The 2-3 days before my period I seem to get insulin resistance. It’s hard to deal with and throws yet another variable into the mix. Do you have a set basal for that time? Does going on the pill help?
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I have no reason to want to know this as I am a man and if I were a woman I’d be postmenopausal. But you see, I am cursed with malignant curiosity since birth, I think.
I am sure that the hormone changes through the cycle affects BG control. I mean, why not, everything else seems to as well. I am curious about blood glucose maintenance is handled by women. Yeah, it’s probably creepy.
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My BG always ran high just before my period (I am post). I know you will get good advice about a basal to adjust for the resistance. Why dont you play around with a basal program for these few days, keeping the changes small until you find what works for you?
Like everything else with diabetes, small changes and close attention to the results.
Personally, I don’t think adding the hormones from the pill would be a good idea. I see where you’re coming from with the idea, but you’d be putting a cocktail of man-made hormones into your body (insulin & pill) to go with the ones your body is already making - including the stress hormones from the whole situation!
Stay patient and don’t let anyone tell you the issue is ‘all in your head’. Womens healthier has a long way to go.
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Here are a couple of the threads where this has been discussed in the past, I am sure it will spur new questions and discussions:
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And the thread talking about birth control:
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Thanks, Chris, for posting those links!
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@PP777, so I set out to build and build up the Women’s Health Category here on FUD. Everyone has been wonderful in supporting that endeavor…because it is ludicrous that female endocrine systems don’t get figured into “endocrinology” as it applies to diabetics. That’s insane.
From our small sample size on FUD, and through lots of generous sharing and discussion, I think it’s generally safe to claim the following observations as sound:
- While there might be trends for insulin resistance and sensitivity throughout female hormone cycling, everyone could experience it differently.
- We may experience different amounts of insulin resistance and sensitivity throughout our reproductive life (think prime of our life vs perimenopause vs menopause, etc).
- Depending on the type of birth control used, it could dampen the effects of swinging insulin resistance and sensitivity throughout each cycle compared to not being on birth control at all. (I experienced this firsthand and it was jolting.)
- Due to the “Not It!” game that my medical providers play with me when I ask about the safety of long-term birth control use as a diabetic with family history of stroke and breast cancer and heart disease, none of my doctors will weigh in with advice. GP, OB/GYN, and Endo all point at each other as the person whom I should talk to. I researched as much as I could about various health implications of birth control on diabetic women and it’s listed in the research link above.
- GENERALLY, women could see a 10-30% increased need for basal insulin around ovulation, and pre-period. I personally see my biggest insulin resistance on Day 23 of a 28 day cycle. This is when progesterone spikes the highest, coincidentally (well, causally, in my opinion).
- I personally note that my insulin needs for meals also goes up as I become generally more resistant. BUT, the biggest help for me is increasing my pre-bolus time up to an hour (FOR ME…try that out in increments before you commit to it. Your body might be different). With the longer pre-bolus time during resistant days, I can maintain acceptable bg control and eat enough without pouring in insane amounts of extra insulin to manage the bg spike. Bc I hate the resulting crazy drops randomly in my day when I really don’t have time to deal with those. I like efficient insulin dosing…which means muchhhhhh longer pre-bolus times when my hormones are running high.
- And I see a big swing from resistance to super sensitivity anywhere from a day before my cycle restarts to five days after it restarts. It makes life FUN and EXCITING that way by not being able to predict it!
- I track my cycle in the Fitbit app on my phone. There is a calendar on it where you can make notes. Whenever my bg is not reacting like I’d expect it to, my first stop is to see in the Fitbit calendar which cycle day I’m on…and every freaking time it’s like, “Oh. I’m ovulating again. Already? Hmmm. Guess I need to turn up the basal!”
If I missed anything or if you’d like to ask anything else, please do! This is a great and NECESSARY topic! 
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Thanks all ya wonderful people. These answers are above and beyond:) I have basically been throwing in the towel a few days a month but it’s not what I want and that adds up. I like the idea of extending the prebolous and could see that maybe working for me…going to ask my Endo about that tomorrow and if I do obviously proceed with extreme caution:)
The other issue is my mood goes down the toilet and I struggle to care (or sometimes even leave my house due to extended crying bouts). It’s pretty awful. So it’s that much harder to make myself take care of the Diabetes! Hoping to make some progress in that area too. One of my friends told me about something called PMDD and I fit the description but idk I’m not a doctor. I’ll mention that tomorrow to my Endo too.
UPDATE: Just had my Endo appt. and we decided together we’d continue working on perfecting my basal rate for most of the month that has MUCH improved before attempting to determine a separate period basal rate for my monthly cycle. I’m going to try to experiment with pre-bolusing perhaps a little longer (or at least do it at all ha ha) and keep the carbs as low as I my willpower will allow during that time to try to smooth things out a bit, but mostly focus on the rest of the month for now.
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I’m so sorry to hear that you’re suffering, as all of us ladies go through our own variation of progesterone and estrogen messes and:
I’m not going to reiterate some of the wonderful things I would’ve shared with you, but have already been shared on this post. I will however share with you a little bit of my experience and how I’ve learned to curb some of my issues.
The week leading up to my period I am wildly insulin resistant, I have set a basal preset with my Omnipod dash for this week… also have to turn it on and off throughout some days because hormones are annoying and unpredictable. I keep a close eye on my CGM and I raise only when I need to.
The week of my period, I’m typically very insulin sensitive. Pre-bolusing just isn’t safe for me if I wait more than 15 mins. joyyyyyy. This month however, I’m noticing that my hormones are affecting me differently! I am at day 2 out on the red river of death (
) and I was insulin sensitive this morning, but insulin resistant around lunch. 
I notice that around my egg week 
I have a lotttttt more insulin resistance, so I have a basal preset for this as well. We say it all the time on here: YDMV(Your Diabetes May Vary) so as Allison pointed out, we’re all our own little wonderful snowflakes when it comes to hormonal imbalances and how they affect our sugar. However, Allison gave me really good advice when I noticed a trend the first month I had my CGM on - study yourself when this happens, document things and note them down, try to learn your body and what it wants/needs from you. I understand that may be a little difficult for you, being your emotional state is affected by these shifts in your body as well. Just ride the waves, try and study yourself when you can, and take deep breaths. We’re all here, even if we can’t give you a definitive answer on how to treat your monthly monster… we’re always here to listen/read anytime you wanna reach out! It’s good that you discussed this with your Endo and they’re willing to work with you on finding a worthy solution. Mine made me laugh because he told me periods “shouldn’t affect blood sugar control too much” my Diabetes Educator was the one I was able to openly discuss it with, and when she helped me set up my pump she gave me broad suggestions about basal presets and temp basal being my bestest buddy in times like these.
You’re going to figure out what works for you! In the meantime, just do your best during this tough time and remember - eventually it’ll be over and you’ll get that 1 beautiful week of perfect control haha. That’s what I tell myself some months, and it helps on the really tough days.
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O.M.G.
I’m dying laughing over here…because it’s so totally flipping true!!!
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Reading this thread has made me appreciate how well you women do with constantly changing hormones and insulin sensitivity/resistance. We men would probably fail completely. 
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The only glorious, holy, week we get to truly be ourselves. 
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You really would lmao. That’s not even an insult, it’s the hard truth. Ty for acknowledging! 
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“the red river of death” LOLLLLLLLL so accurate!! Thanks for your reply. I hope to one day figure it all out! At least for me it seems to be mostly 1 week of issues vs 1 good week a month.
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You will! It just takes time and patience, you’ll get there! We were all where you once were… And every small step forward is a foot in the right direction!
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