BG's soaring after being in the heat?
Right, we all know about the southern heat wave of the US right now... Anyway, yesterday it was about 104 and my family and I were looking at travel trailers, all of which weren't hooked up to have the air on, so it was like a sauna in each of them. I've had this happen before but the circumstances for yesterday were that I had, had a very carby lunch, but I was very low when I woke up. 48, to 43, to 60 before lunch.
Anyway, we were looking at campers for over an hour, went into a good many of them and left. Cool off in the car, go home. Not thirty minutes after getting home, I look at my CGM and it says I'm over 200. I test. 289. I figured with all of the walking I would go low because, that's normally what happens. But I've gone high after being in the heat for a while before.
Is anyone having this problem, and/or have any suggestions on what to do for those days I end up being outside in the triple digit heat, to keep myself from going high? Does anyone know why this could be happening?
Anyway, we were looking at campers for over an hour, went into a good many of them and left. Cool off in the car, go home. Not thirty minutes after getting home, I look at my CGM and it says I'm over 200. I test. 289. I figured with all of the walking I would go low because, that's normally what happens. But I've gone high after being in the heat for a while before.
Is anyone having this problem, and/or have any suggestions on what to do for those days I end up being outside in the triple digit heat, to keep myself from going high? Does anyone know why this could be happening?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Kiff (FatCatAnna) on -
Hey Jessie - I always go the opposite in heat/humidity (wrote about that in my blog last week). I find it so annoying - as I'm sure you are finding having high BG's annoying! Sorry I can't help you.
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Permalink Reply by nel peach on -
Maybe you were dehydrated ??...don't forget to drink H2O or is this not the correct suggestion ?? Hope you numbers are back to " normal " .
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Permalink Reply by Jessie P. on -
It's a good suggestion, I don't think I was dehydrated though. And yes, I got back into range within an hour thanks to an injection and no carb dinner. Thanks for the suggestion though. :)
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Permalink Reply by Sugabetic on -
How long were you in the heat? What kind of insulin do you use? Insulin brands have various temp cutoffs as to when they start going bad. Apidra is the lowest at about 77degrees (which makes no sense to me as to why it is marketed for pump users. Don't they know we aren't in A/C 24/7?)
My doc told me that there are some people who have to totally go off of insulin pumps during the summer because of the heat. You may want to check with your doc about getting an insulin with a higher heat tolerance or going on shots temporarily if you know you're going to be outside much. (i.e., vacation days, etc...)
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Permalink Reply by Jessie P. on
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I'm on Humalog, and on a pump. My pump does get a little warm in the heat, so I usually go inside as soon as it starts feeling warm. I thought about my insulin going bad, but it's still working for me today, which would kind of cross out the "going bad option", or so I would think.
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Permalink Reply by Dave _ on -
LOL! Insulin isn't going to "go bad" if you outside during hot weather! If that were the case, my bg's would soar every time I spend ENTIRE DAYS in 100-106 degree heat during the week-long stays in Vegas. I've been there 7 or 8 times and NEVER have I, or my pumper-wife EVER had a problem with our insulin. It also gets hot where I live (San Jose). I think you are worried about something that's not going to happen. Are you aware that skin temperature of our bodies is 91 degrees. Wouldn't you think if temperature were the issue that you are considering, that sleeping on your pump would cause a problem? :)
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Permalink Reply by Sugabetic on
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Actually, there is a cop in town that has to go off his pump during the summer because the heat under his vest causes his insulin to not work. He can change it and an hour after being in the heat, it doesn't work anymore. Gets a shot from the vial in the fridge, and he's comin down. SO... yes, heat does have something to do with it. It's not something to laugh about. Just glad you've never been stuck in that situation and not been able to get insulin and gone seriously high. Trust me, from personal experience as well, it's not fun.
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Permalink Reply by Dave _ on
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An hour??? That's preposterous, plain and simple. There's something fishy about that story.
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Permalink Reply by Dave on -
In my opinion unless you are working construction in 100 degree heat the insulin that one uses in their pump is most likely not going to fail within 3 days of use. Especially considering most people are going to be in an A/C cooled car, work building and house not to mention if insulin were that sensitive to slight increases in heat than having an insulin pump next to your body all day long would definitely cause failure.
Other reasons could be an air bubble in your line, incorrect bolusing, the pizza effect (carbs and fat and delayed onset of the carbs hitting your system) bad infusion site to name a few.
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Permalink Reply by Michael on -
I'm in the Morgantown area of West Virginia working construction. Two weeks ago we were re-roofing a large complex and I'm sure the temps on the roof were around 100. I use an insulin pump with humalog and would only get about 2 days out of it before it would quit being effective. I have had several spikes after a day of work where corrections from my insulin pump wouldn't bring the highs down. I defiantly think it can be attributed to the insulin 'spoiling' because of the heat.
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Permalink Reply by Dave _ on
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I disagree. I think it's just as likely that stress hormones raised your bg's. Something to ponder.
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