March 9, 2004
Type 2
Question from East Setauket, New York, USA:
I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I have a good handle on controlling my numbers during the day. In fact, my three month average, according to my meter is 113 mg/dl [6.3 mmol/L]. However, I wake up high, between 128 mg/dl [7.1 mmol/L] and 144 mg/dl [8.0 mmol/L]. I have tried a late night snack of different types, including the diabetic bars out there and no luck. I have tried moderate exercise one hour after eating dinner, which does bring my number down to around 95 mg/dl [5.3 mmol/L], before a bedtime snack, but still wake up in the high 130s (mg/dl) [around 7.6 mmol/L}. There were two days in a row that I did the above and woke up at 112 mg/dl [6.2 mmol/L] and then 114 mg/dl [6.3 mmol/L], which was great, but I can’t duplicate the results.
Answer:
I have two thoughts. One is that you don’t mention whether you are taking any medicine for your diabetes. Metformin (Glucophage) helps lower fasting blood sugars. If you are not already taking it, you can ask your health care provider whether or not you may be a candidate. The other thought is that I do not understand why you are eating a bedtime snack. Are you taking insulin and your bedtime sugar is on the low side? Otherwise, you probably don’t need that snack and it may be contributing to your high morning blood sugar.
JS
