Is it the vaccine!?!?!

[cxl0702]

We’re to start with out giving so much data away it becomes a GDPR nightmare

43 type 1 for 4 years
Using Toujeo 60 units a day
Recently moved onto Lyumjev was on Fissp

Roll the clock 2 years back my Hba1c was low 50’s Now it’s 74 mmol

What does the consultant say well not allot really there was an idea that I was having dawn phenomena. but to be honest I am yet to meet a consultant that can do more than write a prescription I had to pay for a private consultant to tell my GP I was type 1 that insisted I was type 2. Which when you look at my libre data is harder to see now and getting scary. How is live different from 2 years ago. It has not got any worse that’s for sure. More active than ever peloton tread and a bike and a crazy horse keep me busy. My weight actually starting to drop a little as in kgs but that may be down to using the tread a bit to much.

My question is anyone else experiencing higher HBA1C post vaccines?

 

[EllieM]

43 type 1 for 4 years
Using Toujeo 60 units a day
Recently moved onto Lyumjev was on Fissp

Roll the clock 2 years back my Hba1c was low 50’s Now it’s 74 mmol

If you've only been T1 for 4 years it could just be that your honeymoon has ended? (I assume you definitely mean T1 (LADA?), you might want to change your profile which says T2).

Honestly, over the decades that I've been T1 my hba1c has gone up and down a fair amount, insulin needs change. But if your hba1c has gone up so much surely this has been reflected in your blood tests? If not, then maybe you should check your libre against a glucometer to check the accuracy....

And one last thought. Any chance you are anaemic? That can mess up hba1c results. (There are other conditions also.)

 

[Antje77]

Your insulin to carbs ratio, and the amount of insulin you need overall doesn't stay the same over the years, especially not in the first years after diagnosis.
Do you adjust the amount of insulin you take based on how it affects your BG? Are you sure your basal dose is right?

 

[cxl0702]

I did have some crazy first thing in the morning blood test I had to do at the hospital. That confirmed 100% type 1 when I was diagnosed the honeymoon period was already over. Interesting you mention anaemic. I only compare Hba1c with what the libre predicts and an actual blood test. Which with the V2 has been allot closer V1 would over estimate. I don’t do finger pricking anymore.

 

[cxl0702]

Your insulin to carbs ratio, and the amount of insulin you need overall doesn't stay the same over the years, especially not in the first years after diagnosis.
Do you adjust the amount of insulin you take based on how it affects your BG? Are you sure your basal dose is right?

The consultant would say my slow is right. Fast acting to me is not fast it takes for ever to bring BG down. The amount of insulin would be right but the time is 3 hours. I can accelerate that but end up in hypo. After breakfast I very rarely get down before lunch then get down again before my evening meal. If I throw a run in I can accelerate that a little.

 

[In Response]

What makes you think your honeymoon period is over?
I found my insulin dose rose very slowly over the first eight years after diagnosis. I would need to increase my dose a little every 6 months or so
Then things settled down. I say "settled" but a decade later and I still need to make tweaks
The last tweak was just after my Covid vaccinations. Since my first covid jab, my basal requirements have reduced by 15%.

If your levels return to normal levels, it appears your dose/ratios are correct but your timing needs adjusting. Your carb absorption high is happening before your insulin potency reaches its peak which suggests you need to take your bolus earlier. How long before eating do you pre bolus?

 

[becca59]

The consultant would say my slow is right. Fast acting to me is not fast it takes for ever to bring BG down. The amount of insulin would be right but the time is 3 hours. I can accelerate that but end up in hypo. After breakfast I very rarely get down before lunch then get down again before my evening meal. If I throw a run in I can accelerate that a little.

If it’s back down after 3 hours your dose is correct. It can take 3-5 hours to be back in range.
As @In Response says you may need to be taking it earlier so it is working in the system as the food hits.
One thing that does concern me is that you are not doing any finger tests. Even with Libre you should be doing some. Before giving corrections. When hypo. To check reliability when new Libre is activated. I don’t do them all the time but I still use a few.

