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If you have gone through menopause (or you expect to in your lifetime), what is one question you have about menopause and T1D? If you have already experienced menopause, what is one thing you wish you had known about menopause and T1D – or an unanswered question you still have? Please write your question in the comments!
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Does menopause effect your sugar levels as you go thru it?
Yes, quite a bit. And lack of your hormones will play a big part in it. Even with HRT, it’s still not good enough especially when they have to wean you off of pergestrone at some point.
Symptoms of a low BG were not dissimilar to experiencing a hot flash: Had to do more BG testing as I didn’t have a CGM at the time to know which I was actually experiencing.
Having a great HgA1c since I first started pumping in 1979-80, then going into menopause when I hit 50, I wish they had told me my basal rate setting would have to go thru a major readjustment and my HgA1c would have gone to hell. None of the Endos I saw told me that. I was accused of purposely not taking care of myself for more than 11-12 years and told it was my fault. To this day I still get quite angry with them and the whole HRT/Diabetes/ control issue that they seem to know nothing about or deny.
How to keep from being written off by doctors with the comment “You’re old and fat. “
I haven’t gone through menopause yet, but sometimes I think I might be experiencing perimenopause. (I’m 38.)
First, I’d like to know how the fluctuations in hormones (estrogen, progesterone’s, etc) affect blood sugar, sleep, and other bodily function.
Second, I’d like to know what can be done to mitigate any changes related to live an active, healthy life.
I was thrown into it about 7 years after my LADA T1D. Had to have a hysterectomy. I remember asking my doctor if he had ever done surgery on a T1D and he laughed and said many. However, in the hospital they about killed me by not knowing what to do with food and insulin. This was before I was on the pump and back in 2009, so I think things are better now. I do not remember relating issues to it. I was just happy not to have a menstrual cycle. My hot flashes were rare.
I did not experience any major changes unless I got a really bad night sleep. I did use HRT which might have mitigated any effects.
No, real concerns. No hot flashes or anything.
Unknown if being T1D just allowed me to know, somedays are better than others. Just keep going.
I’m in the transition now. I’d like to know how people managed their blood sugars when their hormones wildly change with seemingly no warning.
I had a lot of issues with blood sugar changes. Mainly during the night with extreme lows and at that time I did not have a cgm.
However I ended up taking hormones and still do to this day. It has made a world of a difference.
When going through it all the hot flashes were the worst of it. Had to monitor blood sugars to make sure I wasn’t going into a high. Would often joke about being able to thaw our driveway at -20° while having a hf!
The one thing I would suggest is to confirm a low prior to taking something for it, especially in the middle of the night. I would wake up sweating, think I had a low, took a glucose tablet, and wake up with a high. There were also times I would go from 40 to 300 and back down to normal without eating or taking any insulin. So, be prepared for anything.
After menopause I did hormone replacement but it still affected my BG’s every month. The way I did the pills was estrogen and only at the end the progesterone so it almost mimicked a regular cycle. After being on a pump a few years I stopped the hormones in order to manage the BG. Then at a late age( late 60’s) I got the hot flashes. Women have a hard time with everything.
I am post menopausal but still having night sweats. Wish I had known that the lack of sleep that occurs from these sweats does affects my blood sugars making it more difficult to manage.
I’m more anxious about perimenopause than menopause. My regular PMS days are already crazy, 5-7 days of 20-25% higher basal rate and, higher carb ratios, etc.
Will the peri- phase be more of that, more often?
Do nighsweats coincide with insulin resistance?
So many questions…
No real problems. Hormone fluctuations were no worse than all the years of being brittle. I was not prepared for the weight gain, since I had always been trim. Everyone assumes I am a t2 these days.
Do I expect a significant change in my TDI ?
Became diabetic long after menopause completed
I entered menopause 20 years ago, and do not remember any major problems as a T1D. The insulin delivery system by syringe may not have been the best system during the time; however, my peaks and valleys of blood sugars could have been caused by menopause and not specifically just by the insulins.
The tough thing for me, in perimenopause, is having no way to predict what will happen when. I will have a week or 2 of blissfully controlled readings, and then a week or 2 where I have to adjust every half hour. During that time, my body seems super sensitive to insulin for a part of the day (shooting me low for the same amount of carbs) and then other times it seems to not notice the insulin at all and shoot me high. I suspect in time researchers will find out that our bodies process carbs/ protein/ fat differently during perimenopause and someone will think to write some general guidelines to help navigate how to dose insulin. I cannot afford the IQ pump, maybe that solves it?
