Ask the Diabetes Educator Archive

1/12/05

Q:
Why is it that between meals - sometimes as much as 5-6 hours - my blood sugar rises, when I have not consumed any food? My Dr. can not give me an answer.

A:
Food is not the only cause of high blood sugars. It may be that you are either so insulin resistant or insulin deficient, that circulating blood sugar produced by the liver to handle the physiological events of the day is not being taken up into the cells. I am assuming you are not injecting insulin? Have you had a C-peptide test? It is certainly more common to see blood sugar rise post meal, then fall. Start keeping a close record of daily food/exercise/stressors to see if any patterns evolve.