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The shifting hormone levels of a woman’s menstrual cycle complicate diabetes control. When your hormones are surging, here’s how to keep your glucose levels in check.

Contrary to what we all learned in 8th grade, your hormones change every day of the month, and you can bet those hormones influence your insulin sensitivity as well.

Trying to figure out when your menstrual cycle’s hormones affect your blood sugars and how to alter your insulin doses to keep your blood sugars in your target range might feel virtually impossible. And because each woman’s experience and reaction is unique, there is no “one size fits all” solution.

We sought out to Dr. Soumya Hullannavar is a Lead Ayurveda Endocrine Specialist at Diabetes Reversal Clinics & EliteAyurveda Clinics for advice on how to make diabetes care less stressful during “that time of the month” (or, more properly, the entire month).

Blood Sugar Levels and Hormones

“Every month,” Dr. Soumya continues, “the body cycles through hormones that are essentially meant to prepare the body for pregnancy.” Your body goes through three phases: the follicular phase, the ovulatory phase, and the luteal phase.

“The four hormones that regulate your menstrual cycle are estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH),” explains Dr. Soumya. “To a lesser extent, testosterone production is also a factor here.”

Because their production levels fluctuate over the month-long cycle, each of these hormones will have a different effect on your blood sugars and insulin sensitivity. This is how it works:

Days 1-10: Fairly smooth sailing

On the first day of your menstruation, the first day of your cycle begins. While some women may have elevated blood glucose and insulin resistance on this day, your insulin sensitivity should recover to “normal” for the rest of your period. In terms of blood sugar problems, the few days following your period are also often minor.

Days 11-14: Typical Erratic Blood Sugars

According to Smith, the “ovulatory phase” is the initial stage of your cycle when you may observe elevated blood glucose and insulin resistance. As your body prepares to release an egg (ovulate), your LH, FSH, and estrogen levels all rise, generating a transient but noticeable jump in blood glucose.

“This phase is generally noticed in blood sugar levels for no more than two or three days at most,” Dr. Soumya explains.

Days 15-20: You can relax now, but only for a short time.

During this phase of your cycle, your LH and FSH levels soon return to normal. Estrogen levels will also drop swiftly, but as you approach the next phase of your cycle, both estrogen and, especially, progesterone levels begin to climb, paving the way for…

Your Cycle Days 21-28: High Blood Sugar Territory

During the three to seven days preceding the start of your next period, you’re likely to notice considerable and long-lasting insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar.

“Oestrogen and progesterone levels peak in the week preceding the first day of your period,” Dr. Soumya explains. “This would be days 21 through 28 of a typical 28-day cycle.”

As the production of these hormones peaks, your blood sugars become more resistant to “normal” insulin doses, particularly background or basal rate insulin. While the increases in progesterone and estrogen are moderate, it may appear that your blood sugar climbs dramatically on the day before your period begins.

It’s also worth mentioning that progesterone is the constantly rising hormone during pregnancy that causes insulin requirements to climb steadily throughout the last two trimesters.

What Other Effects Does Diabetes Have on Your Menstrual Cycle?

Diabetes can disrupt your cycle in ways other than large fluctuations in blood sugar. Diabetes type 1 and type 2 are both connected to menstrual cycle abnormalities. Diabetes can influence the age at which you first begin your period and when you reach menopause. Menopause occurs earlier in those with type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes types 1 and 2 are also linked to fewer pregnancies and problems conceiving. More research is needed to completely understand how diabetes affects the menstrual cycle.

Getting Ready for Insulin Resistance During the Menstrual Cycle

Don’t let your annoyance or misunderstanding get the best of you because your hormone levels are always changing. Balancing your blood sugars around the hormones of your menstrual cycle is a difficult undertaking, especially given that not every cycle is the same number of days.

Here are a few methods to assist you maintain your blood glucose while dealing with those annoying shifting hormone levels:

Step 1: Monitor Your Cycle

Smith recommends tracking your period for three to six months with a period app or even an ovulation kit to identify when you’re most likely ovulating and how long your cycle generally lasts.

If you’ve never examined your menstrual cycle before, whether for its effect on your blood sugars or for another reason, this is a good place to start. Most women don’t need to keep track of when they ovulate or how long their cycle lasts until they decide whether or not to pursue motherhood.

Tracking your cycle for a few months will help you determine when those days of persistently high blood glucose are caused by hormones rather than a sudden inability to precisely count carbs. One Drop, mySugr, and Clue are other useful monitoring apps to try.

