Cold weather

crystal

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
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Sport, high heels, fatty food.
I've had Type 1 for 15 years, on a pump since last April. My problem is abnormal insulin sensitivity, which gets worse during very cold weather, causing lots of hypos, despite reducing the insulin. I think this is the coldest winter since I was diagnosed and the effect is much worse than ever before. I wonder if the pump is also making it more noticeable. I've even switched off the pump for over an hour mid-morning and still had a hypo just before lunch! My blood glucose goes back up to the usual levels on mild days, so I'm in no doubt that it is affected by the temperatures. However my consultant says there is no evidence that cold temperatures affect blood glucose levels, with or without a pump, so there isn't any useful advice available, but I can't believe that I'm a minority of one. Is there anybody else out there with the same problem? I'd be grateful for any information at all.

Crystal
 

hanadr

Expert
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Are you perhaps burning more fuel to keep warm.
Trry to track when the effect is worst
Outdoors and being active or sat by the fire watching TV?
If the former then you need to eat more and reduce insulin, if there's no difference or the latter, ask to see your care team.
 

jopar

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,222
crystal

Be assured you aren't the only one who suffers this in cold whether, as I do to!

Being a dog handler means that first thing in the morning, you are pretty much ouside in all whetheres as you put out the dogs, clean there kennels and outside runs x15 kennels! At times I was working in temps at low as -6 degrees this winter...

The body requires more engery to keep you warm when you cold, so it makes sence that this is going to reflect on your BG control, this will be slightly different for each of us and is something that does need factoring in... I found that mornings wasn't so bad to keep on top of it, but the afternoons when the work load wasn't have heavy going, not only did I feel the cold more, but had harder trouble keeping hypos at bay...


What I did, was reduce my basal rate on my pump about a hour before I was due to start work, I ensured that I hate a slow burning carb for breakfast (weetibix in my case) I would also drop the insulin-carb ratio for this... This seemed to keep me going until breaktime, at this point I would have a chunky kitkat, which I wouldn't bolus for (as I knew I would burn this off) this would last until dinner time and I would have a BG around the 5 mark. I then would ensure that I ate someting hot, soup and roll (but nothing too heavy) and rice pudding for the afternoon slow burn..

Afternoon, I would have to check regularly to ensure that my levles were maintaining there levels, and take action if they looked like the were dropping too far,

I think the afternoon problems were more based around, because ativity was it is always less in the afternoon, no kennel cleaning unless one of the dogs had dirtied so the body has to work harder to keep warm so burning more energy, alongside the back up ad been used up in the morning...
 

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I think that the cold most definitely lowers my BS. Today has been a prime example. We have been in the middle of an horrendous storm, 130 kph winds, rain then snow. From midday we have had no heating. Because of the weather I've done no exercise , the only energy I've expended this afternoon was keeping warm. When we gave up waiting for the electricity to come back and cooked dinner on the camping stove, just an hour later than normal, my premeal BS was down to 2.5mmol. I'm certain it was just the cold.
(typically as we started to eat power was restored)
 

totsy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,041
Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Insulin
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liars, animal cruelty
hya,
me too, im not on a pump but when walking out doors in the cold im a lot more likely to hypo too :D
 

crystal

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Sport, high heels, fatty food.
Thanks for the information, everybody, I'm feeling a lot more confident about challenging my consultant's views when I next see him. I'm going to try Jopar's morning routine, perhaps I need to reduce the basal rate much sooner.

Crystal