Claritin D, Inflammation and Hormone Induced Insulin Resistance

Women's Health Hormones
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So Disclaimers: I could be TOTALLY full of beans here…this could possibly ONLY happen in my body…I am not a doctor…I am not recommending anything to anyone.

Just sharing my empirical observations…not sure if there is any cause and effect…and not sure if it is even consistent…but I am ping ponging this idea around in my head…

…when I have my “hormone storms” as I call them…which when I say that I mean my significant insulin resistance from ovulation through before PMS starts (I still have relative insulin resistance during PMS as compared to the first half of my cycle pre-ovulation…but WAY less than the window I just specified)…it really doesn’t matter what I do with my basal, my dosing, my prebolusing, my exercise…it’s just a full-on timeframe of blood sugar suck. It just sticks at 220-240 and hates me.

I was dealing with this today. My pod site looked like it had a red ring around the cannula which is not super atypical for me…but no blood so I didn’t pull it.

I had had a huge hormone spike starting at 2AM that I was wrestling back down all morning.

I decided to take a Claritin D at 11AM and by 3PM my blood sugar has fallen beautifully back in line…same pod…and tomorrow should be my worst insulin resistance day (Day 23 is always my worst day…that’s when my progesterone is at its highest).

I do also have rosacea…which is an inflammatory type issue.

Claritin D does a whole lot of anti-inflammatory things (Google it…I didn’t feel like copying and pasting).

I’m just kicking around the idea that maybe my body is more inflammation prone or inflammation sensitive and either hormones have an outsized affect on my insulin sensitivity…or hormones cause an inflammatory reaction in me that an anti-inflammatory can help calm to stop the insulin resistance…

…I am someone who cannot take any kind of HRT based on my history of extremely bad reactions to very low doses of hormones. I also am extremely sensitive to most medicines.

And maybe this is something that could have broader applicability to other women if this got studied (which I know is nearly impossible).

I just wonder at this possibility though. Maybe the Claritin D is calming my pod site…which I only use for basal and not boluses…so that doesn’t really explain why my dinner dose via injection did so tremendously well tonight if I’m looking just at site reaction.

Things that make me go hmmmm….

Open to ideas and constructive feedback on kicking hypotheticals around.

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That really interesting as the D in Claritin D is Pseudoephedrine which increases insulin resistance.

Both pseudoephedrine (decongestant) and loratadine (antihistamine) have shown anti inflammatory effects. So maybe that’s the benefit to you even though pseudoephedrine elevated insulin resistance.

My motto is Do what works for you.

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I love your motto!

And my doctors consistently refer to me as an “outlier” and it’s typically in an annoyed tone. LOL

I was chatting with a girlfriend today who is awaiting an explanation of some odd test results. In trying to reassure her during her wait, I told her that I frequently get told that my test results or symptoms “are not normal but don’t seem to be bad”.

Awesome. Facepalm.

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Are you the Allison who lives (drives) in the hyper fast lane? There is an Allison who likes fast cars.

Anyway, my endo hasn’t used outlier for me, but he and his staff are amazed at my numbers, even when I’m not. As a T2 on a pump I deal with high insulin resistance constantly. Now mine is fairly controlled with regular exercise.

I remember reading about women and their hormonal hurricane. Some had no issues, some premenstrual, some during menstruation and some post menstrual, and with some it caused hypos and some hypers. For more than one reason, I got it easy, comparatively. Oh and there are those women with PCOS.

All of you are in my prayers and heart.

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That’s me! I got a Miata for the upcoming season. It’s not fast, but it is fun! I guess it’s faster thru the corners than my race minivan is!

And thank you for your kind words. I think we’ve all got plenty going on to figure out as it comes…you’ve had your own challenges for sure! And I appreciate your perspective and supportiveness of others through everything you’ve had to manage!!

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@T1Allison Sorry you’re having to deal with the issue, but glad you may have found an approach to deal with it! Ref @CarlosLuis comments, perhaps you’re one of the people that has inverse actions/reactions (not sure what’s right there) to particular meds! A guy I knew in HS had a brother with ADHD; tried about every “downer” on the market to control it (the whole family was warned not to touch the pills without gloves). Finally, a doc finally tried giving the boy what was described as an “upper”! Lo and behold, the kid’s ADHD was stopped dead in its tracks. What a difference! Anyway, hope the Claritan D keeps working for you if you decide to try it.

Like @T1Allison, I’m not a doc or pharmacist and don’t recommend trying this approach; talk to your own doc and make your own decisions. That said, following @CarlosLuis’s philosophy, if it works for you it works for you!

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No insights from me, but I am curious how you logged everything to figure out your personal patterns! I’ve struggled to tell what could be hormonal vs. just a random diabetes shift.

That’s my husband’s dream car for AutoX. Sounds like you’ll have a fun season!

It’s so interesting how treatments change! My understanding now is that ADHD is recognized to involve dopamine deficiency, so “uppers” tend to work to increase dopamine or block dopamine re-uptake. Fascinating!

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My overnight trends tend to be a good indicator of where I’m at with my hormones…I have to increase my basal as my cycle progresses.

I eat a lot of repetitive meals…so when my “first half of my cycle” dose no longer covers it completely and I have to raise my meal doses…that’s hormones.

