Does anyone else need to increase basal in the winter? My bg's are much higher than normal and it seems like I also am more insulin resistant. I take Vitamin D, but I wonder what else I could take to make up for the summer sun. Do others adjust basal according to the season...or do you take any additional supplements to make up for the sun, or am I the only one with higher bg's in the winter and lower needs in the summer? I guess another question is, "How often, if ever, do you adjust your basal?" What do you look for that makes you adjust it?
Cindy
My wife asserts (strongly) that my basal rate should stay the same, but if your level of excercise or activity decreases in winter then your basal rate might need to go up; not because it's winter but because you excercise less.
My I/C ratio and my correction factor, however, both change; 12 grammes/IU in summer, 14 grammes/IU in winter and some decrease in the response of my blood sugar to correction boluses. This is almost certainly explained by a decreased rate of absorption of insulin in winter due to decreased skin temperature. Excercise in winter can make this particularly bad, in the past when on MDI I've experienced times when I did my morning shot, went out in the cold and it was as though I had forgotten the shot!
The real problem with winter is that it makes all of us except the maniac skiers lethargic. I take vitamin D too, but the best policy if you can afford it is to fly south.
John Bowler jbowler 2 acm.org