Should I Continue Using Birth Control During The Transition To Menopause
Yes. You can still get pregnant during perimenopause, the transition to menopause, even if you miss your period for a month or a few months. During perimenopause you may still ovulate, or release an egg, on some months.
But it is impossible to know for sure when you will ovulate. If you dont want to get pregnant, you should continue to use birth control until one full year after your last period. Talk to your doctor about your birth control needs. Learn more about different .
You cant get pregnant after menopause, but anyone who has sex can get . If you are not in a monogamous relationship in which you and your partner have sex with each other and no one else, protect yourself by using a male condom or correctly every time you have vaginal, oral, or anal sex. After menopause you may be more likely to get an STI from sex without a condom. Vaginal dryness or irritation is more common after menopause and can cause small cuts or tears during sex, exposing you to STIs.
Can Diabetes Make Girls Start Their Periods Late
As long as your daughters diabetes is being managed, it shouldnt delay or speed up when she gets her first period. The average age to get your first period is 12, but it can happen any time during puberty.
Being underweight can delay periods starting, or stop them once they have started, but as long as your daughters weight and sugar levels are being managed, this shouldnt happen.
My Period Lasting Longer Than Usual Is It Normal
If your period usually lasts for four days and increased to 6 days, then its not prolonged. Also, some women may experience prolonged bleeding once in a while and normalize the next periods.
If your period is persistently long and lasting more than seven days then it abnormal.
Causes of period lasting longer than usual include
- Fibroid
Longer than normal period? What to do
If your period lasts longer than normal, then you should monitor it.
Is your bleeding heavy with blood clots? Is it the first time you notice it? Has it been persistent? Do you experience excessive menstruation?
If this is the first time, then you should monitor your next period. If its persistent, then you should let your doctor know.
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Can Excessive Menstruation Be Treated
If your doctor finds stress or birth control pills as the cause of your excessive menstruation, you will be advised or other contraceptive methods used. Also, vaginal infections and other causes will require further testing. Vaginal infections gonorrhea and chlamydia, can be treated with antibiotics. If your bleeding is due to a polyp, a curettage or polyp forceps is used with good success rate.
Also, vaginal infections and other causes will require further testing. Vaginal infections gonorrhea and chlamydia, can be treated with antibiotics. If your bleeding is due to a polyp, a curettage or polyp forceps is used with good success rate.
Wondering why My period wont stop? Let us know.
Weight Gain Can Cause Irregular Periods
Although type 2 diabetes can occur in women who are not overweight, it is likely that if you are living with type 2 diabetes you are struggling with your weight. Weight loss can be challenging but not impossible for women with type 2 diabetes. Unlike type 1 diabetes where your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, if you are living with type 2 diabetes your body is resistant to insulin.
When you are overweight your excess fat or adipose tissue produces hormones that increase your insulin resistance. This insulin resistance then triggers your pancreas to produce more insulin. Although we don’t understand exactly how it happens, these increased insulin levels interact with the hormones that control your menstrual cycle. When your cyclic hormonal fluctuations are interrupted you will not ovulate and If you do not ovulate you will not have a regular period.
Your type 2 diabetes may be part of a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS. If you have PCOS, you have an imbalance in your ovarian hormone production. This imbalance prevents regular ovulation resulting in irregular menstrual cycles. This condition is also associated with elevated insulin levels due to overproduction of insulin because of underlying insulin resistance. Often, the more overweight you are, the less frequently you will ovulate and the more irregular your periods will become.
Read Also: What To Do When Your Stomach Hurts On Period
Opinion Article The Role Of Metformin In Ovulation Induction: Current Status
To define the exact role of metformin in ovulation induction, it is crucial to distinguish three different indications: naïve PCOS, CC-resistant PCOS and ART. In naïve PCOS: metformin as compared to placebo has been shown to improve ovulation rates, but metformin did not exert significant advantage over CC with respect to cumulative ovulation, pregnancy or live-birth rates. The combined approach of metformin plus CC is not better than CC or metformin monotherapy in naïve PCOS. In CC-resistant patients: metformin has no benefit over placebo in ovulation, pregnancy, and live-birth rates as a single agent, but the combination of metformin and CC significantly improved ovulation and pregnancy rates when compared with CC alone. However, combined therapy did not improve the odds of live birth. Metformin pretreatment improves the efficacy of CC in PCOS patients with CC resistance. In PCOS patients scheduled for ART: metformin addition to gonadotropins reduces the duration of gonadotropins administration and the doses of gonadotropins required, and increases the rate of monoovulations, reducing the risk of cancelled cycles. Metformin co-administration to IVF treatment does not improve pregnancy or live-birth rates but reduces the risk of OHSS.Continue reading > >
Monitoring Blood Glucose Levels
Blood glucose levels can be measured easily at home or anywhere.
A fingerstick glucose test is most often used to monitor blood glucose. Most blood glucose monitoring devices use a drop of blood obtained by pricking the tip of the finger with a small lancet. The lancet holds a tiny needle that can be jabbed into the finger or placed in a spring-loaded device that easily and quickly pierces the skin. Most people find that the pricking causes only minimal discomfort. Then, a drop of blood is placed on a reagent strip. The strip contains chemicals that undergo changes depending on the glucose level. The glucose meter reads the changes in the test strip and reports the result on a digital display. Some devices allow the blood sample to be obtained from other sites, such as the palm, forearm, upper arm, thigh, or calf. Home glucose meters are smaller than a deck of cards.
Continuous glucose monitoring systems use a small glucose sensor placed under the skin. The sensor measures blood glucose levels every few minutes. There are two types of CGMs, with different purposes:
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Professional
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Personal
Professional CGMs collect continuous blood glucose information over a period of time . Health care providers use this information to make treatment recommendations. Professional CGMs do not provide data to the person with diabetes.
