Hormonal fluctuations have a major impact on blood sugar levels and insulin needs. And your body experiences these fluctuations every day and monthly.
However, there are certain stages of life where hormonal fluctuations are very pronounced.
Puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause are four life periods for women when natural hormonal changes in your body leave a big mark on your diabetes management.
In this article, we will explain how menopause affects your diabetes and what you can do to manage your blood sugar levels during this long transitional stage.
Menopause and menopause
According to Harvard Health, menopause is the early stages of menopause, defined by an irregular menstrual cycle, which is a direct result of the body’s gradual decline in ovarian function over time.
Perimenopausal periods typically last three or four years, but for some women it can last for a whole decade.
The end of menopause is when the whole year has passed since the last period, and this defines you officially being menopause. Menopause is also defined when the ovaries completely stop producing progesterone and estrogen.
Hormonal fluctuations in menstruation and perimenopause/menopause
“What’s happening during menopause,” explains Jennifer Smith, RD, CDE, and co-authors. Type 1 diabetes pregnancy“There is a gradual decline in estrogen production and overall estrogen levels.”
Let’s take a closer look at hormone levels in front After menopause and menopause begin.
During your reproductive yearestrogen levels are either up or down, depending on where they are within the 4-week cycle of menstruation.
When estrogen levels rise during the normal monthly cycle, your body will instruct the egg to release the egg. After that, your body will produce more progesterone in preparation for pregnancy.
If you become pregnant, your progesterone levels remain high and many women are looking at this in their blood sugar levels, so suddenly you need background insulin.
If you don’t get pregnant, your progesterone levels will drop and your monthly cycle will start again.
When you start menopause on your way to menopausevariability in these hormones is much less predictable.
By the late 30s, we don’t produce that much progesterone, explains Harvard Health. “The number and quality of follicles also decrease, resulting in less estrogen production and less ovulation.
“As a result, by the time you are in your 40s, the length of the cycle and the flow of menstrual periods can be different and the duration can be irregular.
Menopause and symptoms of menopause
Blood glucose level variation: “Things may look a little higher and lower than how your blood sugar has turned out during the normal months around the menstrual cycle,” explains Smith. “And this unpredictability can last for months and months as your body manages the progressive process of menopause.”
It is inevitable that you will cooperate with your medical care to gradually increase your insulin dose to meet your body’s new insulin needs.
“Our usual focus is on making healthy food choices to help your body maintain glucose control, increased levels of activity and provide the body with the right nutrients to overcome this life change,” says Smith. “Improved diet to reduce sugar can go a long way, but we also need to work with our healthcare team to adjust our diabetes medication.”
Urinary tract and yeast infections: “Menopause tends to cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) and vaginal yeast infections as well as changes in blood glucose levels,” explains Smith.
“These two unpleasant conditions are even more common after menopause when a significant drop in estrogen changes the urinary tract and vaginal environment, making it easier for yeast and bacteria to grow.”
As persistent hyperglycemia can easily produce yeast overgrowth, the first thing you do here is to increase insulin doses to reduce blood glucose levels with the support of your healthcare team, but it may also be used for over-the-counter yeast infection treatments.
“Using a UTI can cause stress that allows the infection itself to increase your blood glucose levels further. Please contact your primary care team immediately, suspecting a UTI or a severe yeast infection. The UTI should be treated with prescription antibiotics.
Hot and night sweats: Approximately 35-50% of women around menopause experience extremely unpleasant “waves” of body temperature, which often involve sweating on their cheeks and faces, suddenly with a red appearance. These hot flashes usually last within 10 minutes, but can be constantly gone through the day for several years.
Vaginal dryness: The vaginal self-lubrication function is truly designed for pregnancy goals. When hormone levels change, the body does not produce these lubricants consistently. This dryness can be very uncomfortable, especially during sex, leading to itching and overall irritation.
Difficulty in sleep: Most women who experience menopause often find it difficult to sleep due to hot flashes or sweating. But Harvard Health says that only overall insomnia cannot be blamed for menopause alone. Insomnia can be the result of aging and shifting sleep cycles, and aging men also experience it.
depression: Harvard Health says there is no real evidence to support the idea that changes in estrogen levels can really affect your mood, but while there appears to be an increase in depression in women experiencing perimenopause, surprisingly, the rate of depression in women over the age of 45 is lower than in younger people.
Severe bleeding and uterine fibroids: “Low levels of progesterone, which regulates endometrial growth,” explains Harvard Health. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that do not adhere to the uterine walls and can become common during menopause and menopause. Endometriosis can also occur during the perimenopausal period, causing pelvic and lower back pain, as well as severe, severe bleeding.
Weight gain: “Metabolism changes with age, and in postmenopausal women, this can lead to weight gain. Weight gain means that insulin resistance will increase slightly (depending on the degree to which it increases), meaning an increase in insulin dose is necessary,” explains Smith.
Other symptoms: It has not been proven to be linked to menopause, but what is often reported by women during this period is short-term memory problems, headaches, and difficulty in focus. Harvard Health emphasizes that it is difficult to determine whether these symptoms are related to aging or hormonal changes.
Diabetes and Menopause: What you can do
Menopause can make your diabetes management more challenging, but there are things you can do to make it easier
Measure your blood sugar more frequently
If your blood sugar levels are less predictable than before, measuring it more frequently can be very helpful. Talk about getting a habit of measuring regularly, sending real-time blood glucose data to your healthcare team, and getting a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that can alert you of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.
Consult your doctor about adjusting diabetes medications
If your average blood glucose levels rise or fall, you may need to adjust the dosage of diabetic medications (injectable insulin or oral medications such as metformin or Victorza) or start taking a new medication.
Treat symptoms
It can treat many of the symptoms of menopause (such as hot flashes, sleep disorders, and vaginal dryness). Talk to your doctor about medications and lifestyle changes that will help reduce or eliminate symptoms.
Make healthy lifestyle choices
Eating healthy diets and being physically active is an important part of diabetes management, especially in the period of your life where managing your blood sugar levels may be a little more challenging.
Aim for at least 20-30 minutes of physical activity per day. This doesn’t have to be “training.” Everything that raises your heart rate. Walking your dog, dancing to great music, or even vacuuming your home vigorously is a great way to include physical activity in your daily life.
Walk around it and get support from your healthcare team
Like menstruation, perimenopausal and menopause can cause unpredictable fluctuations in blood glucose levels. It can be very boring and stressful! Work with your healthcare team to gradually adjust your diabetes medication over these months or years and do everything you can!
