Any else experience hypos as the result of having a shower?

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sg295

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Type 1
Hi all,

I’ve noticed that sometimes when I have showers, it causes me to have a hypo.

If I have my showers when I first wake up, before I’ve eaten breakfast and have any rapid insulin on board, it’s fine.

But if I have my showers when I have any rapid insulin in my system, more times than not it will make me go low.

I’ve been combating this by just showering in the mornings where possible. However, sometimes this just isn’t possible and it’s super annoying that this has to happen unless I plan to shower at a specific time, every time.

If anyone has any suggestions they’d be much appreciated!

Thank you 🙂
 
Yes, I usually find a shower will drop my BG, and this can happen at any time of day or evening. Hence I treat showers like driving - if I'm less than 5, I don't go in!
 
Hot showers and baths are well known for causing hypos. Sometimes it is because we shower after exercise, sometimes it is just the hot water stimulating our body. If you know it happens regularly when you shower later in the day, then top up with a small carb snack before you take your shower if your levels are below a set reading (maybe 6 or 7) and make sure you have hypo treatments in the bathroom at all times just in case you get caught unawares.
Many people find grocery shopping drops us too although it is more difficult to figure out the logic of that. These are just quirks of managing diabetes that we have to keep in mind and develop strategies to deal with.
 
We stayed at a b&b last year, and my wife had her shower and said that it was a bit hot and I might want to turn it down. Anyway I got into the shower and it was boiling tried to turn it down but it wouldn't budge. Next thing I remember was hearing my wife frantically calling our friend who was also staying at the b&b saying I had collapsed in the shower and was unresponsive and she couldn't move me.
Well I got up and quickly dried myself off as I didn't want her friend to see me in the buff !!
 
Interesting, my Libre and CGM will always report a high spike in the shower with no sign of hypos.
I suspect my spike is related to heat on the sensor as the level would not come down without insulin if it was a real spike.
 
Yes showers affect me also (coming from a slightly different DM start point).

I'm not sure it's just the heat of the shower; I presumed (could be wrong) that the showering involves some exercise or activity, above what is needed to just get dressed and make b'fast; I would personally apply that logic to shopping, which is a deceptively tiring activity, even without DM. So the activity of showering is warming up my muscles and reducing my normal insulin resistance. Thus the insulin now on board gets to work more rapidly and 'goes further', hence my tendency to head for 'hypoland'.

I find I need to vary my breakfast pre-bolus duration, depending on what my BG is at the time of taking the pre-bolus. In a way, this is probably obvious; but it wasn't obvious to me until I'd experienced some trial and error!

My target is to be at 6; and between 6-8 I need 45 mins before eating breakfast. If I'm below 5, I find this can reduce to c.30 mins or less, with a level trend. If I'm trending downwards I usually take 5 fast carbs, eg 1x JB, which just slows things down and heads off the potential hypo. If a steep drop then 2x JBs. Then, usually, I still need my 45 mins.

So, if I need to be active first thing, I either try and do that activity before my b'fast bolus and food, or have a much shorter pre-bolus.

I suspect, now you know its fairly normal, it will become just another thing you will automatically make an adjustment for.
 
Shower usually within hour of bolus & breakfast, give reduced dose anyway as always walk dog after showering so don't experience hypos even though like water hot.
 
sg295 said:
I’ve been combating this by just showering in the mornings where possible. However, sometimes this just isn’t possible and it’s super annoying that this has to happen unless I plan to shower at a specific time, every time.
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Nah it's just a good excuse to have some fav hypo prevention treat 🙂
Basically if you know it happens then pre-empt the low 🙂
 
sg295 said:
Hi all,

I’ve noticed that sometimes when I have showers, it causes me to have a hypo.

If I have my showers when I first wake up, before I’ve eaten breakfast and have any rapid insulin on board, it’s fine.

But if I have my showers when I have any rapid insulin in my system, more times than not it will make me go low.

I’ve been combating this by just showering in the mornings where possible. However, sometimes this just isn’t possible and it’s super annoying that this has to happen unless I plan to shower at a specific time, every time.

If anyone has any suggestions they’d be much appreciated!

Thank you 🙂
Click to expand...
I've not had a bath since I got the libre. It became very obvious it was the hot (or warm) bath causing blood sugars to drop, but only when bolus insulin on board. Same for jacuzzis. Short showers not so much a problem.
 
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The other week I really needed the insulin to work before food because of how high I was(over a treetet a verry mild hypo earlier on(either that or my liver decided to "help out"). So I got in the shower to help it a long then ate. I think it does have an affect on my blood surger too.
 
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