In general, I feel many doctors are not trained in what happens to all women (in varying degrees) during perimenopause and menopause, and they seem to be especially ignorant of its potential effects on diabetics.
I developed LADA during menopause at 54. So have always been in menopause with T1D. Was diagnosed during routine office visit with DM2 but subsequently LADA. So never had any symptoms. Just woke up one day with an autoimmune disease. I did just graduate from nursing school. Maybe brought on by stress.
I went through menopause 12 years ago (still get occasional night sweats-ugh!). I did not have any significant issue with my blood sugars. I was on the Tandem pump, but not a CGM. Lucky I guess in that area.
I went through surgical menopause 10 years ago and have been on hrt patches ever since. I require twice the recommended dose due to absorption issues. Too much abdominal scar tissue from 40+ years of diabetes. I am recovering from thyroid cancer with levothyroxine and liothyronine. This last year and seemingly suddenly I’ve gained 15 pounds of what seems to be all lower abdominal fat and I can’t seem to get it under control. I’ve never weighed this much in my life and my body aches all the time. My diabetes is in great control, A1c 6.2, this last month I’ve started to notice more unexplained super lows and sudden jumps in my sugars when nothing should be causing either. I’ve read a few articles that say the weird blood sugars can be related to menopause. How do you function with mental stability and confidence you’re doing all you can when everything you used to know suddenly goes out the door?
I went through menopause last year with no typical menopause symptoms. I didn’t notice it made any difference on my blood sugars.
I received a kidney transplant in Oct 2021. I’ve been getting hot flashes that my doctor said are due to my immunosuppressant medications. Also since I’ve been put on NPH instead of glargine I’ve had trouble balancing my diabetes. The pharmacists have worked with me to adjust my InPen settings but I still get unexpected blood sugars. I still need to figure out how to adjust on the fly still. My CGM said I was in the 40s but the finger stick told me I was nearly 70. I did celebrate it but I was a little discombobulated since I still had 6 units of insulin on board.
So menopause didn’t affect my T1D but the transplant has.
Why did they switch you to NPH? Doesn’t make sense to me, offers less control and more chance for lows from the NPH. I know some HMO’s like putting the tire 2’s on NOH for “cost savings”. Bad medicine if you ask me.
My T1D had no effect on my menopausal experience. It happened to me the same way it did for my non T1D mother.
I was 48 and realized I hadn’t had a period in months. I was working full time, had three kids, including one who was getting married, other then a few hot flashes — got harmonies for those — didn’t have time for any other crisis. The combination was a problem.
I had the most noticeable problems after menopause was completely over. I started to experience sudden very low BS. (I was not on the pump at the time). Endo was no help with this. Ob/gyn was the savior. Put me on low dosage HRT (estrogen and progesterone) and the sudden lows stopped. I stayed on hormones for several years until age 66 when ob/gyn retired and new one would not prescribe HRT. Having hot flashes now but not sudden low BS.
You’re just a precious example of how little the medical industry knows or cares about our disease. Fix a broken bone or crushed organ – the industry is great! Look for the interrelationships between our problems – wait – they are too busy affirming the rights of 8YOs to choose gender through drugs and surgery. How messed up have we become?
I was finished with menopause before I was diagnosed with T1D and am very grateful for that.
I was diagnosed 3 years before menopause, and around menopause was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hormones! What are they all about and how do they interact?
I never saw that either one affected the other.
It’s been a long time, I was 51 when I started on HRT for symptoms very much like low blood sugars. Stopped the HRT two years later without further issues. I want to know why the vast majority of physicians, including specialists, are so totally clueless and dismissive when patients present glucose management problems when experiencing menopause?
My menopause was early (familial) and short. I think I had 3 hot flashes. Happened before I had a CGM, no real odd bg issues.
Hot flashes–have to check my BG to see if I’m low or it’s a hot flash. 😉 (Still on Medtronic CGM so can’t always rely on it.)
Have used a Mirena IUD since about 2005 and never had periods while on that so I have no idea when “menopause” actually occurred for me. Just had it removed about a month ago and am waiting another day or 2 to see if I have a period or not. I’m probably past it…
Wish I knew that night sweats were exactly the same as my low bs sweats!
