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Permalink Reply by Doris D on May 15, 2012 at 11:41am

I think the heat in the summer affects all of us and our insulin use. I go back on mine too and so does my daughter but in winter we both wind up taking more. Just saying..............

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Permalink Reply by Sportster on May 15, 2012 at 1:14pm

Yes, the heat affects mine big time! I will get lows but in extreme heat it will sometimes be the opposite and I'll go high. Could be because my insulin went bad or because of the stress the heat puts on my body.

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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on May 15, 2012 at 1:17pm

Yes, heat causes insulin to absorb faster. You're more likely to go low in hot weather. At the start of the summer, I typically decrease all my basal rates across the board. During cold weather, not only are you less active, but the cold makes absorption slower. The thing I like about summer is if I'm running high, I can just do a small correction and go for a brisk walk and I'll usually come right down.

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Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 15, 2012 at 1:34pm

I love to share this story:

I was living in a very temperate part of Guatemala and took a trip for a weekend to a beach town that was quite hot and humid. I had heard that a restaurant right on the beach served incredible homemade ravioli and decided to treat myself to something I rarely eat. I ordered and when I went to bolus my pen needle broke and I didn't have any spares on me! The hotel was a hot 15 minute walk each way back up the beach. So I decided to just enjoy the ravioli and correct later for the intense high I knew was coming. I got back to my room and tested - normal....one hour later...normal...two hours later...normal, etc. Huh? I finally guessed it was the heat and for the rest of the weekend bolused very little and fought lows even when I did!

For the last four years I've lived in first Guatemala and then the SF Bay Area where it rarely hits 80 degrees. Now I've moved back to an area where we have triple digits in the summer (though with very low humidity). It's already been up to 90 and I've been suntanning in my hammock and no sign of a change in insulin. Darn! I can't help but wonder if the beach experience had to do with a combination of humidity and more walking! Sigh.

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Permalink Reply by Aimee on May 15, 2012 at 2:23pm

Thanks for your responses; I didn't think I was going crazy! I've heard others say the lower readings in the summer are due to increased activity, but there are days where I really don't think she is more active and she still runs lower when the weather is hot. We live in Washington State, so it is hard to decide when to change her settings due to weather. It has been really nice here consisently for over a week, so I guess it is time! I already lowered her basal a tiny bit a couple weeks ago, but I guess it was not quite enough!

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Permalink Reply by christy on May 15, 2012 at 3:35pm

Same here I get very insulin sensitive in the summer...and the insulin resistence really kicks in in the winter, lol now IM not recommending this..cause I know what all the Dr's say about D and heating pads, but for me I've noticed sleeping with my heating pad in the winter kinda helps with the resistence some.

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