Hello all. My daughter turned 12 on 12/4 and on 12/7 started menstruation for the first time. On 12/6 through today her glucose readings are extremely high (300’s, 400’s). Changed pump site and pump, giving corrections, but still no luck. Negative for ketones. Extreme mood swings also. Anyone have experience in this? Help a mother out!
I’m 16 and I completely relate to what your daughter’s experiencing. When I’m on my period (and sometimes even the week before) my blood sugar spikes and won’t go down until after my cycle is done. From what I understand, this is because the hormones in her body make her more resistant to insulin (or something to that effect? I’m not a scientist so I could be wrong, but that’s my understanding.) As your daughter’s cycle becomes more regular and you get more experience with how it affects her blood sugar, you’ll be able to figure out how best to adjust her insulin doses to account for the hormones in her system. Sometimes I can even predict when my period is going to start, just by looking at my blood sugar levels!
If you haven’t already, make sure to talk to her endo about this. They may adjust her insulin ratios since puberty can do such funny things to blood sugar–at any rate, they’ll be able to explain what’s going on and how to deal with it.
Best of luck and feel free to reach out with any questions!
Hi @sherrik830,
@bookwormnerd13 is right, there are multiple hormones (not just estrogen, progesterone, but others too) that are working inside your daughter which are responsible for the rise in BG and also for reduced response to her insulin.
I doubt she’ll ever test positive for ketones if she’s getting insulin via her pump, because it prevents her body from going into fat-burning mode. Still, good for her for checking!!
If she’s not on a CGM, it might be time to start using one, as it’s the best way to track and readjust her insulin going forward.
My experience with my son, and in the intensive care unit where I work, is that people may need DOUBLE or more of their typical daily insulin, both basal and rapid insulin for carbs and corrections, when they’re sick, growing or going through their menstrual cycle.
If your daughter is checking finger stick BGs, she might benefit from checking more often to help guide her dosing decisions.
Best wishes as you help guide your daughter through this.
My daughter is also 12 (turns 13 soon) and started recently as well. This is the guidance her CDE gave us… if she has a pump- “increase temp basal” by 10%-20% for a few hours. We started at a low basal for a few hours and increased drastically!!! We noticed 20% for about 6-8 for the day was much better, but still in low 200’s. And we also continued a temp basal for night because she was still high. Keep in mind, we started low and gradually went up day by day to try to figure her insulin needs (it truly felt like rocket science) :)… and we still are getting the hang of it. And be prepared to use ALOT OF INSULIN!!! Eventually, another setting for menstrual cycle can be added on the pump too! Hope that helps.