Type 1 Writes - Diabetes Blog
  • About Me
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Speaking and Writing

Winter

Do Your Insulin Needs Increase During Winter?

August 13, 2018 by Frank 3 Comments

I could feel my blood boiling.

With every single swipe of my FreeStyle Libre reader against the sensor on my arm, I felt increasingly frustrated.

Despite being pretty confident in what I’d eaten and covered with insulin for dinner, my levels dipped slightly before slowly but steadily ascending once again. A pattern that had become somewhat typical over the past couple of weeks following meals.

Despite correction after correction, my blood sugar levels were yet to budge.

My mind wandered back to the pump break I had taken in late April and May. I thought about how easy blood sugar levels had been to manage with pens and needles. How free my mind had been from frustration.

That pump complacency I felt on the night I disconnected my pump in late April had returned. I didn’t want to be feeling it, but it was there, plaguing my thoughts against my own will.

Then, I just had this sort of ‘epiphany.’

I set a temporary basal rate increase of 10% on my insulin pump, hoping that it would help my correction doses to start working better.

When my insulin still seemed ‘sluggish’ a few hours before bed, I increased it to 20%. After a few more days had passed, I went into my pump settings and permanently adjusted the basal rates upwards by 20%.

I’ve heard it discussed before in the diabetes community. I’ll be the first to admit that I never brought into the whole concept of insulin needs increasing during the Winter. And decreasing during the Summer, for that matter.

I don’t know what causes it. There’s been no significant change in my activity levels. I’m very active during my work day as usual, and don’t go anywhere near the gym or a pair of running shoes when I’m at home. My routine is the same. Admittedly, I probably spend less time outdoors or in the sunlight at the moment. Maybe there’s an increased inclination to drink coffee, eat cannoli and watch Australian Survivor.

More than anything, I think it may be an environmental or physiological factor.

I’m just grateful that my insulin is working again and that I can spend more of my day in range, fighting less of an uphill battle in doing so.

After eight years, I’m still learning new things about my diabetes. I truly believe that the more time and experience I have under my belt, the better equipped I am to live with it.

Like This Post? Share It!

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...
Posted in: Glucose Monitoring, Insulin Pumps Tagged: Basal Insulin, BGLs, Blood Glucose Monitoring, Insulin, Insulin Sensitivity, Winter

Welcome Back, Winter

June 1, 2015 by Frank 2 Comments

Screen Shot 2015-12-27 at 10.31.13 pm

Happy first of June and happy first day of Winter! (well, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere that is…)

After some stormy weather, the cold nights and mild sunny days have set in nicely over the last week or so. I’m now heading to work in the dark with my car demister cranked up high and my jacket sleeves stretched well over my hands. If its really cold, you might even see smoke come out of my mouth as I inhale and exhale the cold air. The days can be quite pleasant, and I’m lucky that I do have some time after work to enjoy the afternoon sunshine.

Screen Shot 2015-12-27 at 10.32.02 pm

But the moment it disappears, that cold air sets in for the night once again. Time to crank up the heater and grab a blanket. Enjoy all the soups, roasts and other delicious comfort food that can be somewhat difficult to navigate through for someone with diabetes. And some fantastic sleeping weather.

Its by far my favourite time of year.

I know a lot of you will disagree. But where I live, the average temperature for much of January, February and March is well above 30 degrees. And if I’m lucky, there’ll be heatwaves of closer to 40 degrees. Its hot. Its uncomfortable, sweaty, lazy kind of weather where you can’t really be bothered doing anything. And the air-con just doesn’t seem to allow for a comfortable night’s sleep.

So what’s this got to do with diabetes, you ask? Well, the cold weather just gives me a positive mindset. And I like to think that positive mindset has somewhat of a halo effect on my diabetes management. I feel so much more active in the brisk weather. I feel more focussed. And I daresay that the brisk weather makes me work harder to get warm in the morning at work. That’s gotta be good for my blood sugar levels, right? And with a positive mindset, its much easier to embrace the highs and accept the lows of day to day life with diabetes.

