The Dawn Phenomenon - A Diabetics Nightmare?
Have you ever heard of the Dawn Phenomenon before? No, it's not the name of the latest sci-fi movie at your local theater. If you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes you may have never heard of the Dawn Phenomenon before. I can tell you firsthand that until my doctor told me about it I had no clue myself.
So, what is the Dawn Phenomenon? First, let me ask you this; have you checked your blood glucose level in the evening?Have you then taken it again the next morning before eating, only to find it much higher than it was the night before? Totally frustrating isn't it? In short, you've entered into the Dawn Phenomenon.
Diabetes can be quite aggravating at times. So many times I would have an evening blood sugar reading of 110mg/dL only to take it the next morning and find it to be 145mg/dL. Well, it must be due to you eating a late night bowl of ice cream along with 4-5 chocolate chip cookies! No, I wouldn't even eat anything after dinner and have the same set of numbers the following day.
One of the amazing aspects about the Dawn Phenomenon is that everyone experiences it, diabetics as well as non-diabetics.
The Dawn Phenomenon affects us during the late night/early morning hours while we are at sleep. Our bodies release certain types of hormones that are designed to help maintain and repair our body. This is a good thing. But, between the hours of 3:00-8:00 AM things begin to happen inside our body.
In simple terms, what happens next is that our bodies respond to this release of hormones by releasing stored glucose. Because this is all happening in the late night/early morning hours, it causes your blood sugar level to increase. You will notice it by testing yourself in the early morning when you first get up. If you get a much higher reading, it's most likely the result of the Dawn Phenomenon (unless of course you ate that ice cream and cookies).
Is there any way of preventing this from happening? Good question. Yes, there are a few things that can help reduce those AM readings. The first one is perhaps the most obvious one. Talk with your doctor or health care provider. They may need to make a change to your medication or diet, so always talk to them first.
Keep track of your eating habits. If you are eating foods with too many carbohydrates in the evening, this could also cause a much higher morning reading. Perhaps eat a late evening snack of peanut butter and crackers, or a couple of slices of deli meat and cheese.
Another thing you might want to do is get some exercise. Take an evening walk or bike ride. Just 30 minutes of brisk exercise in the evening can be enough to lower your blood glucose level. Not to mention how good the physical activity is for your body.
You can try to fast after your evening meal. This will leave you with a much lower nighttime blood sugar level which will many times offset the effects of the Dawn Phenomenon. You can know by trying it and testing it for yourself.
2007-02-09 06:19:36
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answer #1
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answered by landhermit 4
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2016-05-20 18:19:22
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answer #2
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answered by ? 3
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2016-09-18 14:27:49
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answer #3
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answered by ? 3
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Diabetes can be "reversed" or go into "remission". I believe that what that is is decreasing the need to take medications. A person who has diabetes will always have it... but there are cases where a type 2 can either reduce medications or even eliminate them... but will still need to watch diet, get plenty of exercise and keep their weight down. This is called management and control. However, that does not mean that there will never be one. Research has taken huge advances and the more scientists learn about it, the higher likelihood that a cure might come about someday.
While I did recently read an article that stated gastric lap band or gastric bypass MAY be a potential cure, more research is needed and even if this one day is a cure, it would only be effective on type 2s who are obese since neither of those procedures are performed on people who are of normal weight or body mass. Stem cell transplants are still highly controversial and most likely, have a long way to go before it is approved as a diabetes cure by the FDA. Since the vast majority of diabetics are type 2 (roughly 90%), those of us who are type 1 seem to get lost in the shuffle. EMT type 1 for more years than I care to remember, use a pump. Let me add that when I mean diabetes can be controlled and managed without medication but with diet, exercise and weight control, I'm referring to type 2. This is not an option for type 1s, who must take insulin, either by injections or a pump, to survive.
2014-10-18 17:24:33
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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I'm just curious why someone who is apparently not diabetic taking their blood sugar readings at night and in the a.m. The readings stated are completely within the normal range. The liver releases glycogen - the stored glucose - during the night to maintain glucose levels within the normal ranges - otherwise a person could go too low to wake up! In diabetics, this release is unchecked by the action of insulin the way it is in non-diabetic people, consequently, a diabetic's glucose level is too high in the morning after fasting all night - i.e. over 126 or much higher. Your orange at night has nothing to do with your higher a.m. reading. Don't worry about these levels - or if you do, please have a fasting blood test, or, better, a glucose tolerance test - for your own peace of mind if nothing else! I suspect you know all this already though! Good luck!
2007-02-09 06:12:35
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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The dawn phenomenon is the end result of a combination of natural body changes that occur during the sleep cycle and can be explained as follows. Between 3:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., your body starts to increase the amounts of counterregulatory hormones (Growth hormone, cortisol and catecholamines). These hormones work against insulin's action to drop blood sugars. The increased release of these counterregulatory hormones, at a time when bedtime insulin is wearing out, results in an increase in blood sugars. These combined events cause your body's blood sugar levels to rise in the morning (at "dawn"). Somogyi effect. Named after the doctor who first wrote about it, this condition is also called "rebound hyperglycemia." Although the cascade of events and end result -- high blood sugar levels in the morning -- is the same as in the dawn phenomenon, the cause is more "man-made" (a result of poor diabetes management) in the Somogyi effect. The term refers to pattern of high morning sugars preceded by an episode of asymptomatic (without symptoms) hypoglycemia. Your blood sugar may drop too low in the middle of the night, so your body counters by releasing hormones to raise the sugar levels. This could happen if you took too much insulin earlier or if you did not have enough of a bedtime snack.Check out the web page below.Hope this helps:)
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2016-04-16 11:10:25
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answer #6
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answered by ? 4
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usually I eat an apple or banana or sugar free Jell-o.. within the almost 2 month since starting Lantus (insulin), the lowest points of my glucose reading was 57 (this was in the morning the next day.) And i wasn't even having the hypoglycemia symptoms. It just depends on what kind of snack you have.
2007-02-09 08:00:41
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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110 is not high. A sugar over 200 is indicative of a problem.
2007-02-09 05:59:06
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answer #8
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answered by michelle 3
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2016-02-16 00:18:11
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answer #9
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answered by Emmy 3
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This is called the "dawn effect," and happens to some diabetics. The link below, from the Mayo Clinic website, can tell you more. Google "dawn effect" to read various sources.
2007-02-09 06:07:32
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answer #10
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answered by dukefan86 4
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