It has heated up here, pretty quickly, this week and my D is a total wreck. My wonderful, stand by me husband is as tired of it as I am and showing the strain. I lowered my basal from 12.75 to 10.45 over the week, and am still having lows. That is a reduction of 2.3 units per day or nearly a 20% drop. AND I AM STILL LOW!
Eating correctly, no exercise changes, no stress (except D,) changed bottles of insulin, sensor has been spot on with readings, have changed sets, figured in everything, but am still low. At dinner I was 50, but have been as low as 36 this week.
Any one on this board affected this severely by weather changes? (Good thing this year--no paramedics have been required.) Anybody else? Thoughts, ideas? I could really use some help. Thanks.
I find my basal requirements can change significantly with temperature - and it can happen quickly. I spent two weeks in Africa in the middle of our winter - it was 100 degrees there - and my total daily Levimir dose went from 25 units to 12 within about 36 hours.
This is because the heat improves your circulation and dilates your capillaries, I’m told, and hence increases the efficacy of your insulin.
I like to tell the story of when I went from my cool mountain home in Guatemala to the hot humid beach for a weekend. I walked to a wonderful Italian restaurant right on the beach to treat myself to a rare home made ravioli lunch. I ordered my meal and then tested and went to give myself my shot. I was using pens back then and when I went to inject the pen needle broke. I hadn't brought a spare with me to restaurant, my hotel was a hot 15 minute walk back and my food had been ordered. So I decided to just go ahead and eat and deal with the crazy high I knew I'd find when I got back to my hotel. Well that high never came! A good size plate of ravioli! I could bolus appropriately for such a lunch and still end up in the 200s. In fact I never did bolus for that lunch as I was borderline low. I remained low for the whole weekend despite reduced doses. I posted here about it at the time but there was no doubt in my mind it was the heat. When I returned to my normal climate my blood sugar too went back to normal.
I've never had that dramatic an experience since, though I do see a small drop in insulin needs as it gets warmer. I can't explain that, but wonder if it was the suddenness of the weather change? I may find out because I woke up this morning at 34 and by Wednesday we are scheduled to break 90! Hope it evens out soon, Spock. Stay safe!
Hmmm...Christopher's experience was also with a very sudden severe weather change as well!
I not only had to reduce my basal rates, I had to reduce my bolus and insulin to carb ratios. With better improved delicious weather comes a lot more activity, a really positive upbeat attitude, and sunny happy feelings, in addition to a speeded up metabolism. I have learned to be ready for the season and have trained hubs to trust me to deal with it. When he gets "tired of it" I ask him to imagine being the body it is happening to, and tell him he can bite me! LOL I don't know if I would call the changes necessary to be severe but they do happen to me, too. Take care!
Spock, it's warm here too and I too now am having lows, have dropped my levemir down to 4u pm and think it's still gonna be too much and also my I:CR. Maybe it has to do with warmer weather and Vitamin D efficiency? I'm very very low in Vitamin D, supposed to be supplementing with a Rx (don't like taking stuff, ugh)...so maybe the more sun the more vitamin and that helps with blood sugars, too?
I take Vitamin D supplements and have great test results. Honestly, it has to be just the heat. There has been some increased activity, but I have been low so much, I feel rooted to a chair. I actually fell yesterday--low and did not know it. I just hate this!!!
I really like Christopher's response--it makes sense to me.
yes, i hear ya. i think it may be a combination of many things. I ate 31 grams of carbs for lunch (including fresh berries and whole wheat organic bread - yum!), only gave myself 1.5 units and my BG's haven't even moved, just flat at 90. That's ALL good but when it's low on basal, that's the tough one, cause...we're just low all day/night and the bolus becomes tricky. good luck!
I know. I have been told to "please - just turn that thing down" a time or two. I was starting to wonder if the insulin is improved and we just need a lot less. My own lessened insulin requirement started well before the weather change. I thought I was on the way to being cured!
I do love the warmer seasons. Nothing better than tossing the gloves, the jackets, the sweat shirts and sweat pants, and socks and heading out into the sun all day long. I sure don't mind needing less insulin, and YAY for pumps, makes it pretty easy to lower the amounts :)
