Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Emily on March 22, 2011 at 4:58pm

Yes! I have to increase my basal insulin and boluses by about 50%... during my cycle, I have to reduce by about 10-20% so I don't have to eat out the fridge (I really am trying to lose weight...).

Permalink Reply by Emily on March 22, 2011 at 5:00pm

If you can increase your basal insulin, then you don't have to do as many corrections and it lowers the amount of "extra insulin" that you use... Talk to your endo/CDE about setting up a rate for that time of the month... are you on a pump? It makes experimenting slightly easier as you can gradually increase until you get the right amount!

Permalink Reply by Heather Nielsen Clute on March 22, 2011 at 5:26pm

OH yes....I'm so glad you asked about this, and I love it that Emily has dialed in an adjustment for her basal that is precise and works. I am still working on that. But I can offer you the reassurance that you are not crazy :) and your diabetes is not going wackadoodle, you are just sensitive to the hormones that are increasing the insulin resistance in your body. ANd only 21 months into diabetes, it may also still be "changing" too...
Hang in there. Great job tracking all that!!! The more data you have, the better you can make data-based decisions on the basal so you don't have to keep bolusing. That stinks.
Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Emily on March 22, 2011 at 5:39pm

Mine is still guesswork... depends on the month and how much stress I am under at work... averages out to be about 50%. Sometimes, it is 30%... sometimes 70%

Permalink Reply by Dee on July 8, 2011 at 12:03am

Wow, really that much? I've never really monitored this properly, I think it's something I need to look into because it definitely happens to me too and then about a day before I usually have a bigger drop than usual overnight so I know "its" on its way!!

Permalink Reply by Emily on July 11, 2011 at 5:10am

Yeah. I'm a teacher.... so it depends on the level of stress at the job, too. The increased stress + hormones makes me extremely insulin resistant.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on March 23, 2011 at 12:11am

I need more insulin then too. I haven't figured out how much more I need then yet.

I have a 28 day cycle and it seems that I need more around days 21-27 and less on days on 28-2. My endo said this is pretty normal.

Permalink Reply by Sarah on March 27, 2011 at 10:07am

That's pretty much the same pattern I have... except that my cycles are longer (I ovulate later).

I actually chart my cycles so that I know when I ovulate and can predict the jump in insulin needs (which happens 4-5 days after ovulation, then drops 13-14 days later, with my period coming the day after the drop) - the amount I need to increase usually fluctuates a little, but it is much simpler to manage when you know it's coming, rather than playing catch-up :)

Permalink Reply by tonilynn20 on April 8, 2011 at 1:42pm

I've been trying to figure out my own formula. What works best for me is an extra 1.5 to 2 units of meal bolus. Tried increasing basal rates for awhile but still had large spikes after eating. It seems that it's always a guessing game though.

Permalink Reply by Crystal Adams on April 21, 2011 at 12:19pm

Same thing happens to me, week before my period sugars are nuts and nothing works to get them in range. Then once my period comes, back to normal. I need to be better about tracking and experimenting with basal adjustments to help out!

Permalink Reply by Gina on April 25, 2011 at 8:55am

So happy to find this post today. I just had an endo appt Friday and had been fighting crazy lows (unheard of for me) for weeks due to an increase in metformin (in addition to my insulin.) THEN this weekend crazy highs started which seemed nuts, and I happen to be on day 25 of my cycle today. I also took my metformin down by 500mg, so I was like "could that 500mg really have made me go from crippling lows, to absurd highs? I really don't think so? Maybe it's a combo of the two, but nothing is working, and i'm super frustrated! I haven't really documented to see if this is a pattern, but from now on certainly will. Ugh. Frustrating.

Permalink Reply by Sweetblooded on June 25, 2011 at 10:39am

I was going to ask the same question, then I saw your s. This does happen to me, I asked my doctor about it, all she said was that my sugars are higher during my cycle because I probably eat more sweets due to the cravings. I believed this for years, then decided to do an experiment, during a couple of cycles I decided NOT to change my eating from what I do on a daily basis, and ate NO sweets at all, not even fruit. My blood sugars still were crazy during my cycle. So I think it must be the hormones. Also my gums become sensitive and start to bleed only during that time of month, I don't understand this, doesn't happen when i'm not on my cycle. I living with a male with diabetes my whole life, feel that diabetes may be a little more complicated for women than for men because of our hormones. My dad never in his 45 years with the disease has had the same problems as me in my short 10 years with it.

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