New to the Dexcom world, I am learning all kinds of little quirks that happen with my BG independent of insulin, food, and exercise.
One of them is a 20 to 30 point rise in BG every time I take a hot bath (and I do like my tubbies hot 
) Anyone have a clue as to what would cause this to happen?
Thanks for your help.
Sitting in a hot tub of water probably reduces your insulin duration, but many individuals will experience a drop in BG after a hot bath.
A 20-30 point swing in your fasting BG is really not worth worrying about. Every time I do anything my BG goes up or down , drive my car, go to the store, sit in front of my computer, take a shower, walk my dog, sleep, get mad, get happy, and I do mean everythingā¦
I think itās pretty well established that a hot bath, sauna and even a hot shower causes vasodilation, which can have a lot of different effects. So at a guess, maybe something like a liver-dump is going on?
Just the opposite (ie, Iāve had lots of hypos during/immediately after, regardless of what time of the day I take the shower) of me if I take a LONG hot shower (at least when I was bolusing a lot more than I do now, due to a drastic recent reduction in my carb consumption). Now that there is a water shortage here, I limit my showers, so Iām not going to test out what happens now to my bgās with long hot showers.
What biochemical interaction stimulates a liver dump?
I always experience a drop in BG when I shower. I donāt usually do baths, my bathing choice is HOT showers. Weāre in a drought here so I keep them short (15 min max.). By time Iām out I notice a 30 point or so drop in BG.
If you are sure that the hot bath is the cause of a rise in bgās on a consistent basis, my unprofessional WAG is that you may be going up due to stress hormones, if the water is very hot. When you get out, is your skin red? If so, then I would say thatās the cause.
I have this issue as well. I have a drop on my dexcom for a shower and sometimes an increase for a hot bath. Iām convince itās the sensor and itās off for almost 30 minutes. Iāve made many testing with my glucometer which confirm my fake lows.
I agree with you my sensor is always off after my shower and returns to normal after it drys out.
I have a drop usually too after a hot shower, not always, but most of the time eventually. I give a .3 bolus with my pump before unless Iām low because I have it off then 1/2- 1 hour or so. So I guess without the bolus it could go up too without that. Last time without the bolus it went up.
I notice most folks are telling you what happens to them when they have a hot bath or shower. LOL such is the wayā¦
Anyhow, T1s donāt generally have āliver dumpsā so I doubt that is the trouble. I donāt have an answer to your experience but I have a couple of questions. Is the hot bath at the same or around the same time each day? This could indicate a need to adjust either basal or meal insulin. Is the bath so hot that it might cause discomfort or stress to your skin? This may not be an obvious discomfort but our bodies react to stress in ways that are not always visible or felt.
I hope you figure it out, who does not love a hot bath after all?
whaaaat? Do you have some secret info that no one else does about T1s and liver dumps? Last I checked, my pancreas isnāt working, liver is doing just fine. SMH
Sarah 
[quote=ācurlysarah, post:12, topic:46543, full:trueā]
whaaaat? Do you have some secret info that no one else does about T1s and liver dumps? Last I checked, my pancreas isnāt working, liver is doing just fine. SMH
Sarah 
[/quote]I do not have some secret info other than there really is no such thing. Liver Dump is a made up term that is ever present in D forums, articles, and discussions with other diabetics. No research group, diabetes associations, or science industry diabetic or not has defined or even recognizes āliver dumpā. Could be that Ahnalira is experiencing DP at the bath time. Or as others have said, there is some stress response. It does not appear that Ahnalira is getting low at all, rather the opposite so the liver response does not fit the bill in my opinion.
Here is what a āliver doing just fineā really does: Unused glucose is stored mainly in the liver as glycogen. When blood sugar drops too low, the level of insulin declines and other cells in the pancreas release glucagon, which causes the liver to turn stored glycogen back into glucose and release it into the blood. This brings blood sugar levels back up to normal.
Also the pancreas still works for most of us (running to knock wood!!) in that it continues to breaks down nutrients and makes hormones - just not the beta cells. RME
[Believe whatever you want.][1]
There is not a cut and dry answer, as Karen would suggest.
Hereās a link to Diabetes Managementā¦
"[How the liver raises blood glucose][2]
P.S. My Doc doesnāt believe that the liver outputs sugar, but I do.
What if a hot bath increases her circulation and she suddenly requires more sugar? Seems as reasonable as anything else, especially since how all this works is not precisely understood. Theres a lot of mystery, still, in how this works.
[1]: The Liver & Blood Sugar :: Diabetes Education Online
[2]: Healing Leaky Livers - DSM
Your doc doesnāt believe exactly what?
Right?!? Hopefully the doctor in question isnāt getting his/her info from Wikipedia and blogs and web editors! Any one of us can update and edit a Wikipedia article.
I see you edited the comment that I was asking about, making my question look odd now.
I hope your doctor knows that the liver releases glycogen!
By stress hormones, weāre talking cortisol and/or adrenaline, right? Thatās what I thought, too, though my bath water isnāt hot enough to cause skin redness or irritationājust the light headedness when I get out that comes from vasodilation. I also have no issue falling asleep which would contradict a rise in stress hormonesā¦ such an interesting puzzle, right?
I could prove or disprove if this is the cause by doing a blood prick after I bathe. Thanks!
Yep, right before bed. And, interestingly now that you mention itā¦is during a time when bolus is almost gone and basal (that I took at about 8PM is only just starting to kick ināmust be a factor. However, on nights when I donāt take a bath, the rise doesnāt happen.