Ladies - period sugars

Type 1 and LADA
1

Hi :slight_smile:
Question for the ladies: Do you find your sugars drop pre period ? This is the third time in a few months that a few days before my period is due my sugars have dropped post breakfast before I had even bolused ( I don’t pre bolus due to gastropareses) . This morning I didn’t even have my breakfast dose as my sugars wouldn’t budge.
I’m on levemir and novorapid. Maybe I may even need to decrease the levemir on certain days of the cycle ???

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2

Just track the patterns. I do not remember a drop in bg during that time, but you dealing with a lot of hormones,

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3

Yes. My insulin requirements drop right around the first day of my period, though not to the point that I can skip a meal dose.

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4

Back when I had periods that’s somehow I knew my period would start. Lower bg’s than expected

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5

Yup, anywhere from 2-6 hours before the it arrives.

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6

No not that I have noticed. I do notice that my BG is higher during my period. Don’t know if that helps

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7

You may find this helpful.

https://www.diabetesdaily.com/learn-about-diabetes/treatment/insulin-101/how-to-use-insulin/insulin-requirements-throughout-the-menstrual-cycle/

Portion of link

The levels of the hormone, namely estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) fluctuate with the different stages and can affect insulin sensitivity, leading to marked changes in blood glucose levels.

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Thanks for that link. :slight_smile:

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9

Yeah, I was one of those who had lows before my period. My doctor t the time kept saying most women have highs not lows.
Well, doctor change and magically she believed me no she said yes, most women have highs but some have lows before their period start. Since I was never on a regular cycle, it was the only way I knew it was coming. It usually took me one day of lows to realize and than switch my pump to period profile. It was very helpful having a pump with profile set.
As with everything diabetes, there is no normal. We are all different and until doctors realize that just because most do one thing means we all do that.

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10

My period definitely affects my insulin needs, but not as predictably as I would like (so that I can simply switch to different preprogrammed settings). Generally, the week before menstruation starts, my basal needs roughly double; bolus (i.e., IC ratio) I still haven’t precisely figured out, but I need more insulin for sure. The week of menstruation I used to have lower needs, now it seems like more or less I go back to my regular levels, but tend to experience irregular lows. All in all, this is the most difficult part of my diabetes management currently.

ETA: It sounds like I only got periods recently so am still trying to adjust, which is not the case. :slight_smile: I used to use contraceptive pills prior to my pregnancy and birth which actually made the fluctuations pretty predictable at the time. Since I had a child a few years ago, I have been using a copper IUD (non-hormonal), so the struggles I describe have only been going on for the past couple of years since my period returned and I am contending with my own hormonal profile.

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