 

[cxl0702]

If you've only been T1 for 4 years it could just be that your honeymoon has ended? (I assume you definitely mean T1 (LADA?), you might want to change your profile which says T2).

Honestly, over the decades that I've been T1 my hba1c has gone up and down a fair amount, insulin needs change. But if your hba1c has gone up so much surely this has been reflected in your blood tests? If not, then maybe you should check your libre against a glucometer to check the accuracy....

And one last thought. Any chance you are anaemic? That can mess up hba1c results. (There are other conditions also.)

i just noticed your moderator and staff member. That is really interesting considering you did not actually read my post and answer my actual question. The answer should have only been yes or no

 

[Jaylee]

My question is anyone else experiencing higher HBA1C post vaccines?

Hi,

I can't say mine has..
& I've had other things changing in life, too.

 

[Antje77]

i just noticed your moderator and staff member. That is really interesting considering you did not actually read my post and answer my actual question. The answer should have only been yes or no

The answer can't be yes or no, as nobody can know for sure.

This forum is a place where members are trying to help eachother, in this case by not fixating on any single cause of a rise in blood glucose but looking at the bigger picture of what is going on.

If your hba1c has risen it doesn't matter if the cause is a vaccine, your body producing less insulin or the colour of your socks. What matters is adjusting your dose to the BG numbers you see on a daily base.
By using the Libre you must have noticed your numbers have been higher than before, even without getting your hba1c tested.

And for what it's worth, the amount of insulin I use has stayed roughly the same after getting the vaccines, and so has my hba1c.

 

[JMK1954]

For me, the answer was yes and no. I had to take more insulin for a number of days, (7 to 12 possibly ?) but then things stabilised again, so I had to drop back to my original usual number of units.

 

[Draco16]

Haven't noticed anything post vaccine myself. But my blood sugar (and thus insulin requirements) are often changing over time.

A possibility for your situation could also be long covid as that seems to do all manner off odd / bad things for our organs and systems.

But regardless, it doesn't really matter what the cause is (eg even if you reached certainty it was the vaccine, you can't unvaccinate yourself now). You need to deal with the resulting high blood sugars now.

74 Hba1c is right on the border of dangerously high. That translates to an average reading reading of 12 mmol/L. If that's the average there'll be alot of time when you're over 14 and need to be checking for ketones. Exercising at those times is very dangerous.

You mention losing weight, but that's likely a result of these high blood sugars. Your body is not properly able to use the food you eat.

When running high it does require more insulin to get you back down eg 1 unit might bring me down from 9 to 6, but i'd need 1.5 to 2 units to bring me down from 15 to 12

Generally you're not taking enough insulin versus your carbs and activity as your average blood sugars are too high. As you're constantly high, I don' see how your background insulin can be correct. Do a basal test yourself rather than rely on your consultants guess.

 

[NicoleC1971]

I had no bg reaction to my 2 pfizer jabs. On the other hand my hba1c junped to 64 from 54 but I attribute this to being stuck at home overcompensating for my kids' lockdown experience by baking. It is now down to 48.
Regardless of whether you make any insulin of your own, it is possible to become insulin resistant on larger doses of insulin /higher cab diet. That is only 1 reason for your hba1c to have increased btw but I am trying to stick to your question.
Vaccination or illness should provole only a temporary need for more insulin as your body battles an invader.

 

[boggle]

It's not a nice thought, but do you think you might be developing insulin resistance?

 

[oldgreymare]

No noticeable effect on BGs from 2x AZ vaccines, nor from Pfizer booster. Also no rise in BGs when I had covid (mild cold like symptoms) last month.

 

[cxl0702]

It's not a nice thought, but do you think you might be developing insulin resistance?

Getting moved onto a pump now and back to FISSP until that is sorted. Consultant can’t make head no tails of it anymore than me.