Dawn Phenomenon and Pump News

Alyssa has experienced high blood sugars in the morning for the last two weeks or so.  High for her morning level is anything over 150.  As I have mentioned before, Alyssa's blood sugar usually drops about 100 over night.  So my goal is to have her sugar somewhere around 200 at bedtime.  If her glucose level is below 200, she'll have a bedtime snack and if it is close to 200 she will not.  What was odd, I was seeing high blood sugars in the mornings and even after the nights she didn't have a bedtime snack.  Could this be the 'dawn phenomenon' I've been hearing about?

Dawn phenomenon is the term used to describe early morning (usually between 2a-8a) high blood sugars in diabetics.  It is thought that the body releases hormones over night, like the growth hormone and cortisol, that cause insulin resistance.  Alyssa takes Lantus in addition to Novolog, which is a slow release insulin that normally works for 24 hours.  I've heard though it can often be unpredictable with schedule changes.  Of course other reasons can be incorrect dosing of insulin or eating too many grams of carbs before bed.  In my opinion, I think it is tied to activity level as well. 

What this means?  I will again be waking at 2 in the morning checking blood sugars to see if there is a rise in the middle of the night for a few days and see if adjustments need to be made to her diabetes plan.

Pump news: We looked at 4 insulin pumps the other night.  It was really cool because Alyssa got to touch them and see how they worked.  After the pump class, I read all the information and narrowed down to either the Omnipod or the Ping.  We have chosen to go with the One Touch Ping.  I really thought Lu was going to push for the Omnipod because it is tubeless and stays on, but she liked the Ping best.  The cool thing is that it is 100% waterproof and Alyssa also liked their infusion sets the best, which are easily inserted and come in different colors :).  So yesterday, I faxed all my insurance info over the the rep and we have started the process.  Next step will be to see how much they will cover!

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