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Daughter just started menstrating
My daughter is only 11 and just got her period this afternoon. This morning when she got up, before she started her sugar was over 300. Is it common to have high blood sugars during menstration? She has been Type I for almost 5 years and is on an insulin pump.
I am not a physican, but a vlunteer ans a mom of a type one diabetic.
I do know that hormones will affect blood sugars so that when your daughter has her period blood sugars will be affected and can rise or fall. The good news it that your daughter is on the pump, and most pumps have settings that you can change the basal rates for certain times of the month. I would suggest you contact your daughter
I do know that hormones will affect blood sugars so that when your daughter has her period blood sugars will be affected and can rise or fall. The good news it that your daughter is on the pump, and most pumps have settings that you can change the basal rates for certain times of the month. I would suggest you contact your daughter
Hi Mom of Em,
I'm also not a physician, but a long-time diabetic using a pump, too.
It is very common that our BG will rise for a few days prior to onset of our period. For me, that also includes the first day or so of my period. During the period, itself, however, many DMers will run LOW. So watch for the timing when "running high" changes to "running low."
I have a "basal pattern" set in my (Cozmo) pump for 20% higher than my normal. That typically works well **for me** during PMS. Other women learn what adjustment works for them. I also have a 20% lower-than-normal pattern which I use during my period and sometimes even with that, I lower the basal more.
You can expect her periods to be irregular for a while, and so it may not be easy to detect when PMS has set in. In addition to the impact/interaction with diabetes, as a young "starter" in this journey, I'm sure she'll want lots of reassurance and support for this "yucky" new development. And whether she wants it or not, she'll benefit from frank talks about the changes, feelings, urges and responsibilities that all this brings.
I'm also not a physician, but a long-time diabetic using a pump, too.
It is very common that our BG will rise for a few days prior to onset of our period. For me, that also includes the first day or so of my period. During the period, itself, however, many DMers will run LOW. So watch for the timing when "running high" changes to "running low."
I have a "basal pattern" set in my (Cozmo) pump for 20% higher than my normal. That typically works well **for me** during PMS. Other women learn what adjustment works for them. I also have a 20% lower-than-normal pattern which I use during my period and sometimes even with that, I lower the basal more.
You can expect her periods to be irregular for a while, and so it may not be easy to detect when PMS has set in. In addition to the impact/interaction with diabetes, as a young "starter" in this journey, I'm sure she'll want lots of reassurance and support for this "yucky" new development. And whether she wants it or not, she'll benefit from frank talks about the changes, feelings, urges and responsibilities that all this brings.
I agree with LRS about both the high sugars and the following lows. This is caused because certain hormones that are prevalent just before her period also act as insulin-blockers, and so the sugars can elevate when these hormones are elevated. But when they dissipate, the lows can happen. In my personal pattern, I don't notice much in the way of elevated sugars, but can have frightening lows for up to 2 days. So keep an eye out for that.
It will take a while for a set pattern for her to develop, so I would write down everything that happens on a calendar, and then watch to see what patterns develop. If her pattern is going to the more typical high sugars than lows, still you should teach her that lows can happen after the highs, so that she will recognize this if it happens even if not the norm in her case. She may have to test more often during the week or so that sugar levels are not predictable, and this may have to happen for the rest of her reproductive life. We just have to be more careful when other factors affect our normal glucose levels, and testing often at that time protects us from both uncontrolled highs and unexpected lows.
It will take a while for a set pattern for her to develop, so I would write down everything that happens on a calendar, and then watch to see what patterns develop. If her pattern is going to the more typical high sugars than lows, still you should teach her that lows can happen after the highs, so that she will recognize this if it happens even if not the norm in her case. She may have to test more often during the week or so that sugar levels are not predictable, and this may have to happen for the rest of her reproductive life. We just have to be more careful when other factors affect our normal glucose levels, and testing often at that time protects us from both uncontrolled highs and unexpected lows.
My daughter is 11 and has also recently started her period. We were at an amusment park a few days ago and she had a "seizure" per the medics that came. She had said she felt dizzy and then started shaking and ended up on the ground. Her blood sugar was at 73 at the time. (She has been diagnosed with hypoglycimia at the age of 3) It took 25 minutes before she remembers anything after this episode. This morning she had been on a 14 hour fast and her fasting blood sugar was 99. She had no keytones in her urine and the Doctor said she should have had keytones after a fast that was 14 hours. Her blood sugars are usually between 65-85 but lately she'd had a few around 150. My doctor has mentioned "Prediabetes" or "Non-Ketonic Hypoglycemia" Can anyone tell me anything about this?
