background insulin & girls stuff :)

[ebony321]

Heeeey,

just a question for peoples opinions,

As a lady/girl/woman whatever you'dlike to call me :lol: when it's that time of the month my inslin requirements tend to go down a little, i'm still fine my my usual ratio of 3:1 at meal times, i usually decrease my background by 2units til i feel it's stopped making me go a bit low, sometimes in the low-mid 4's and sometimes into a hypo so i dont hesitate in decreasing without delay as i've learnt it's definately that!

over the past 5 days i've gone from my usual 14 in the morning and 16 at night (lantus)

and gone down to 12/12...

Now it's gone past that time of the month i'm finding that i'm still going a bit low usually just before dinner and tea.. when i've gone the longest between meals..(another reason why iknow it's not my ratios)

my suspicion is because of the nice hot weather we've been having??? so i'm not sure wether put it backup to my usual or play it by ear for now?

Do any other ladies have this problem too, well not really a problem but a common thing?

I'd love my insulin requirements to stay low, but as i'm told by my nurse i'm likely to need a bit more because of my 'raging hormones' HA!

I'm not overweight and average height, exercise daily and eat anywhere from 60-100g carbs a day which for now i don't want to change.

any expriences comments suggestions welcome,even from the guys

 

[Snodger]

Yep, it's very common for insulin requirements to change during a period. Mine used to, dramatically - I would need more insulin in the week just before, then suddenly my blood sugars would drop on the first day of my period and I'd have to take 2 units less until about the third day.
As I've got older (i.e. from my late twenties) the effect has got less and now I don't really notice a difference at different times of the month.
I've heard others say they have the exact reverse, that their insulin requirements RISE on the first day of the period. Basically, the hormones have an effect, and we all have to work out what that effect is on us at various times in our lives.

But you are also right that the hot weather can have an effect. Walking around on a hot day, I need less insulin than if I was walking around on a cold day. As far as I know, that's fairly constant for most people, hot weather makes insulin more effective - although exactly how much more effective varies from person to person.

I wouldn't worry about how much insulin you use though... if you need it, you need it. You aren't a 'better person' if your insulin requirements are low, any more than you are a 'better person' if you are short and need smaller clothes!

 

[badmedisin]

Yep, I think it's pretty common for ladygirlwomen to have different insulin requirements thanks to the joys of womanhood. I used to have constant hypos. Mind you, I also used to get proper suicidal pmt and the only way I found to manage it was to go on depo and just not bother doing any of that women's stuff! At the time, the nurse said 'do you think you can live without periods?' Hell yes!!

Apparently you burn more calories during your period too (might be some sort of consolation).

You're right, the heat will affect your bg as well. Oh the endless fun! I guess you'll just have to keep a close eye on it and adjust insulin as you need. Hopefully they'll let you have a pump soon, it'll probably make all these changes easier to manage

 

[Lynne C]

Hi there, it's common for your insulin needs to change with your hormones and hot weather can make you need less insulin too. Pretty much everything can affect your insulin levels, unfortunately it's down to experience and experiment. If your blood sugars regularly drop near your periods try having less insulin, you can always have another unit of fast acting insulin later on if you need to. Changing your long acting or basal insulin is a bit trickier but better to try less than risk an early morning hypo.

Good luck!

 

[ebony321]

thanks for your comments guys!

very re-assuring!

i've further lowered my BI this morning and tonight, i've also been checking my BG's two hours after meals just to see whats going on and i seem to be getting below the 5's pretty quick so i'm als gonna try a 21/2 ratio tomorrow too to see if that helps

i'm hoping for a pump soon so bad! i have my appointment a week tomorrow so i'm hoping good news!

i love the hot weather but not when it plays havoc!!

thanks again!