That dreaded 'Time of the month'

I’ve noticed a pattern these last few months…. a very disturbing pattern that has me praying for menopause. That ‘time of the month’ makes my BG unpredictable. I didn’t notice it the first month…. I think I was too freaked about the diagnoses and the metformin hadn’t fully kicked in yet. But I see the pattern now…. and I’m not liking it one little bit, thank you very much.

One report I read states that up to 67% of diabetic women reported premenstrual changes in their blood glucose levels and 70% reported changes during menstruation…. and that those changes seem to be more prevalent in women who also suffer from other premenstrual symptoms. http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/menses3-1.html To which I say…. WELL AIN’T THAT GREAT. I guess it’s not enough that I’m moody, crabby, crampy, bloated, bleeding like a stuffed pig and just generally feeling icky…nope…. I get to also have blood glucose that is completely unruly.

Case in point: yesterday morning my fasting number was 170…. 170! That was my FBG number when I was diagnosed. Of course once I ate it went down…very, very slowly. And no I didn’t have anything unusual to eat the day before, I hadn’t skipped my exercise…. nothing was different…. except I started my period. This morning an apple with peanut butter pushed my 102 BG to 165. My yogurt snack (100 calories, 20 carbs) jumped me from 85 to 150. Right now I’m nibbling on some celery, which I’m sure, is going to bounce me into the 200’s because that’s just my luck.

I have no idea how women NOT on insulin deal with this…. do you just shrug your shoulders and ignore it?

Another report reads: “An illness MAY increase the amount of Blood Glucose in your bloodstream but there is often little you can do about this. For Women, the same thing can occur during menstruation although the increase is usually more subtle”

Subtle my ass….