Do periods affect blood sugar levels?

[Jessielouiseb]

So I’ve recently reversed my diabetes with my hba1c being 5% (31)....yesterday I started my period which hasn’t been consistent every month, I’ve been testing my blood sugars in the morning and it was 6.5 yesterday and 7.2 today?!....yet I’ve been eating no different than usual.

I’m a little upset as I feel I’m back to square one and done nothing wrong to cause it to be high.
Am I causing damage to my body?
Do non diabetics get higher blood sugar when they have their periods? Is it normal?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

So I’ve recently reversed my diabetes with my hba1c being 5% (31)....yesterday I started my period which hasn’t been consistent every month, I’ve been testing my blood sugars in the morning and it was 6.5 yesterday and 7.2 today?!....yet I’ve been eating no different than usual.

I’m a little upset as I feel I’m back to square one and done nothing wrong to cause it to be high.
Am I causing damage to my body?
Do non diabetics get higher blood sugar when they have their periods? Is it normal?

You're all good, it's normal. Hormones mess up your bloodglucose for a bit, that's all.

 

[Jessielouiseb]

You're all good, it's normal. Hormones mess up your bloodglucose for a bit, that's all.

Thhnaks, so is this something that happens to people who don’t have diabetes?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thhnaks, so is this something that happens to people who don’t have diabetes?

Oestrogen and Progesteron influence bloodsugarlevels in just about anyone, and they fluctuate when you're premenstrual. Far as I know that's a bit universal.

 

[Guzzler]

Aye. And the lower levels of hormones (perimenopausal and postmenopausal) affect bg too. Finicky little blighters are hormones.

 

[Juicyj]

Yes as an insulin dependent diabetic periods are a nightmare to deal with, unpredictable and can mess things up for days for me, can be doing really well and bam it throws my control out. All hormones impact on glucose control, so stress too is another to watch out for.

 

[Jessielouiseb]

Thanks both...hopefully they will come down once the next few days, was really worrying for a second

 

[Cocosilk]

Thhnaks, so is this something that happens to people who don’t have diabetes?

I would be careful of assuming that all healthy insulin sensitive women have fasting glucose levels in the diabetic range prior to menstruation. I'm not 100% sure but I imagine it might be similar to the insulin resistance all women experience during pregnancy. Only those with problematic underlying insulin resistance end up with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes, as in my case with an elevated fasting level. Mine was only 5.1mmol when I was diagnosed at 28 weeks but crept up to 5.6 mmol by the end of the pregnancy. It's not that high but it's not optimal either.
My current reaction to carbs seems to still give me spikes to 8 and 9 mmol, which I think is higher than ideal so I'm sticking with a low carb diet.
You may have a good average but your sensitivity to carbs and hormones remains in the problematic range because of continued underlying insulin resistance.
I'd stick with very low carb eating and allow your body to continue using up the stores and over time it should improve, provided you continue to limit your carb intake.
Any elevated blood sugar is not ideal. I imagine healthy insulin sensitive women's blood sugar would fluctuate, but not much outside of the normal range. That's what I think anyway.

And from what I've just read, it's progesterone in both late pregnancy and the second half of the menstrual cycle that rises causing insulin resistance (on top of any preexisting insulin resistance) and makes the blood sugar rise.
In pregnancy, the insulin resistance helps to deliver more nutrients to the growing baby, which is what nature intended, but if you already had insulin resistance before pregnancy, your blood sugar levels will be higher in pregnancy and can cause the baby to grow too big too fast, which is one of the possible complications of gestational diabetes.
I'm not sure what purpose the insulin resistance serves prior to menstruation. Anyone?

I have the opposite situation while breastfeeding where my blood sugar levels probably look better than they really are because progesterone is suppressed by other breastfeeding hormones.