
February 24, 2004
Type 2
Question from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA:
I went to the bathroom at 4:00 a.m., checked my blood glucose, which was 85 mg/dl [4.7 mmol/L]. Two hours later, at 6:00 a.m., when I got up for the day, it was 142 mg/dl [7.8 mmol/L]. Why, or what, makes this happen? I didn’t eat or drink anything. Why would it get so high?
Answer:
During the night, your body makes hormones that tell the liver to export glucose into the blood. The liver is able to break down a polymer of glucose called glycogen. In addition, the liver can make glucose from metabolic intermediates. It doesn’t need the addition of food or drink to cause an increase in your blood sugar. When you have diabetes, one of the characteristic abnormalities is the overproduction of liver glucose which leads to fasting hyperglycemia.
JTL