients.

http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/articles/Dia...

Your husband should pay attention to what he is eating at night. Generally, he shouldn't eat 2-3 hours before bedtime, if possible. This shoudl give his body enough time to process the food and return to normal blood sugar level before bedtime. Anything he eats right before bed will raise his blood sugar. Doesn't matter if it is a sugary snack, unsalted peanuts, bread, ice cream, etc.

Talk to the doctor but also have him not eat anything after dinner and see what his blood sugar is in the morning. Also is he exercising at all???

my husband takes humalog and lantus--lantus is fairly new and slow releasing--it is taken at night usually---he also has a bad habit of eating anything after I go to bed---I can't stay up till 4 in the morning like he does so I can't always monitor what he eats---he may have to up his insulin if he is eating more than he should or more of what he shouldn't.

I beleive that means he needs to add some more insulin at night or evening.