Step 2: Investigate Your Blood Sugar Pattern

“Watch your blood sugar for two months to establish a pattern and identify just how much your blood sugar rises during the two phases of your cycle that cause insulin resistance,” Smith says. Again, you’ll notice insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar levels around the time you ovulate and in the days leading up to your period.

Step 3: Adjust Your Insulin Doses (With the Assistance of Your Provider)

Smith recommends experimenting with modifying your insulin doses with the support of your certified diabetes care and education expert, certified diabetes educator, or endocrinologist after tracking your period and blood sugar for a few months and identifying a trend.

“Whether they use a pump or injections, most women find they need an increase in their background insulin during the days before their period starts and around the time they ovulate,” Smith adds. Generally, women observe their fasting blood sugar levels going up and remaining up during these times, she continues. The amount of background insulin required to compensate for this can range between 25% and 50%.

Some women may find that they need to gradually increase their insulin doses for meals as well.

What to Eat to Improve Blood Sugar Balance

If you have diabetes, the meals you eat during your period should be the same as the foods you eat throughout the month to keep your blood sugar levels stable. However, there are a few supplements that can help with symptom management and compensate for blood loss.

Most essential, limit your consumption of refined sugar and simple carbs. This can be difficult because carb cravings are prevalent during your period. If you’re desiring carbs, go for healthier, complex carbs to avoid blood sugar spikes.

Fruits high in fibre can also help control cravings without raising blood sugar levels. Mixed berries topped with a small amount of homemade, sugar-free whipped cream; apples dipped in one or two tablespoons of peanut, cashew, or almond butter; a handful of prunes or dried apricots and a slice of cheese; sliced avocado on whole grain toast; or pomegranate seeds are some tasty and healthy treats.

Beans, lentils, and whole grains are also good sources of complex carbohydrates. Although these aren’t as exciting as cookies or brownies, the blood sugar surges (and decreases) aren’t worth a few moments of pleasure.

To avoid mood swings, cramps, and bloating, eat foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (like fish), calcium (dairy products), and magnesium (nuts, seeds, and legumes).

Finally, consuming more iron-rich foods can help your body manage with the blood loss and weariness that comes with menstruation. Iron is found in the highest concentrations in shellfish, red meat, liver and other organ meat, and a few vegetarian meals such as legumes, dark leafy greens, and pumpkin seeds.

“These are starting points,” Dr. Soumya explains. Before making any big modifications to your insulin doses, it’s crucial to track for a few months first. Be patient, try to spot patterns, and if all else fails, do your best while remembering that no one manages diabetes flawlessly.

Our Outlook –

How are we able to Treat Diabetes Completely?

“Madhumeha” is the term for Diabetes in Ayurveda, which means ‘Sweet urine’. The manifestation of diabetes is through thirst or urination. According to Ayurveda, due to accumulation of Vata Dosha. Vata dosha accumulates in the large intestine and travels to the pancreas, which hampers its functioning.

Sometimes, Pitta Dosha also leads to diabetes. This is when Pitta gets accumulated in the small intestine before moving to the liver and may cause damage to pancreas. As the main constituent of Pitta is Agni, it burns out pancreas leading to Diabetes.

If the above things are taken into consideration, the treatment of Diabetes in Ayurveda starts with proper cleansing of the body and balancing of doshas. The treatment includes herbal combinations that are prepared based on individual Prakruti and Vikruti analysis. Ie. The treatment is based on a person’s body composition & which dosha is dominant. The treatments like Dhara, Udwarthanam, Thalam, etc are followed to reverse diabetes. The treatment also includes Panchakarma & Yoga procedures to address the root cause of disease. We have seen many patients successfully reversing Diabetes and now living a healthy life.

Unlike other treatment procedures that jump straight to symptom management, we address the root-cause of the disease. Our treatment for Diabetes has proved to achieve a near cure and symptom-free state. We focus on diet, use of potent herbs, meditation, massage with herbal oils and yoga. These classical ayurveda practices have proven & shown sustained results in our Diabetes Treatment.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Soumya Hullannavar is a Lead Ayurveda Endocrine Specialist at Diabetes Reversal Clinics & EliteAyurveda Clinics. With over 15 years of experience in treating endocrine & diabetes cases

Visit  diabetesreversal.clinic for additional details.

Know more about Ayurveda Diabetes Reversal.