Re: Glucophage and the Dawn Phenomenon

[Guest guest]

Hi, I'm Christy, and I'm new here. Just got diagnosed with Type II

in November, so I'm still learning. I take 500 mg of Glucophage with

dinner. What worked for me in combatting the " dawn phenomenon " is

what my nutritionist recommended - I eat a snack of between 15 and 30

carbs just before bedtime. Since I started doing that, my morning

blood sugar has been consistently in the 80s. She said that eating a

snack before bedtime, especially one that mixes in a little bit of

fat and a little bit of protein with the carbs, keeps the blood sugar

from falling two low in the night, which triggers the liver to

release glucose. Made sense to me, and it seems to work.

Christy

> I was on Glucophage 200 mg a day and my dawn problem never got

better,

> even though my blood sugar during the day was fine.

>

> Low-carb brought it down maybe 20 to 25 points, but it has never

been

> good.

>

> Someone on this list said to drink one class of red wine before bed

and

> that stops the liver from dumping sugar. There was a study done, I

> think. I haven't done this yet because I am desperately trying to

lose

> weight and I am afraid that alcohol might stop me from losing.

>

> But, next week I might try it. I hate red wine, so it is going to be

> like chugging a glass of cough syrup (LOL), but I am willing to

give it

> a try.

>

> You could certainly try it if the doctor says OK. I even tried a

couple

> of days taking all my meds at night, because my blood sugar was so

good

> during the day and that didn't make a difference.

>

> Let me know if you find anything that works. My son-in-law is from

Kanas

> City!

>

> Phyllis

[Guest guest]

Hi, I'm Christy, and I'm new here. Just got diagnosed with Type II

in November, so I'm still learning. I take 500 mg of Glucophage with

dinner. What worked for me in combatting the " dawn phenomenon " is

what my nutritionist recommended - I eat a snack of between 15 and 30

carbs just before bedtime. Since I started doing that, my morning

blood sugar has been consistently in the 80s. She said that eating a

snack before bedtime, especially one that mixes in a little bit of

fat and a little bit of protein with the carbs, keeps the blood sugar

from falling two low in the night, which triggers the liver to

release glucose. Made sense to me, and it seems to work.

Christy

> I was on Glucophage 200 mg a day and my dawn problem never got

better,

> even though my blood sugar during the day was fine.

>

> Low-carb brought it down maybe 20 to 25 points, but it has never

been

> good.

>

> Someone on this list said to drink one class of red wine before bed

and

> that stops the liver from dumping sugar. There was a study done, I

> think. I haven't done this yet because I am desperately trying to

lose

> weight and I am afraid that alcohol might stop me from losing.

>

> But, next week I might try it. I hate red wine, so it is going to be

> like chugging a glass of cough syrup (LOL), but I am willing to

give it

> a try.

>

> You could certainly try it if the doctor says OK. I even tried a

couple

> of days taking all my meds at night, because my blood sugar was so

good

> during the day and that didn't make a difference.

>

> Let me know if you find anything that works. My son-in-law is from

Kanas

> City!

>

> Phyllis

[Guest guest]

That doesn't work on my AOL 7.0, Rick...it's not in blue so the little hand

icon doesn't come on...however, I can copy and paste the URL into the little

internet window on top of my screen and click on " go " and it'll go there.

Vicki

In a message dated 03/07/2002 10:26:55 PM US Mountain Standard Time,

rick@... writes:

> Welcome once again to our group! Yes you can access the same info (and

> much more) on the Web Site. Just look on the left hand side of the

> screen for " Bookmarks " . Click on that word and it will take you to the

> Bookmark section. In that section, see " Bookmarks for Newbies " and you

> will see a number of links that have been recommended by various members

> here.

>

[Guest guest]

Christy, excellent job!! I still test 4-6-8 times per day, depending on

what's going on in my life or food choices. I was dx'd in '97, type II and

instead of constantly increasing my meds, I chose to go on insulin for

tighter control. I think anyone who says to test 3 times a week has no idea

what it takes to get an A1c of 6 or less, thus avoiding complications.

We've said often here that this is a good disease for compulsive people!

So, keep on testing and keep up the good work!

Barb

> My doctor says that now that I've stabilized I only need

> to test 3 times a week. I'm still testing 2-4 times a day, though,

> because I feel this is still all too new and I'm still learning how I

> react to different foods, excercise, changes in routine, stress

> levels, etc. It gives me comfort and a feeling of control to test

> more often, and it really doesn't bother me to do the finger sticks.

[Guest guest]

When your body thinks it's going low, your liver kicks in glucose, thus the

rise. When you are truly low (in the beginning you'll feel low at numbers

higher than true low - 65), it's best to have glucose tablets on hand

(pharmacy, market, etc. inthe dm section). One glucose tab will raise your

bg approx. 20 points. anything else you eat will keep it rising, along with

the glucose dump, and bingo - you roller coaster up again. 22 g. of milk

carbs will raise your bg 330 points, even without the glucose dump.

