I between blood glucose levels

3 posts, 3 contributors

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tracy Nicols... DAFNE Graduate
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
1 post

Hi I have completed the DAFNE course and have recently started using a libre sensor. This is fantastic and I am checking my blood sugar levels far more now. My levels before meals are god and most of the time in range however I between they can go very high. Shod I be concerned about this? Also I have been having far more hypos during the might (the alarm wakes me up,) I have reduced my BI but still having hypos. I am currently of an age where I am going through the menopause and wondered if this would have an impact on my blood glucose levels.

Warwick DAFNE Graduate
Diabetes Australia-Vic, Melbourne, Victoria
421 posts

Pretty much anything affects blood glucose levels. This site https://diatribe.org/42-factors-affect-blood-glucose-surprising-update lists 42 possible contributors to changing blood glucose levels and although menopause isn't mentioned, changes in hormone levels will have an effect on them.

Like you, when I tried CGM, I was amazed to find that while my BGLs before meals were mostly within range, but after meals could go sky high - 17 mmol/L was not uncommon. I switched from high-carb cereal for breakfast to scrambled eggs, and had lovely flat lines after that. Alternatively you can try taking your insulin 20 minutes earlier so that the peak of the insulin action matches the peak of the blood glucose levels. With the Libre, you have the options available to play around a bit and see what effect that has on your BGL graphs.

It may also be that a different insulin type would suit you better. This document shows the different insulin profiles available and may be helpful in finding an insulin type that will allow you to have the insulin act faster after meals, but not affect you during the night. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/resources-s3/2017-10/University%2520Hospitals%2520of%2520Leicester%2520-%2520Insulin%2520Profiles.pdf

Hope that helps.

novorapidboi26 DAFNE Graduate
NHS Lanarkshire
1,819 posts

Providing you ae confident the basal is right as well as your ratios, the way to tackle mid meal spikes is to play about with the pre-bolus timings....so basically increase the time between dosing and eating.....see how that goes, it can potentially be different for each meal time and for certain foods....

With BI adjustment I tend to stick to the facts and what DAFNE taught me......gather the data and make adjustments from it.....if you have adjusted and its still not holding steady you need to keep adjusting until it does....it may only be a small adjustment but could also be very big........the menopause could very well be responsible....