A1C low but Fasting blood Glucose above 100

This is called “ The Dawn Phenomenon”

It’s the bodies normal action to get ready for the day by the liver releasing stored glucose. Very normal. A non diabetics pancreas takes care of this rise whereas diabetics can’t and you see the rise. You are not alone.

I have dawn syndrome. It makes my first check of the day to be around 130. My pre lunch will be 95. My a1c is around 6.5 to 7.5 depending on how "bad" my diet is. The doctor says go by your a1c. He says it is like a snapshot for three months. I early on did a complete test schedule for two weeks to see when my up and downs were. I discovered my dawn syndrome ... Also could see the impact of exercise and food binges. Try it... It will settle your mind about those "unusual" readings. I'm currently around 7.0 and considered under control.

It's either "Dawn Phenomenon" or "Symogi (spelling?) Syndrome". Essentially, your body is trying to wake you up with a boost of glycogen, or you are going low in the middle of the night and your body releases glycogen to keep you safe.

The only thing you can do is experiment when you should start fasting for the evening, or make sure you have a nightly snack of protein and a slow releasing carb. Also, maybe test yourself just before eating breakfast, not right when you get up?

I go to bed blood sugar 108
Wake up to 170 🤔

@tomlowerbs
I have heard of the dawn phenomenon. I’ve looked it up. Might be worth checking it out and monitoring that BS . There are ways I think to help it.

I'm another dawn guy, A1C averaging around 5.6 for years, my morning pre-breakfast reading is usually 110-120 or even a little higher generally after 11-12 hours of fasting, but my pre-lunch and pre-dinner readings average much lower, say in the high 80's.

Wasn't always the case, first couple of years I was dealing with this, about seven years ago, my morning readings were same as later ones. Still, all in all, I'll take it and it seems mostly harmless.

There may be something to do do address this, maybe some specific dietary items to avoid because they metabolize slowly - but I don't seem to know what they are, lol. A late night snack (around 10 carb) may help - or hurt. I tried it and for a while it seemed to help, and then it didn't.

Maybe I missed something or misunderstood.. Has your friend been diagnosed with diabetes in the past? Because those numbers aren't even close to diabetic range. A fasting sugar of 99 or below is normal - 100-115 is pre-diabetes not diabetes. If she has been diagnosed in the past, those numbers would be considered well-controlled and if she's not on meds for it would qualify as in remission. There are a lot of things that can cause bad teeth, and if she hasn't been given a diabetes diagnosis by a doctor, I would be very skeptical of a dentist who keeps mentioning that. Her numbers are will below the threshold for "well-controlled diabetes." And other than her fasting sugar not even close to pre-diabetes levels. 100 is only one point out of the normal range. That's excellent if she is diabetic. Congratulations to her on getting it that well controlled if she does have it.

@lorax I totally agree with you. She needs to go another dentist.

@lorax and @veronica0127 - Thank you for sharing your opinion and keeping this thread active. I and my friend are yet in the process of getting a proper answer. Looks like this is a case of dawn phenomenon. The diabetic readings have been consistent since then, same as before and is not being treated for diabetics. The only addition is maintaining a healthy oral hygiene. The dentist is very good, just that from his experience, the extent of the gums issue was usually with people with pre-diabetic or diabetic conditions. He wanted my friend to be careful since the numbers for fasting and A1C were not relating and added to that the gums issue. As we all know, lots of issues are being detected very late or also going unnoticed.
Thank you all for your opinion and appreciate any experience/finding any time in the future.

interesting about the dawn syndrome.

I have been a diabetic for over 10 years. The last 5 years my A1C has been in the 5.6-6.1 range. My morning glucose readings can go anywhere 90-125. I did a bunch of tests with no bad news. My PCP and specialist both said that is probably my norm. No bad symptoms either.