Is there such a thing as “Womenopause”? This question wasn’t multiple choice…. As a Man who has been crazy in love with a girlfriend going through menopause. What could I have done to show the right kinda support? When at the time MY blood sugar was way outa wack. Any books to learn from?? To this day, I feel I let her down…
As modern political thought goes, does your question affirm their are no biological differences between XX and XY people? How silly to deny the new medical science!
Would it be worthwhile, helpful or harmful to have your “youthful” pre menopause hormone levels tested and continue these as lifelong supplements for many purposes: bone health, weight, collagen?
I have yet to reach menopause, but my mother and her sisters all doubled in weight immediately after menopause and needed help with bones.
As a guy I kind of want to know what it changes with diabetes.
What, if any, affect will going through menopause have my blood sugars? Since I’ve already gone through chemical induced menopause due to breast cancer and have the chance to go though it again (lucky me) will the affects on my T1D management be same?
I would love _any_ information!
My PCPs, Endos, and OB/Gyns have given me no information despite me asking over and over and over.
I’ve had comments like “you won’t need HRT”, “hormonal testing is not necessary”, and “you’re in for a bumpy ride” and “I don’t know”… and, if I ask about how my blood sugars will be affected with all the hormonal changes and hot flashes, they can’t tell me.
So, menopausal woman get short shrift from OB/Gyns in general… after all, babies are way more fun than hormonally challenged women… But, we do need and deserve proper care and answers to our questions. And then, add T1D on top of it and it’s just like hearing crickets.
Uh oh… I think I’ve gone all “grumpy cat” for which I apologize… I would just like a doctor to help is all.
My one question is “How long will this last?” I realize no one has the answer but premenopause has so many parts that mess with diabetes control. For about 2 yrs now I’ll have me steal cycles for a few months then they’ll stop for a few months. Months I had my period would have a week or two of high blood sugars. I used to have a separate basal rate for the week before my period but now I don’t know if I am going to have my period or if something else is causing the highs. I wake up with hot flash and scan my CGM thinking it’s a low. I don’t sleep well and am tired all the time which adds to less time in range. I’ve been gaining weight while reducing my carb intake drastically. This seems harder to manage than either one of my pregnancies. For me there haven’t been any patterns in blood sugars to address the problem with a change in basal. Just is day by day…just wish I knew the end date.
I had absolutely no BG issues at all! Menopause was a breeze for me. It was the same with my mom, so I guess I have good genes! Counting my blessings!
This is the most discussion I’ve seen/heard, despite asking various health professionals over past few years. Thank you ladies! Diagnosed t1 6 years ago and have always experienced wild changes in bg/insulin requirements every few weeks – but sometimes fairly stable for a couple of months, and no patter to the changes. Told it was honeymoon, but still experiencing this now. BG used to drop with monthly cycle which stopped for past few years. And past couple of years I’ve had hot flashes day/night, difficulty sleeping, exhausted, sudden weight gain and an extra layer of fat that won’t budge no matter what I do. Also muscle/joint aches and pains. Tried 2 different hrt options. Symptoms got worse when started the progesterone, so had to stop and no longer on hrt. Told diet and exercise help. I’ve always been pretty active and eaten balanced diet, mainly preparing my own meals from fresh ingredients so when I looked at guidance there was nothing I could change. Any advice on menopause and t1 would be most gratefully received.
Does menopause affect my insulin sensitivity?
Does menopause cause more BG fluctuations?
Does menopause often result in a permanent change in basal patterns?
I went through menopause at age 51, which I understand is a good age for a diabetic.
1) The changes it would cause to my blood sugars and how to regulate this, if possible.
2) The lack of knowledge in the healthcare community about how menopause effects blood sugar – – I saw both an Endocrine and a Gynecologist and both tried to tell me that menopause should have no affect!
I was diagnosed at 49 and was already in menopause due to a complete hysterectomy at 41. So I don’t know the impact of T1 on menopause as it’s all I’ve ever known!
Can menopause be the trigger for onset on T1D?
I’ve also wondered about this.
Having a cgms at the time would’ve helped me discern hot flashes from low bug’s. Instead it required lots of fingersticks!
I had a few hot flashes at first but mainly no problems (my mother was the same), just sad it was over. I always wanted another baby. I know that lows can feel like panic attacks so I always had to check to make sure if I was really low. Does any part of menopause act like that. Hot flashes similar to lows?
The only difficulty I experienced following a hysterectomy at age 50 was the inability to tolerate hormone replacement therapy due to uncontrolled blood sugars at that time.