Heat and high glucose

Type 1 and LADA
1

I’ve been having consistently higher than usual bg readings the last couple of weeks. Changed my insulin pen thinking that was it. But no. Could it be from the heat? Very hot and humid here lately. This never happened to me before. Even my fasting numbers are high. I’m also not sleeping well Could that also have something to do with it? Thanks!

2

The not sleeping well would certainly be an issue for me with high BGs. Generally speaking, heat actually lowers my BG (sometimes considerably). I can go low pretty quick doing physical activity (work or pleasure) in heat and humidity.

1 Like
3

You probably just need to up your Levemir dosage a bit. My basal insulin needs change now and then, and I need more in times of stress, when my sleep patterns change, changes in weather, and for about a million other reasons explained and unexplained. Usually increasing my basal rates (I’m on a pump) fixes the problem.

2 Likes
4

Thanks. I’ll try that. Humalog doesn’t seem to be doing much. Maybe needs a boost.

1 Like
5

Yeah, if your basal insulin level is too low then doses of rapid-acting insulin don’t work well. I have this problem if I am experiencing stress or anxiety, such as when I’m in court for my job. If I plan ahead and increase my basal level temporarily, everything is fine. If I don’t and my blood sugar starts skyrocketing from the stress, corrections with NovoRapid seem to do absolutely nothing!

1 Like
6

Thanks again Scott. I’ll try it. Got worried that I was having some major insulin problem.

7

During summer I needed to add more basal. I did MDI for 15 years. Then in the fall when it cooled off a bit I would be crashing and have to go back to the old amount of Lantus for my basal. I ran 24 units for fall, winter and spring and 30 units per day during the summer.

8

Thank you. That helps!

Cathy

9

The general rule of thumb is that heat improves insulin function. Taking a hot bath, for instance, makes a visible difference for me. So either you may be an exception (and Lord knows, diabetes is nothing if not riddled with exceptions like a swiss cheese), or else there may be something else entirely going on.