time of the month....does your blood turn to syrup?

[Lizzie G]

Hi everyone

Apologies to any guys out there that happen to reading this thread, it is an added frustration of diabetes which you fortunately will never suffer from.....i hope!

Ok, so, does anyone else find that at that time, and in particular the days leading up to that time, that their blood, quite literally, turns to syrup? i have real issues with this. i KNOW that my basal needs to be higher, and that my insulin to carb ratio is a lot higher, but the question is, how much? the trouble with this is, is that it is a few days out of the month, and so there isnt really time to establish exactly what is going on before it changes again. for example, what i ate this morning would normally require 3 unit of novorapid and with the timing of my shot my BG would be around 7 (or 126 for those across the pond) 1.5 hours after. this morning i took 4.5 units (a guess) and it was 10.3 1.5hours later. i then took a further 1.5 units (which would normally bring me down 4 or 5, or 72-90 points), and my BG only dropped to 9....yet i dont want to go crazy and have a massive hypo!

has anyone else who experiences this quantified the effect? ie, what works, double basal, double carb ratio? its seriously seeming that way to me.....any ideas???

[Lizzie G]

does no one else experience this then? :(

[princesslinda]

T2 here, not on insulin, but I do notice that my blood sugars are 5-10 points higher at any given time the week before I have my period. This resolves on Day 1 of my period. I've noticed this monthly since diagnosis.

[orange81bird]

I have just the opposite effect. My BG's are normal leading up to and then when it finally arrives I usually run lower (which I don't mind). But then I have a few days at the end where I run alot higher than normal. About a week later I'm back to my normal numbers. I just kinda deal with it the best I can as each month tends to be different.

[dodo]

I am too a lot higher the week before my period. I can't always predict when my BGs will start to go high so I'm trying to deal with the best I can. Just like you Lizzie I don't want to have hypos so I don't increase my insulin units too much but maybe I should:confused:

[Jan B]

I've read that what you experience, Lizzie, is quite common. I don't remember though . . . I quit at age 44 -- yippee (47 now)!! When I was in your situation, I chalked it up to my own weirdness instead of knowing it was normal. I wish I'd been on DF back then.

You might up your basal by 10-20% during that time. I wouldn't think you would change your bolus ratio (??) If I were you, I'd start with upping the basal, then go ahead and up the bolus too if your meter is telling you to.

[Kat]

I also have the problem of going high the time upcoming and then during aswell. Next time it comes (anytime now) then I guess I'm going to up my basal and see what happens.

[geegies]

I run quite high the week or so before, and then I hit (what seems like) rock bottom the day I get my period. Things level off by day 2-3.
It's so hard to keep track of! Hormones really do take a toll on bloodsugars!

[UpNorth]

Yep, i can run higher when i'm going to have, and having THAT time of the month. Today i've had a really good day, but i think in a few days time, this months **** will begin...:mad:

[Eddy]

Apologies to any guys out there that happen to reading this thread, it is an added frustration of diabetes which you fortunately will never suffer from.....i hope!


Directly? No. Indirectly? I appear to be outnumbered by females in this threads, so I'll quietly address other points. :whistling


Ok, so, does anyone else find that at that time, and in particular the days leading up to that time, that their blood, quite literally, turns to syrup?


Interesting. All the sugar runs to your blood, leaving your personality with a dearth of sweetness. PMS finally is explained! :vroam:

(For those who don't know: Lizzie and I take good-natured jabs at one another. I figured that, considering recent spats between people in other threads, I should point out that her/my remarks are well-intentioned.)


i have real issues with this. i KNOW that my basal needs to be higher, and that my insulin to carb ratio is a lot higher, but the question is, how much? the trouble with this is, is that it is a few days out of the month, and so there isnt really time to establish exactly what is going on before it changes again.


Perhaps it's tough to analyze directly. However, treating the system as one of several dependent variables -- time of year, time of month, time of day, exercise level, et cetera -- it should be possible to correlate the dependent variable (insulin needs). Think of it as an exercise in data warehousing, data cubes, OLTP, or something along those lines.

I'm quite interested in solving various D-related problems, including that one. If any women keep good, contiguous logs of the aforementioned independent factors along with all CHO and insulin data, and don't mind sharing for analysis... please let me know!

[grace girl]

I run high a few days before...how much higher varies. Then once things start up, I go low and stay there for two days. Then it's normal for the rest of the month.
On a pump you can fix it with increased basals. I'm on MDI, so I deal with it using extra humalog.
Just this past week I had two days when I was really fighting 300's...which is really, really odd for me. I wondered if I was getting sick until I looked at the calendar....

[nono87]

I would up my basal by 2 units one month see what happens then increase or decrease after trying it for at least 2months in a row.....wouldn't touch the bolus just yet...