Changes in insulin sensitivity?

[StephanieMLW]

Hey there,

I’ve had a very interesting few weeks and wondered if any fellow forum members have experienced similar or can offer advice.

I’m in Australia for six months (arrived two weeks ago) and before we travelled my sugars were much higher than usual, which I was putting down to stress about the move. I was regularly spiking to 15-18 without any obvious cause. I also deliberately let my sugars go a little higher than usual while flying longhaul, because I’ve had hypos on planes before and did not enjoy them! These high sugars continued for the first week after arriving in Australia.

The past week however I am now having the opposite problem! I seem to be ultra responsive to insulin. For example, ever since diagnosis a year ago, I’ve had to wait about 30 mins in the morning for my breakfast Novorapid to kick in. This past week it’s working super fast and my sugars are visibly dropping after 15 mins. I’ve been basal testing and the results have told me to drop my daytime Levemir by 20%, which I started yesterday, but I’m still constantly hovering around and BG of 4, which means if I go out and do anything like walk to the store I’m having to micro dose on glucose tablets. I’d like to make the most of the outdoor lifestyle here but I’m worried about hypoing if I do anything active or in the heat. I usually exercise a fair bit but that’s out of the question atm.

I’m conscious that this is not the worst problem to have, but I’m alarmed at how quickly I’ve gone from struggling with highs to struggling to keep out of hypo range.

Hoping to get some reassurance from those who have been type one for far longer than me as to whether this is normal and whether there’s anything else I should be doing in this situation. I don’t have the same access to my healthcare support team now I’m in Australia which makes things a bit difficult.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Inka]

How hot is it @StephanieMLW ? The heat can cause hypos. I had a few during the very hot Summer we had last year. You’re doing the right thing dropping your doses. I had to reduce my basal and also change some of my meal ratios. In addition, some meals I injected directly before eating and some I split the dose.

Also, where are you injecting your bolus insulin? Don’t use your tummy as that’s fast anyway. Try your thigh or bum as they’re slower.

 

[StephanieMLW]

Thanks @Inka - yes I always inject my Novorapid into my tummy, I hadn’t thought to move to a slower absorption site so I’ll try that when I don’t want a super fast drop.

It’s not hugely hot here atm, just nicely warm! I was thinking the same whether the heat was impacting, but it’s not super hot (yet! Anticipating a further insulin reduction once it really warms up).

I think my next step will be checking my meal ratios. I still seem to be dropping after dinner in the evening despite the levemir reduction.

 

[Inka]

My evening meal ratio was the first I changed. It changed from 1:10g to 1:15g. That helped a lot. Perhaps also just the change of routine is impacting things, so a combination of factors.

 

[StephanieMLW]

That's good to know! Yes this is my first big life change since diagnosis, so I was hoping this is fairly normal and not something new to worry about

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

That's good to know! Yes this is my first big life change since diagnosis, so I was hoping this is fairly normal and not something new to worry about

I think any significant change like that is likely to have some sort of effect - but with diabetes being diabetes, it’s hard to predict exactly what that effect might be!

Warmer climes and changes to stress levels can definitely affect my levels - so I don’t think this is anything to worry about, just something to adapt to. And then eventually things may well swing back another way.

Enjoy your time in Aus!