Barb

> By

> late afternoon I was feeling lightheaded and woozy, typical

> hypoglycemia, so my assistant brought me a cup of yogurt (22 grams of

> carbohydrate). Because I work late, I often have a granola bar on my

> way home from work, which is an hour's drive at best. Tonight when I

> got home, around 7:45, I tested by BG and it was 141. I decided to

> hold off on eating dinner for a half an hour and test again. When I

> tested again it was 152!

[Guest guest]

Vicki wrote:

> That doesn't work on my AOL 7.0, Rick...it's not in blue so the little

> hand icon doesn't come on...however, I can copy and paste the URL into

> the little internet window on top of my screen and click on " go " and

> it'll go there.

Hi Vicki,

Which item does not come across as a link (blue and underlined), the

links at the bottom of each post, or the Bookmarks section of the

web-site?

Rick

[Guest guest]

I'm learning so much from this group! I feel that information is our

best weapon against the big " D, " so all this sharing is great!

Thanks for explaining the " roller coaster " effect. That was the only

explanation I could think of for it, but it really gave me a scare.

Definitely buying glucose tablets this weekend.

Christy

> When your body thinks it's going low, your liver kicks in glucose,

thus the

> rise. When you are truly low (in the beginning you'll feel low at

numbers

> higher than true low - 65), it's best to have glucose tablets on

hand

> (pharmacy, market, etc. inthe dm section). One glucose tab will

raise your

> bg approx. 20 points. anything else you eat will keep it rising,

along with

> the glucose dump, and bingo - you roller coaster up again. 22 g.

of milk

> carbs will raise your bg 330 points, even without the glucose dump.

>

> Barb

>

> > By

> > late afternoon I was feeling lightheaded and woozy, typical

> > hypoglycemia, so my assistant brought me a cup of yogurt (22

grams of

> > carbohydrate). Because I work late, I often have a granola bar

on my

> > way home from work, which is an hour's drive at best. Tonight

when I

> > got home, around 7:45, I tested by BG and it was 141. I decided

to

> > hold off on eating dinner for a half an hour and test again.

When I

> > tested again it was 152!

[Guest guest]

Ron wrote:

> Question: I am a type 2 and am on Glucophage XR 1000 mg a day after

> dinner. My BG's are always around 95 to 110 in the late afternoons and

> before dinner, however, in the morning they are usually in the 130's

> or 140's. I suppose this is due to the Dawn Phenomenon. Do you think

> that by raising my dosage of Glucophage to 1500 mg after dinner I

> could combat this?

>

> I would appreciate a response from all, especially those out there on

> Glucophage or Glucophage XR.

>

Hi Ron,

I too am on Glucophage XR. I take 2000mg a day, but usually in the

morning rather than at dinner time. I battle with the Dawn Phenomenon as

well, as my late morning readings will typically be from 20 -30 points

higher than my first a.m. readings.

Since you take your dose in the evening, an increase might have some

effect in lowering the effect, but I don't really know for sure. The

direct action of Glucophage is to limit the glucose dump from the liver,

so it could make a difference.

Rick

[Guest guest]

Christy said....

> And now, let me brag a little. [smile] Since my diagnosis, my BG has

> dropped from the 300s to normal levels and my HBa1c has dropped from

> 10.5 to 6.5.

good for you!!!! Congrats! I am really happy for you!

Deb

_________________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

> Ron wrote:

>

> > Question: I am a type 2 and am on Glucophage XR 1000 mg a day after

> > dinner. My BG's are always around 95 to 110 in the late afternoons and

> > before dinner, however, in the morning they are usually in the 130's

> > or 140's. I suppose this is due to the Dawn Phenomenon. Do you think

> > that by raising my dosage of Glucophage to 1500 mg after dinner I

> > could combat this?

> >

> > I would appreciate a response from all, especially those out there on

> > Glucophage or Glucophage XR.

> >

>

the Rick wrote....

>

> I too am on Glucophage XR. I take 2000mg a day, but usually in the

> morning rather than at dinner time. I battle with the Dawn Phenomenon as

> well, as my late morning readings will typically be from 20 -30 points

> higher than my first a.m. readings.

>

> Since you take your dose in the evening, an increase might have some

> effect in lowering the effect, but I don't really know for sure. The

> direct action of Glucophage is to limit the glucose dump from the liver,

> so it could make a difference.

Now you do have to consider I have only been on it a month...500 mg....but I

take mine at bedtime...and no morning rise now if I don't pack my breakfast

full of carbs and don't sleep exceptionally late.

Deb

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