She is scheduled for an EEG and a MRI next week because they want to rule out a seizure....I'm just worried and want to know what to expect. In the meantime the Doctor has cut out all sugar ie, soda pop, white bread, rice, pasta, etc. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you
She is scheduled for an EEG and a MRI next week because they want to rule out a seizure....I'm just worried and want to know what to expect. In the meantime the Doctor has cut out all sugar ie, soda pop, white bread, rice, pasta, etc. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you
I forgot to mention that my daughter has been very thirsty lately and up many times in the night for drinks. She can't seem to get enough.
She also has a diagnosis of Juvenille Rhuematoid Arthritis and an IGA deficiency. Could any of this be related?
She also has a diagnosis of Juvenille Rhuematoid Arthritis and an IGA deficiency. Could any of this be related?
Thanks so much for the information. This helps a great deal. The info about certain hormones acting as insulin blockers was very enlightening, makes sense. I was toying with the idea of setting a temp basal rate in her pump (minimed) for this time of the month but will definetely wait until she gets a regular pattern going. The day after she started she did drop down in the 60's for no particular reason, so I guess it will just take time until I figure out this new pitfall of this relentless disease and how to manage it, just when ya think ya got it licked! If my other daughter who is now 16 had not started her cycle at the same age of 11, I would have thought it unusual for Emma to have started so young.
To StormDuch, I hate to disagree with your doctor but if she has been running low or close to normal, I don't think she should be burning keytones. Generally Emma only burns keytones when her sugar is high, over 200 for more than 2 days. As for "prediabetes" in relation to Type I juvenille onset, never heard of it, when Emma was diagnosed 5 years ago I was told there was nothing we could have done to prevent it or stave it off. One day she was fine and within a 2 week timespan, she was a fullblown Type I diabetic. The same was true for my Dad who was diagnosed with Type I about 25 years ago. There is a honeymoon period in the beginning where the pancreas is still producing some insulin, but I've never heard it refered to as prediabetes. Even when Emma was in the honeymoon stage, she needed insulin shots to keep her in control. She had A LOT more lows than she did highs in the early stages because her pancreas was producing some insulin on its own. If your daughter has Type I, juvenile diabetes, the honeymoon stage will not last.
Cutting out the sugar, pop, etc. will not prevent her from becoming a diabetic. The fact that she has unquenchable thirst is a BIG cause for alarm as this is one of the main warning signs. I would be extremely concerned about this.
When Emma was diagnosed she had lost 14 pounds off her already too thin frame and had barely been eating a thing for 2 weeks. She was never a big sweet eater and we never had regular soda, kool-aid our lots of sugary things in our house yet when my dad checked her sugar due to my concerns over her constant thirst, and other warning signs that we were all to familiar with, she was 658. Two of my husband's brother's children were also diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, so we are very in tune with the warning signs. None of them were overweight or had bad eating habits.
I'm not an expert, just a mom who has lived and breathed and lost tons of sleep due to juvenile diabetes for the past 5 years, I hope this helps and my heart goes out to you.
To StormDuch, I hate to disagree with your doctor but if she has been running low or close to normal, I don't think she should be burning keytones. Generally Emma only burns keytones when her sugar is high, over 200 for more than 2 days. As for "prediabetes" in relation to Type I juvenille onset, never heard of it, when Emma was diagnosed 5 years ago I was told there was nothing we could have done to prevent it or stave it off. One day she was fine and within a 2 week timespan, she was a fullblown Type I diabetic. The same was true for my Dad who was diagnosed with Type I about 25 years ago. There is a honeymoon period in the beginning where the pancreas is still producing some insulin, but I've never heard it refered to as prediabetes. Even when Emma was in the honeymoon stage, she needed insulin shots to keep her in control. She had A LOT more lows than she did highs in the early stages because her pancreas was producing some insulin on its own. If your daughter has Type I, juvenile diabetes, the honeymoon stage will not last.
Cutting out the sugar, pop, etc. will not prevent her from becoming a diabetic. The fact that she has unquenchable thirst is a BIG cause for alarm as this is one of the main warning signs. I would be extremely concerned about this.
When Emma was diagnosed she had lost 14 pounds off her already too thin frame and had barely been eating a thing for 2 weeks. She was never a big sweet eater and we never had regular soda, kool-aid our lots of sugary things in our house yet when my dad checked her sugar due to my concerns over her constant thirst, and other warning signs that we were all to familiar with, she was 658. Two of my husband's brother's children were also diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, so we are very in tune with the warning signs. None of them were overweight or had bad eating habits.
I'm not an expert, just a mom who has lived and breathed and lost tons of sleep due to juvenile diabetes for the past 5 years, I hope this helps and my heart goes out to you.
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