Aunt Flow

Aunt flow...wow that is a term that I have not used...well ever. This was a hard post to write, which is probably why it is so short, but I wanted to talk about it because it's something that honestly affects women with diabetes. Whenever it's that time of the month for me, I tend to see drop in my blood sugars. This last month was awful, I woke up three nights in a row with lows in the 40's. I am adamant about checking my numbers before I go to bed because I hate that dreadful late night low. I checked my blood sugars before bed and was in my target range. No insulin needed, I was just able to lay down and go to sleep. and then I woke up to that awful beep, beep, beep, of my Dexcom letting me know that my numbers were low.

I talked with other diabetic women about it, they all mentioned that they usually see high numbers during that time. I looked online and saw that most women tend to have high numbers. Thankfully, as always, the American Diabetes Association helped to put my mind at ease. In their article, they mention that most women tend to see higher numbers because the change in hormone levels. But they also did throw in, that some women (like me) tend to see a sharp drop. Sadly, they did not have details as to why this happens, other than each person is different, but the fact that it helped me not feel even more broken was a win. Like how I am still keeping up with my positivity resolution??

Some suggestions to help you understand how your blood sugars are going to be affected was to keep a diary. I know pretty basic, but it's helpful. They even have apps for it these days. Write down how you're feeling and make notes about what your blood sugars are doing. I am going to start keeping better track of my numbers during that time of the month so that I know what to expect, right now I know that I will struggle with more lows. I guess we will just have to wait and see how next month goes.