Sarah Howard
Sarah Howard (nee Tackett) has dedicated her career to supporting the T1D community ever since she was diagnosed with T1D while in college in May 2013. Since then, she has worked for various diabetes organizations, focusing on research, advocacy, and community-building efforts for people with T1D and their loved ones. Sarah is currently the Senior Manager of Marketing at T1D Exchange.
Sarah and her husband live in NYC with their cat Gracie. In her spare time, she enjoys doing comedy, taking dance classes, visiting art museums, and exploring different neighborhoods in NYC.
I sure wish we could go back and change our answers on here. I did not see the part in parenthesis for those who use MDI until after I answered the question. I thought there were only answers that applied to those who use pumps, so I picked other. My levels do rise every time I take a shower, regardless of anything else I have going on, or time of day, but I use MDI so didn’t think there was an answer that I could select. Guess I have to be more careful when reading the questions instead of paying more attentions to the answers that are available to select.
I do MDI. Sometimes they will get lower if I have just corrected a high.
Why I’ve never and will never use a tubed pump. Omnipod stays on shower, swimming, everywhere.
I disconnect my tandem pump. But, I usually take a .15 bolus before I get in, to make up for the basal that I would have missed during the time I am in the shower. However, if my BS is low, I will skip the bolus.
I wear a omnipod. No rise during shower.
I disconnect and because of the water temp my bs falls
I use a tubed pump and my BGs do rise when I disconnect for a shower. They also tend to rise when I get up in the morning. When I’m on auto mode, I bolus for 10g of pseudo carbs and that seems to help address both issues.
I think the instructions also say to put the pump on suspend when disconnecting so it doesn’t calculate the missed basal as delivered. I don’t to this because I’ll reattach & forget to unsuspend and not realize until my “high with 3 arrows up” alarm starts up.
I have learned to do a manual correction bolus, according to whatever my Tandem x2 Slim pump calculates, before disconnecting for a shower. This prevents a rise, as long as I reconnect fairly quickly after the shower.
I do exactly what you’ve described!
I bolus correction before disconnecting pump unless I’m running low of course!
I take baths and do not disconnect. I hang the pump on my necklace. My BG rises always in the tub so I take .5 to 1 unit before bathing depending where my BG is. I then watch it because it can still go up. I always keep Glucose tabs by the tub just in case but almost never have to use them. Notice the word ‘almost’:-/… Most always my BG goes up tho’.
I said “OTHER” because I’ve used pumps with tubed infusion sets since 2003 and I have BOTH on nearly equal frequencies… Sometimes I disconnect to shower and my BG rises, sometimes I disconnect to shower and my BG remains ROCK SOLID even while disconnected, yet other times I’ll disconnect to shower and my BG will DROP THROUGH THE FLOOR!!!
Yes, I disconnect my Tandem pump before getting into the shower and no, my bg level doesn’t necessarily increase. I’m disconnected for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
perhaps length of shower bath time is a more critical factor? My BG do not rise yet my showers are 5 minutes.
wondering exactly the same. Maybe people who like to shower for over 10 min with very hot water experience low bg?
Mine goes down 50 or so points. It’s weird.
I chose “other” because I’m bedeviled by my BG getting too low during or after a shower. Recently put a can of sugar-full soda in the shower, and now I’m not nervous anymore.
I take baths instead of showers and I don’t wear a pump, so this question is an “Other” for me. I do wear my Abbott Freestyle Libre in the bath but sometimes it is affected by the soap and water.
My sugars rise during showering. My ending said it’s probably due to capillary dilation around sensor. Never checked with meter. Usually rises 20-40 points. Usually dose for it, since it’s before breakfast just to get a jumpstart on it working. Haven’t noticed a low after the larger bolus though.
Yes, my BG rises every time and it has forever. I wear a pump and I disconnect. My doctor says it is simply due to the lack of insulin my body is not getting from the 20 minute disconnect. I also think that because my showers are in the morning and I do have dawn-phenomenon, it’s especially why the rise in the shower. I do bolus when I see the rise and it immediately comes down. I should probably learn, after all these years of T1D, to bolus first… I just hate a low and worry that “maybe this once” I won’t need it and go low.😂
Other; I disconnect and my blood sugar falls 99% of the time. Thus I make sure I eat before taking one.
My BG does not usually rise for the 10-20 min shower I take 2 times a week disconnected from my tandem. It sometimes falls.
Since I usually take a shower right after getting up, my BGs rise. But, they would rise whether I take a shower or not so that really has nothing to do with it. On days when I did wait until later in the day to shower my BG will often drop .
This happens less now that I have been prebolusing for breakfast right before my shower. Before though I would have to take about half a unit before my shower so it wouldn’t rise.
I disconnect before I shower but always bolus a half unit first, and most of the time it balances out.
My CGM usually shows my BG dropping after a shower but the last time it happened I did a finger stick and that suggested I had not dropped at all. So…I don’t really know!
I chose “other” because I have had both highs and lows after a shower. I use to go high almost every day. My doctor suggested increasing my AM basal. Doing so caused me to drop though.
Now, I will bolus a small amount of insulin if my BG is 120 mg/dl or higher. Any lower and I don’t for fear of going too low.
Doing it this way, I am usually good. Occasionally, I will still go high, but I’ll just bolus a little extra for breakfast if I do.
I am MDI and do NOT see a BG rise with a shower but i DO see a huge rise with a hot BATH.
No! A nice hot shower after bolusing (I disconnect during the shower), greatly increases the insulin’s absorption rate. I utilize a hot shower in the morning after breakfast to control my dawn phenomenon.
I am MDI, I’ve noticed a slight increase during cold winter months when taking a long shower or bath, but no change with short/normal 5-10 min showers or showers during warm months.