That’s all I really wanted to say today. AND its a public holiday. Which means I’ll be able to take my time with my morning coffee and brekky this morning.

Bring on the next couple of months…

Like This Post? Share It!

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...
Posted in: Dealing with Diabetes Tagged: Diabetes, Mindset, Winter

ABOUT ME

Hi, I'm Frank. Welcome to my blog about life with type 1 diabetes.

RECEIVE NEW POSTS BY E-MAIL

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

Type 1 Writes

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Tweets by FrankSita

RECENT COMMENTS

  • Merinda on New Year, New Blog Post.
  • Marijke Duyvendak on New Year, New Blog Post.
  • Scott K. Johnson on New Year, New Blog Post.
  • Frank on New Year, New Blog Post.
  • Frank on New Year, New Blog Post.

THE ARCHIVES

  • January 2023 (1)
  • April 2021 (2)
  • February 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (6)
  • December 2020 (4)
  • November 2020 (2)
  • October 2020 (3)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (4)
  • July 2020 (9)
  • June 2020 (6)
  • May 2020 (7)
  • April 2020 (6)
  • March 2020 (3)
  • February 2020 (2)
  • January 2020 (8)
  • December 2019 (6)
  • November 2019 (7)
  • October 2019 (6)
  • September 2019 (6)
  • August 2019 (10)
  • July 2019 (6)
  • June 2019 (7)
  • May 2019 (7)
  • April 2019 (4)
  • February 2019 (3)
  • January 2019 (3)
  • December 2018 (7)
  • November 2018 (9)
  • October 2018 (10)
  • September 2018 (10)
  • August 2018 (12)
  • July 2018 (12)
  • June 2018 (10)
  • May 2018 (10)
  • April 2018 (11)
  • March 2018 (6)
  • February 2018 (10)
  • January 2018 (10)
  • December 2017 (10)
  • November 2017 (10)
  • October 2017 (5)
  • September 2017 (10)
  • August 2017 (13)
  • July 2017 (13)
  • June 2017 (6)
  • May 2017 (13)
  • April 2017 (8)
  • March 2017 (11)
  • February 2017 (8)
  • January 2017 (10)
  • December 2016 (6)
  • November 2016 (11)
  • October 2016 (8)
  • September 2016 (9)
  • August 2016 (14)
  • July 2016 (14)
  • June 2016 (14)
  • May 2016 (21)
  • April 2016 (17)
  • March 2016 (14)
  • February 2016 (16)
  • January 2016 (16)
  • December 2015 (13)
  • November 2015 (17)
  • October 2015 (19)
  • September 2015 (19)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (20)
  • June 2015 (18)
  • May 2015 (14)
  • April 2015 (4)
  • March 2015 (1)

CATEGORIES

  • Continuous Glucose Monitors (17)
  • Dealing with Diabetes (112)
  • Diabetes Advocacy (88)
  • Diabetes and Emotions (38)
  • Diabetes and Food (58)
  • Diabetes and Foot Care (1)
  • Diabetes and Healthcare Professionals (51)
  • Diabetes and the Festive Season (17)
  • Diabetes and the Online Community (64)
  • Diabetes and Travel (41)
  • Diabetes at Work (11)
  • Diabetes Blog Week (15)
  • Diabetes Burnout (25)
  • Diabetes Gear (8)
  • Diabetes Musings (314)
  • Diabetes Tech (55)
  • Diagnosis (25)
  • Glucose Monitoring (21)
  • Hypos (22)
  • Insulin Pumps (81)
  • Multiple Daily Injections (35)
  • Peer Support (24)
  • Physical Activity (5)
  • Studying With Diabetes (1)
  • T1 Talk (3)
  • Talking About Diabetes (2)

Copyright © 2023 Type 1 Writes - Diabetes Blog.

Lifestyle WordPress Theme by themehit.com

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: