Menopause & Blood Glucose Levels

This whole peri thing is bananas. It has me on edge about everything. It seems like when I get one thing together, a new symptom comes along. I never thought about the blood sugar thing. I get the woozy weird head, shaky, feeling ill symptoms. Every time I go the ER they ask me am I diabetic, check my blood sugar and then tell me it's fine. One time they took it and it was high, then went down. I don't know anything anymore and everything is so darn confusing.

Every bit of advice I get seems to be conflicting.  What should happen when I eat doesn't and vice versa.  Don't know whether I am coming or going half the time.  Probably why I choose denial about the whole diabetes thing as it is less stressful.  totally confused about what is happening to me and leaves me in a mental mess.  When do you ever feel normal?? 

 

It feels like NEVER!! When I think I have a normal day....something happens. I have totally not been myself. I went to the store earlier today and had to leave because of the weird head feelings. I just wanted to lye down. I managed my way through the shopping and came straight home. Been in the bed ever since. This can be depressing.

Oh you poor thing.  Hugs to you.  There have been times when it has been the same for me.  My daughter in law is a personal trainer and she suggested  exercise for the weird head feelings but I am always scared if I go for a walk I will collapse on the side of the road somewhere. Sometimes I think sleeping is the bodies way of dealing with this.  Hope you feel better soon.

 

I agree. I am borderline too, but when I took blood tests awhile back I wasn't. Last tine I saw my PC ub Nov. I asked her if perimenopause could cause your sugar levels to rise. She said No. Then when I told her my tests I've taken a few tines with home tester was in the 120's. Still borderline but she seemed concerned and wanted me to come back for glucose testing with my blood again. I told her after the holidays I would. I haven't gone back though cause honestly I don't feel I am. I have none of the other symptoms. Not thirsty all the time, or majorly tired or going the bathroom constantly. Gained a little weight back that I lost back in May but not enough that I feel diabetic. I think it is all related to hormones from all I've read here and on various Peri menopause websites. PCs are just clueless on all these symptons until they experience it themselves. I may be looking for a new Dr. In the Spring. Just hard to find a good doctor.

In the meantime it would be wise to get on a diabetic diet chart. At least no one can point fingers in that respect.

When I realised that i had hypo i had to modify my diabetic diet with a hypo one ....still not sure whats going on. These docs just stare back blindly if you ask them questions

Borderline everything lool.

That gave me a laugh this morning and trust me I need a laugh

The confusion is real because many of the peri symptoms, diabetic symptoms, along with other really serious issues can all happen at the same time so we are very, very confused,. In my view here is what you should do, the diabetes is the most serious, the menopause is while very, very horrible in its symptoms is a natural event, despite its overwhelming horrible issues. I would focus on three issues and I am preaching to the choir here, lose weight if you need to because its so important for diabetics, two, do not indulge in loads of carbs, if you are going to eat carbs do it in the morning when you are pretty active all day, third, exercise every day even if you only do ten minutes, and try to reduce stress. I know thats hard because we have so much as women going on with older kids, spouses, elderly parents, it gets overwhelming.  But hang in there.

lol I keep thinking I must have dementia or Alzheimers halfway through a sentence and I'm somewhere else. Husband and daughter finish my sentence for me.

Pass me . . . a . .Little thing. what thing? uh a silver thing. they offer all the silver things they can think of (which doesn't help at all while my head gropes around in a big empty (I swear totally empty) place) looking for the word. A fork? Yes a thing like that.

I suppose it's not dementia I can go get the tea spoon myself. I just can't find the word for it.

Yes, memory issues are a very signfiicant part of menopause, I literally have to write everything down or I forget, and its embarrassing sometimes. Oh well. 

Yes I have memory issues too. I use whatchamacallit a lot.

I teach and if it were not for notes, I would be LOST..... LOL sometimes I have forgotten my notes and then I have to wing it.

lol, that's a good one.

Okay I should start a new blog on this. It's a huge issue with me. A big empty is soooo true. Blank space! It is getting better, now that I cut out the caffeine, and chocolate. I also started taking ginko biloba and some other natural remedies for memory. Seems to helps a bit.

