Does you basal need to change throughout the month?

Yeah, this is a usual happening. But as many of us have learned, there is no usual with diabetes. What works for one, doesn’t for the next person.
The lows were wicked before my period and I just wasn’t putting it together. But once I did and talked with my endo, she said that while it is not usual, she had patients that showed the same pattern.
Each of us is our own scientific experiment. And each day is a different outcome.

1 Like

It is so good to read this. I always feel like something is wrong with me. I can’t keep between the two lines. Sometimes the stars align. Sometimes not. I am post menopausal so can’t blame it on hormones I don’t think.

2 Likes

Not to mention when you see an Endo or the PA, they look at the overall trend, and recommend changes from there. That trend includes several cycles worth of hormone variability. UGH!

2 Likes

If it helps, my basals increase for the 2-3 days around ovulation; then they increase again 2-3 days prior to my period and stay elevated thru the first 2-3 days of my period. I would say an additional 10% is needed, sometimes more. I mostly deal with this with temp basals cause I don’t want to have to maintain two basal programs anytime I make a tweak. But cycles aside, my basals do not stay consistent, I would say I change them on a weekly basis on average anyhow.

1 Like

This sounds abnormal to me, tedos, like there is something else at play.
But, it also depends on the magnitude of the humps. If its just 200, then I would call this normal. If its higher than that, perhaps thee is something endocrine/adrenal/gasteoparesis going on

I’m at a loss, it’s like a needle in a haystack working out what’s going on.

1 Like

It sure is. Your making progress all the time, though, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Weeeelllll, I’m 55 and in perimenopause now (for the last 4-5 years, with no end in sight), BUT …

When I was younger (using Humulin N and R until 3.5 years ago, when I got a pump), I would start immediately after my period at one level (example: 26 units N/day) for 6-10 days, then my insulin resistance would sloooooowly creep up. I would add about 0.5 unit every 2-5 days, and generally get to 28-30 units N/day (10-15%???). Then, somewhere between the first day of my period and a few days after it ended, my insulin resistance would completely evaporate - like stepping off a cliff. At that point, I had to stuff my face until the N wore off, and I could go back to the starting level again. BTW, this would also be echoed in carb ratios, too. (Eeek!)

Of course, with perimenopausal hormones, it’s even less predictable. My diabetes care person is a guy, who helpfully says things like “you know, you shouldn’t need 5 basal patterns.” I have explained this to him several times, and he’s sympathetic, but he just really doesn’t get it.

Basal 3 & 4 are where I spend the most time. I take a 10% step each between levels 1-4, and 15% between levels 4 & 5. I use dual boluses and temp basals, too (A LOT). I can tell that things (basal patterns) need tweaking, but … ARGH!!!

On the other hand, I have 3 (non-diabetic) sisters, so I know that I come by my irregular hormones completely honestly. They don’t have BG issues, but then I haven’t had any crying fits … yet … so we’re pretty even.

I hear that Tandem might be helpful, but that’s what they said about the 670G … which is supposed to work great “once it learns your NORMAL BG patterns.” I said “My what?”

So, yes, hormones mess up your BG patterns, but everyone is different. So, you are totally okay if you don’t have the same experience as anyone else. All I can say is that if medicine thinks that there is a NORMAL BG pattern for all diabetic women, they must have had a REALLY small sample population in that study … a study which I have trouble believing that they have bothered to do, since I can’t find any information on it.

1 Like

What really gets me is it’s not really consistent this pattern. A month ago my insulin intake for basal was the lowest it’s ever been during my period - I was down at least 5 units in total (that’s huge for me). This period cycle, my basal didn’t bulge and stayed pretty much the same as when it was at its highest during the month.

Is this my hormones being hormonal? :joy:. It’s so frustrating I haven’t been able to predict my insulin requirements correctly

Hey, just wondering if this very interesting thread needs reviving… seems like there were a lot of women out there having issues managing hormones and diabetes.
I’m 45 and peri-menopausal and experiencing by quite a margin the worst BGs of at least the last 10 years (which covers being pregnant and then breastfeeding for a few years so not exactly an easy time in itself). I started on HRT just over 3 months ago and i thought things might be settling down, but no.
Extremely insulin resistant before a period, but then also incredibly insulin sensitive at lots of other seemingly random times when i take a correction dose for a big high only to have it plummet like a stone within an hour. It’s difficult not to feel totally despondent. I’m on a medtronic pump and use the Libre and have had t1 for 35 years. Thinking about seeing if i can try the omnipod just to get more “real estate” for infusion sites, just to try to take that potentially complicating factor out of the equation.
Hope you’re all doing well and staying strong ? :muscle:

Hey CharlotteEngland, I can relate to feeling despondent, and I do feel this topic doesn’t get very much attention. I had commented above about increased needs a few days a month, then about 6 months after that comment, all hell broke loose with my cycles. My doc decided it was peri-menopause, but multiple hormone tests have shown everything normal and HRT isn’t even on the table for me (for now). Yet, I get about 3 days a month where my insulin needs go way below normal and about 25 a month where they are at +40-75%. It is a veritable nightmare, and Omnipod 5’s Auto mode couldn’t even begin to handle it. I had to go back to manual, and this only works when I’m hypervigilant on what my blood sugar is doing. Which is annoying, cause I would like to be LESS obsessive, but how do I know if I need +25% today, or more like +75%? I don’t, unless I am watching things obsessively. I wish there was more advice out there on how to handle this. My doc was thinking, oh, your progesterone is going to be low, and we’re going to supplement that, and your insulin needs will go down. Not so much.

Anyhow, feel free to PM me if you need a sounding board, maybe we can help each other out. Take Care!

1 Like