Comment by KCCO on April 25, 2012 at 6:54am

I'm nowhere near menopause, but as no one else has commented...
I would say its a pretty good bet that menopause is the cause. We know hormones get our blood sugars all wonkified (yes, I made that word up) anyways, so it only makes sense that if your hormones are now wonkified themselves...
The bad part is that there will probably be no discernable pattern to it. I would make an appointment with a gyno and see if they can suggest anything to help you. Make sure that they know about how diabetes affects hormones though.

Comment by smileandnod on April 25, 2012 at 11:07am

Hi Patty, you are not alone! :) I am 51, Type 1 for 25 years and peri-menopausal. I started skipping periods about 18 months ago and all the other menopausal symptoms started raging about that time too. During this same time period, my blood sugar has been fluctuating like crazy so yes I definitely think that could be what's going on with you.

When the meno symptoms hit me like a brick, I began having big drops in blood sugar. At the time, I was still on MDI with Lantus/Humalog. My endo cut my Lantus back by half. My primary care doctor did bloodwork that same week and told me that my hormone levels were showing menopausal levels.

Since then, my insulin needs have begun to increase. I've gone on a pump to be able to change the basal rates so that has made it easier for me to react to the changing bg. But I feel sometimes like I'm trying to hit a moving target.

I read in the book "Think Like A Pancreas" that when you first begin to go through menopause that it can be marked by unexplained lows but then the closer you get to menopause the insulin needs go up. It's tied to the production of estrogen.

So hang in there Patty! :) The only response I've been able to get from my endo, primary care doc, gyno, and CDEs is that it will eventually settle back down. Let's hope that time comes sooner rather than later.

Comment by Francie on April 26, 2012 at 6:14am

I am 40 and experiencing hormonal levels starting to affect my bs. i have to change my basal rates accordning to my monthly cycle, which is starting to get a little irratic, it is a constant battle, and my endo & obgyn have discussed a hysterectomy to end the hormonal fluctuations.

Comment by Trudy on April 26, 2012 at 6:39am

Hi Francie. I think that getting a hysterectomy to end hormonal fluctuations is like going after a mosquito on your knee with a hammer -- your problems will just increase. Just my opinion of course.

Comment by smileandnod on April 26, 2012 at 11:31am

My endo and obgyn "prefer" that I do nothing and ride it out, even though I also have a large fibroid. The standard answer I get is "it will eventually settle down". My endo said if it became a quality of life issue, we could talk about hormone therapy.

My fear with hormone therapy is that I've heard that it can be so difficult to get the hormone dosage balanced properly...so then I'm thinking I'd have two things to try to balance? Insulin vs carbs and hormones? For now, I'm trying not to add any other variables like that to the equation.

Comment by Patty Demm on April 26, 2012 at 4:04pm

Thank you all, very much. I thought that my hormones were likely to blame. It's nice to have other ,to talk to, that know what it's like to have diabetes. Thanks again for the advice !! Take care,Patty

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