DIABETES AND THE MENOPAUSE

DIABETES AND THE MENOPAUSE

You might be thinking “What’s the connection between diabetes and the menopause?”

Well, for ladies reaching that certain age, it can be very traumatic – especially when some of the effects experienced can easily be mistaken for those we have to be aware of when managing our diabetes…

For a diabetic taking medication, keeping blood sugars at the right level is a balancing act. If sugar levels drop too low, because of not eating enough or at the right times, you suffer a hypoglycemia episode. This usually manifests itself as shaking; irritability; sweating and a faint-headed feeling.

If you are diabetic and have ever had low-blood sugar you may recognize some of these symptoms, amongst others. A quick ‘glucose fix’ usually settles it within 5-10 minutes.

Now, compare that to some of the symptoms of starting the menopause; hot flushes [I call them ‘power-surges’ ;)] – similar to the sweats of a hypoglycemia mood swings – akin to the irritability you might experience during a hypoglycemia. It’s very easy to confuse the symptoms you are feeling.

When someone first started the menopause, they frequently confused waking at 2 a.m. in the morning in a cold sweat as a hypoglycemia and took a quick sugar boost to settle themselves. That pushed the blood sugar levels up when they didn’t need it. Not a good idea!

It is only after visiting the Doctor to talk about these frequent, unexpected hypoglycemia someone can discover about starting the menopause.

If you are a lady, with diabetes controlled by medication, and you are in your early 50s and you start having frequent, unexplained hypoglycemia – check your sugar levels before ‘treating the condition’. And get your Doctor to check your symptoms. You may be confusing symptoms of diabetes and the menopause.