And when I get super carb sensitive and my heightened meal doses aren’t cutting it and I have to add an hour of pre-bolus time…that’s hormones.

It can be really difficult to figure out of it is hormones or if it is a bad pod site. I’ll get bad pod sites that aren’t absorbing well, but they don’t look bad at all. If I swap the pod and everything settles down within a few hours of the pod swap…then I conclude that it was a bad pod site. If I swap the pod and it still doesn’t settle down…well, dang it, that’s hormones, too.

I’m always trying to figure out which lever to pull and how far to pull it, but it is getting increasingly challenging to diagnose it and get the results I want as I get older.

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I love 2 seater option roadsters. The other day I saw a TF MG for 13,000. It may have been a kit car, it was all I could do to just drive on.:sweat_smile: I hate being practical, but it makes sense.

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Thanks for posting your experience. This is the real life type stuff that really can make a difference and lots of people’s lives of people with share like this. I remain wide open to anything that can help and love to hear of stuff like this. I know I’ve got inflammatory issues because I had a positive ANA on a recent test. So I’m particularly interested. I bet others here can possibly a test to similar experiences. Thank you.

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I’ve not had BG changes that I’ve noticed re hormone fluctuations, (and am now post-menopausal), but I often find myself an outlier or more sensitive than others. I love that you’re noticing and sharing this, because it will likely help someone.

One example of my odd reactions - when I recently tried Flonase at my insertion site, which is supposed to help with the inflammation I often get, it seemed to increase my BG for hours after, possibly because it’s a steroid-type drug (sorry I’m forgetting the correct terminology). My CDE said it shouldn’t do that, but it sure seemed to for me.

thanks!

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Long time I’ve seen anyone comment on MGs, and that was in the UK. They aren’t kit; MG made a whole load of cars. The only one I ever got close to was in Cambridge when I worked for Acorn, a co-worker had an MG, I think an MGB:

She didn’t let me in it; I’m 6’3 and I guess my head would have sticked up above the parapet. Two seats, full four-point racing harnesses. Can’t remember if she had fitted a roll-over bar.

It’s one of those cars, like the off-roaders always go for CJ7’s and so on; not particularly practical but very cool.

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I am perfectly aware that MGs were not kit cars, but there are kit car replicas available for a whole host of car models no longer in production. The first one I saw was a Shelby Cobra (not a mustang). Here’s a link to MG T series replicas.

I wonder if it has the same finicky carburetors of the MGB or Lucas electrics?

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Awesome MG discussion! I had a red 1980 MGB. Loved that car. So much fun to drive and didn;t cost a million dollars. I went on to have a 2002 Porsche Boxster in metallic navy and a beautiful Cobalt blue 2005 Boxster. Loved their growl and speed, but worried all the time that there would be a particular engine failure some were known to have and would have no insurance recourse, so sold. Then had a wonderful metallic blue Miata, 2013 Hardtop convertible. So reliable and fun! Well, going down car memory lane, I should mention my first car in 1978 was a 1966 yellow restored Mustang convertible. Dad sold it when I got in teenage fun trouble, but then got me a 1969 Nova which was really fast and people called it white lightning. Later in 80s-90s I loved my sort of celestial blue Honda CRX and briefly a Toyota Supra turbo (spent half my salary from my first post college job on that in 1988 I think). Then enjoyed a Honda Prelude in mid 90s. And now have the car I owned the longest which is a Lexus IS 250 C convertible. I am buying a new used car soon, but have enjoyed the smooth quiet ride of this one, but it drives like a boat. I love cars. Also had a 1977 Jeep CJ-7 with Levi interior (in the 8os), Ford Pinto station wagon (another period of having teenage trouble and losing my Nova, but being allowed to get that. Actually liked its space in the back and blue interior, white color), and briefly had a 1995 Toyota 4Runner in a beautiful rare blue color, but could not afford insurance for both it and the Prelude. The MGB is one of the ones I miss most (and the Jeep and 4Runner and Miata and Mustang and Nova). Sorry - I think I just elaborated too much, but what fun reminiscing this morning. Many cars just seem to bore me now. I think I will look for an Acura RDX from 3-4 years ago because they come in a bright blue. Thanks for letting me digress! Now to tend to my two alarms that went off during this fun time!

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Darn that diabetes interfering with fun nostalgia.

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True!

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I have had T1 for 65 years. I have long known that diabetes affects everything and everything affects diabetes. It’s a Catch-22…if you have a health issue it screws up your glucose, and if your diabetes gets weird it will make your other issues worse.

My issue is with steroids. They absolutely send my readings into the stratosphere for a month. If a doctor recommends steroids I will not take them.

Steve

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If you ever get the chance try an MZ3. Everyone was buying the boxies, but the MZ3 was insane. The only thing I can think of that ever compared is downhill skiing; control, but only up to a point.

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Wow! Totally off my radar! Sounds like good trouble to me! Thanks for informing me!

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I feel your pain! Alas, I have to do as minimalist as possible, corticosteroids during allergy time and one singe snort creates issues. Not to mention when I was recently put on Fludrocortisone (doc said, “it’s hardly a steroid” for low aldosterone and sodium. I had to take myself off of it and felt so much better once it was fully out of my system. The balancing act seems near impossible at times.

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