Also Check: Having A Period For A Month
Hormonal Contraception Can Increase Insulin Resistance
If your own hormonal fluctuations can affect your glycemic control it should be no surprise that exogenous hormones can have a similar effect. During your menstrual cycle, the most significant insulin resistance is seen during the luteal phase when your progesterone levels are highest. However, some studies show that estrogen, as well as progesterone, can also cause insulin resistance. The hormonal contraceptive methods that contain estrogen and progesterone include:
- oral contraceptive pill
The hormonal contraceptive methods that contain only progesterone include:
- Mirena
- Depo-Provera
- Progesterone only pill
Any of these hormonal contraceptive methods may increase your body’s insulin resistance, making it harder to control your blood sugar. In general, it is OK to use these methods if you have diabetes. It is just important to be aware that using a hormonal contraceptive may change your glycemic control. Make sure to pay extra attention to your blood sugar when you are starting or changing your hormonal contraceptive method.
Why Does Blood Sugar Rise Before Or During Periods
Before and during your period, changes in the level of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone can induce temporary resistance to insulin which can last for up to a few days and then drop off.
Some girls and women have consistent effects as to how their period affects blood sugar whereas other women may find that the effect on blood sugar varies from one month to another.
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Relationship Between Menstruation And Blood Sugar Fluctuations Have Been Known For A Long Time
The connection between menstruation and blood sugar metabolism has been known for decades. More precisely, since the 1940s, when researcher H.I. Cramer shared his findings on the relationship between the monthly cycle and blood sugar fluctuations in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
So why is there so little discussion and training on it? Shouldn’t we be able to expect it as a standard of diabetes education and that its routinely considered during therapy adjustments?
There are almost 200 million women with diabetes in the world. And it’s the way it is, women have menstruation. Women with diabetes are also more often affected by polycystic ovarian syndrome than women without diabetes. These include, for example, irregular bleeding, period pain, a very strong and / or longer period, as well as skin problems.
Use A Period Tracker App To Help Manage Diabetes Around Your Period
There are so many free period tracking apps these days. They all serve the same purpose: to help you pinpoint when your body is most likely ovulating and when your period is going to start.
Usually, a young or grown woman doesnt need to track her ovulation and menstrual calendar this closely until shes trying to get pregnant. As women with diabetes, it serves an entirely different purpose and can be very helpful.
The more consistently you use it, the more accurate the information will be which will help you anticipate those tedious blood sugar fluctuations, too.
Open your Apps Store application on your smartphone , and choose any of the top few free results. It will likely assume your menstrual cycle is 28-days from start to finish .
If you track your period consistently for 3 months, you can see if your body indeed follows a 28-day cycle or if its possibly a little longer. Then adjust the settings in the app .
If you notice your cycle is longer than 35 days, inform your healthcare team immediately as this can be a sign of other problems.
Also Check: Can You Get Pregnant A Few Days After Your Period
Can Uncontrolled Diabetes Cause Irregular Menstrual Cycles Or Stop Menses
Answer:
They can. However, I would make sure your physician looks for other reasons for having your menses stop, besides poorly controlled diabetes. This is a very important point. Make sure you review this with your physician. If menses have stopped, make sure you get checked to determine if you are pregnant.
Monday, November 15, 2021 11:35:11 UTC
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Some Reproductive Symptoms Are:
Period cycles of 40+ days or less than 21 days. Missed periods. Unusually or extremely heavy flow. Polycystic ovary syndrome .
Often,we tend to brush off such prediabetes symptoms as stressful times or just a miss.It is therefore important for women to know their menstrual cycle well and look out for unusual aberrations. The first step is to be armed with the knowledge about how diabetes and your menstrual cycle are related.
Read Also: My Period Blood Is Light Pink And Watery
During Ovulation Your Blood Sugars And Insulin Resistance Levels May Rise
The ovulatory cycle can definitely create some unpredictable high blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, explains Smith.
When your body is preparing to release an egg approximately 14 to 16 days after the start of your last period, nearly all of your hormone levels rise quickly, creating a brief but significant spike in blood sugar levels.
Similar to the start of your period, you may need a 25 to 40 percent increase in your background insulin doses.
Fortunately, this cumbersome phase only lasts for as long as 2 to 3 days in most women. That being said, its still very hard to pinpoint and predict, which means youll need to keep a close eye on your menstruation calendar.
If you can match-up your sudden high blood sugars with the days on the calendar during which your body is preparing for ovulation, youll feel far less frustrated with those seemingly irrational high blood sugars.
Is It Normal To Miss A Period
There are several times in a persons life when irregular periods are expected: when a person first starts having periods , during breastfeeding, and at the beginning of perimenopause . On average, most people get their periods every 28 days. But a healthy persons menstrual cycle can last from 21 to 35 days. Apart from puberty, menopause, and pregnancy, a missed period may indicate a health issue.
Read Also: Why Is My Period 6 Days Late
Menstrual Cycle And Adjustment Of Diabetes Therapy
Knowing your cycle is definitely important, because this is the only way to counteract the fluctuations in blood sugar. For example, I personally need more basal insulin in the week before my menstrual period and then let the basal rate run at 130% – 150% percent .
Many people with diabetes have created an additional basal profile in their insulin pump for this time, so that all they have to do is just switch to it at the appropriate moment.
Then, as soon as hormone concentration decreases, less insulin is needed in most cases. The extent to which the therapy must be adapted to the cycle is very individual and it takes a little time to work it out optimally.
This is precisely why accurate documentation and a well-trained team of doctors are so important and helpful. What are your experiences? Does your cycle affect your blood sugar levels? And what about therapy adjustments? Do you get support and advice from your diabetes team?