Diabetics Topic
U1188150329
07/04/20
I’m new to the counting calories. I have to watch I’ve been going low throughout the night. Any ones have tips for doing this being a diabetic
Dietician
07/04/20
replied to U1188150329
Hello U1188150329-Welcome to MyNetDiary!
Congrats on your decision to count calories. Tracking can be really powerful and research shows that losing weight (if you are overweight) can improve blood sugar regulation.
If you have diabetes it is especially important to talk to your doctor before starting a weight loss program. Especially if you are taking insulin. That way they can adjust your medication as you are losing weight to prevent low blood sugars.
A blood sugar below 70mg/dl in the night is defined as nocturnal hypoglycemia. It is very dangerous and so it is important to do things to prevent it from happening and know how to treat it when it does happen.
Make sure to do these things to prevent a low in the middle of the night:
1. Test your blood sugar before you go to bed. If it is 100 or below, have a snack before bed such as some protein and carbohydrate. Options include fat free plain greek yogurt and berries or an apple sliced with peanut butter. Or a slice of whole grain toast with natural peanut butter.
2. Does your blood sugar go low on nights when you have had alcohol? Alcohol can cause a low blood sugar in the night. If this is the case I would encourage you to avoid alcohol in the evening to prevent a low blood sugar.
3. Do not exercise before bed
4. Do not take too much insulin before bed (talk to your doctor to figure out the right dose).
Have you considered wearing a continuous glucose monitor? This would help to alert you (some have alarms) when your blood sugar is going low.
Treatment:
1. Make sure to keep some glucose tabs by your bed to treat a low in the night as well as a glass of water. If you sleep with a partner, make sure to alert them to wake you up if you are having a nightmare, have a change in breathing or are very hot and sweaty. These are all signs of a low blood sugar.
2. Here's some info on treating a low with other ideas of fast acting carbohydrate that you can use to get your blood sugar to come back up besides glucose tabs.
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/diabetes-hypoglycemia
Finally, here's an article on using the app with diabetes that I think you may find useful.https://www.mynetdiary.com/tracking-diabetes-with-mynetdiary.html
Does this help? Best, Joanna (MyNetDiary Dietitian)
Diabetics
