No one wants to talk about their period, but why aren’t we discussing the impact it has on diabetes? Well, I’m here to break the silence! With each dia-versary, I realize something new about myself and how I differ from the average person. This includes my period – BUT it has never been discussed in my endocrinologist or OBGYN’s office unless I brought it up. Even then, there wasn’t literature or a site to visit to learn more so when I recognized a pattern it was time to take action. I came up a “Period Plan of Action” to follow each month so I won’t be at total T1D shitshow.
- About four days prior to staring my period it’s hard to keep my morning BG below 225.
- I test around 3am and give Novolog if above 225. Be careful, you don’t want to overcompensate while calculating half asleep.
- I up my 5:41am Lantus dosage a unit or two.
- Day one of my period I start to scale back on the Lantus.
- I have no idea what has shifted, but my body seems to become way more sensitive.
- By the fourth and final day of my period (yes ladies, I’m one of the lucky ones) I check my BG more often because it seems to plummet randomly at all times of the day or night. #walkingscienceproject
- I carry additional snacks with me when I head out for the day and be sure to stock my nightstand.
- I use a period tracker so I know when I’ll start. The period tracker app is amazing and is dead on within 24 hours. No more guessing and gives me a calendar to help me plan.
- When I crave crappy food, I allow myself one small block of organic dark chocolate a day. This is one of the only things in my life I seem to control in moderation.
This new “Period Plan of Action” has also sparked a few questions.
- Would my body do the same thing if I were on birth control?
- Would having a child alter things post child?
- How will everything go down when I go through menopause?
I would love to hear from the T1D community. Knowledge is power and it’s clear after chatting with a few T1D females recently that we’re not talking about it. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about so let’s get the dialogue started. We can save the youngsters a lot of diabetes stress if we share our personal “Period Plans of Action”.
Feel free to drop a comment below, share on the DDG Facebook page or write a guest post. We would love to share your story.
++Don’t forget to stock up those nightstands…++
I totally get it. I used a tracker mymonthlycycles.com and it is awesome. I’ve tracked over 100 cycles……and that is pretty much my period plan. Just knowing that it’s coming, tempering the cravings, forgiving the indulgences. Since, I run high during my period I do check more frequently so I can correct as needed. Stay hydrated and just make it through. After 29 years this is the gist of my plan…..so I get it. BTW. On another subject, (that you might have shared before and I never saw the post), what has made you decide to stay with injections versus getting an insulin pump ( if you’re okay with sharing that.)
Pascale – Thank you for sharing your plan. Forgiving the indulgences is key. I can’t even remember life without my period tracker… I’m still a shooter and have mastered managing my T1D (most of the time) and don’t really feel compelled to switch. Change is hard, especially when you feel like everything is working. I’ll be sure to keep the T1D community posted should I switch to the pump because I’ll need a lot of support.