Question about diabetes and blood-sugar monitoring

Factual Questions
1

I was diagnosed recently with the early stages of type 2 diabetes (which is the kind where your body manufactures insulin but your tissues have become resistant to its effects). My doctor put me on Glucovance and asked me to start checking my blood sugar first thing in the morning (fasting) and one hour after my biggest meal of the day (non-fasting). He told me that the ultimate goal was to have a fasting blood sugar reading around 100 and a non-fasting reading of maybe 125 or 130.

The first couple of days, it was high - like over 200 for both readings. Shortly thereafter I started the Atkins diet, and my blood sugar quickly began to drop (as did my weight - 16 pounds in two weeks, woo-hoo!). But here’s where it gets weird.

My first-thing-in-the-morning reading, the fasting one, is consistently in the 130 range (today it was 127, the lowest so far.) Still high, but definitely going in the right direction. But when I check it an hour after a meal, it’s lower – consistently 20-25 points lower than the fasting reading on average.

I told my doctor this and he was astounded. He says it should be the other way around. I don’t know if I’m just some sort of freak or what. Can any diabetics, or endocrinologists, enlighten me on how blood sugar works and why mine should be dropping after I eat?

2

Check it two hours after eating. That’s the key time to look for elevations. At one hour, the body hasn’t had time to digest and convert the food to glucose.

Also you’re eating few carbs, so that would tend to keep your meals from bumping your blood sugar nearly as much. Fats and proteins don’t cause anywhere near the acute rise in blood sugars that carbohydrates do.

Qtm, MD

3

A few things:

There is something known as the url=http://www.diabetic-talk.org/dp.htm]“dawn phenomenon”, where your blood glucose will rise overnight due to various biological processes.

Also, as mentioned already, one hour after a meal may be too soon to detect a rise in blood sugar. Especially if you are eating a lot of protein, which tends to slow down any rise in sugar from the carbs you eat.

I notice sometimes after eating a larger-than-usual meal that my blood sugar feels low an hour or so later. Hard to convince myself that I need to eat a few crackers or some milk when I’m feeling stuffed from a Thanksgiving-type meal. But due to the large quantities of Protein (and probably Fat) in the meal, my Carbs are digesting more slowly than usual and my sugar is actually dropping.

BCE, Patient