Hi Ladies - ok…so I am finally figuring out a pattern here. I am Type 1 for the past 21 months or so…just over a year on the pump. It seems that the week before my period - I need ALOT more insulin. And not because I am eating more. I adjusted my basal up a bit today…actually created a different basal schedule on my pump. Does anyone else have this happen? If so, do you need twice the amount of insulin than the weeks before? I am giving myself a bolus every hour it seems and I barely go down. I have a dexcom and I watch the trend…and yep! Still going up as I type. Geez…this month seems exceptionally difficult to keep the sugars in control. I heard our hormones can do this but I would love to hear from others what they experience around “that time of the month”. Thanks!
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…).
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!
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!
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%
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
Really great to read through this topic, I actually have to opposite problem before my cycle. My BG plummets, I often turn the basal OFF during work (physically active job) and still have to take in juice/snack to keep above 60. Then during the cycle, I do have to increase about 20%. As if menstruation doesn’t wear me out already, this takes a toll- those 2 days of fighting lows take a lot of energy. Tough to fight temptation to ‘treat’ myself to an ice cream bar or the like. Always work to keep weight off.
Reading this is extremely helpful! I had just posted a discussion recently about the anxiety and frustration that comes from this time period! I have been stuck at 250-270 for about a week…its terrible, I think it will definitely be impacting my a1c in a bad way. NO FAIR. not to mention i feel like crap! and even with an increase in insulin it still wont budge. This month is terrible for me…its been an entire week. i have been a bit irregular too since switching from the pump to shots…but i have been running high for days and still no period yet. for once in my life i am begging for it to arrive.
ugh…so sorry to hear that Andrea! No fair is so true. You switched back to shots? I have been on a pump for a year and a half…and HATE needles so will not be going back to shots. I have caught my second cold/flu since Type 1 and its been hell. My sugars are up and down…don’t make sense at all. I hope both of our weeks get better. Take care! Sharon
Feel better, Sharon!
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!!
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.
Oh, same here. Glad to see you experience the same. Makes me feel less stupid. I thought I was doing wrong because I could not explain my jumping numbers.
That’s how I know my period is coming! I’ve yet to figure out the exact increase I need in insulin, as it seems different each month, but I definitely need more.
sorry to hear that you joined the diabetes club a few months ago. It can be so crazy sometimes. Take care and I wish you a happy holiday. Sharon