I've just been reading about a Chinese medicine called HE shou wu. It's supposed to be good for memory also well known for getting rid of grey hair. I was wondering about trying it.

My poor husband will go nuts though I've got a cupboard in the kitchen brim full of weird and wonderful supplements I've accumulated over the past few years!

No, zig I went to look at the data for it, and there's cause for concern due to liver toxicity.

"There are many signs and symptoms of liver disease. These include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes), dark urine, nausea, vomiting, unusual tiredness, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, and /or loss of appetite. If you think you are experiencing any of these symptoms you should see your doctor. If a liver disorder is diagnosed it is recommended that you stop taking Polygonum multiflorum.

Anyone who has previously experienced any liver complaint or any other serious health complaint is advised not to take Polygonum multiflorum without speaking to their doctor first. It is important to always discuss all of the medication you are taking, including herbal products, with your doctor or herbal practitioner to ensure you receive the appropriate care."

It has causes loose stools which is a problem I have without taking medication. There are a lot of herbs out there that have no been tested with control groups. For now, I say stay away until you have solid data. I would try Gingo Biloba and other well known remedies from your health food vitamin shop and not a unknown herb that currently has poor data and thus so far a bad rap sheet.

I agree with you thoughts Patra, anything toxic to the liver will play further havoc with the hormones, as the liver, pancreas & pitutary gland are the crucial organs in relation to hormone production and distribution (as far as I know).  All lot of my friends claimed Remifemin (black cohosh) was the best thing for menopause but when I looked into it - same deal - not much research and too big of an impact on the liver and vascular system.  Unfortunately there is not a lot of reliable research on anything out there for menopause because men are dominant in science and menopause, being a woman's complaint, is not a priority for them.  I often wonder if modern living is a contributor to worsening symptoms, particularly the stress aspect.

 

Thank you Davida. I'm sure stress is a big factor, but more importantly I believe it has a lot to do with the food we eat. I tried Remifemin it didn't work for me. Flax seed drink seems to work the best. All natural you make it at home and it's made of flax, really can't go wrong.

Hi Patra,  I have just started on Mega B complex vitamins, am noticing subtle changes - slightly more energy and sleeping a little better, last night was the first time in ages with no night sweats.  Have considered flax seed tablets (I haven't heard of the drink or seen in the shops here), they seem to have a lot of support due to the phyto-oestrogen compenent.  Took them years ago for anxiety issues so will get them next pay day.  I eat really well (we live in a rural area where there is no take away and cook all our meals, eat a lot of veges, not much fruit (sugar content too high) lots of eggs.  Have my own chooks and vege garden, make my own bread (although I only eat it 1-2 times a week as it plays havoc with my weight loss), dabble in the paleo diet although not as strict, can't give up dairy.  Came across something interesting the other day, looking at one of the family history books which contained copies of a lot of death certificates, it appears that a lot of women in my family died of "senility" whilst in their 50's.  This back in the early 1900's.  My grandmother used to be "taken away in the middle of the night" for weeks at a time to some sort of hospital, my mum said she was in her late 40's when this started.  Makes you wonder if menopause was at the root of all this.  I think some people definately have a greater hormone fluctuation than others.  Off to work now, have a great day to all you lovely ladies. xx

 

Nice to hear you're better with the Mega B complex vitamins. Flax is good but for anxiety I took St. John's Wort. Really took the anxiety out to pasture.

You're lucky to have your own food grown there. I live in a big city where, it's hard to grow anything other than shrubs and weeds because we have a lot of wind.

As for your grandmother, being taken away, probably was menopause and they didn't recognize it as such, thought maybe she was losing it, because with this change losing memory is a huge factor.  For about 2 years I had really bad memory issues but only on certain things. I had to keep things going one day at a time, with my brain being a blank in between. Fortuitously, we have the internet, to help us research what's wrong with us and no doubt you can too, considering your family history.

We're on holiday today. Have a great day as well. xx