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[Katty]

I have a friend who has type 1 diabetes and is really struggling to control her sugars. She has been really ill with it and nearly died a year ago but she struggles to get a linked up approach for all her issues from the GP. They seem to treat each crisis as it arises. Urine infections, fibromyalgia, the diabetes. I was wondering if HRT would help her stabilise her hormones and thus her blood sugars. It might also help with the aches and pains she has and the terrible insomnia. Is there a link that can provide me with up to date information on diabetes in this context? She needs to have some rationale to take to the GP to at least start to unpick this.

[CLKD]

Firstly are they urine 'infections'?  Her GP/Practice Nurse MUST send a morning sample to a Lab. for testing to see if it grows any bacteria which can then be treated with the correct anti-biotic.  Vaginal atrophy - of where there are several threads on here - presents with irritated bladder symptoms.  As oestrogen levels drop off so the body, inside and outs, tends to dryness which means skin becomes thin = itchiness and sensitivity.

There are medications available on prescription to ease these symptoms. 

I suggest that your friend returns to the Diabetic Consultant for advice, or contacts the UK Diabetes Support Group [or what they call themselves ? ] - GPs really don't do joined up thinking sometimes 

The drop in oestrogen can also cause muscle laxity = aches and pains.

[Katty]

Yes joined up thinking is just not happening. Thank goodness for this website as it is quite amazing how little we are told as we age about the menopause. How many people are just suffering in silence out there not realising that their lives can be changed by the right help here and there?

[CLKD]

Huge numbers I expect.

Did you speak with your friend?

[Hurdity]

Hi Katty - is your friend peri-menopausal and are her periods becoming irregular? There is a complex relationship between our sex hormones and blood sugar metabolism and I know there is some interaction especially re the different effects of oestrogen and progesterone on blood sugar.  Perhaps this could be having an effect? Is she getting lots of hypos for example or the opposite? Even some non-diabetic women (like myself) have experienced problems with blood sugar and phases of the menstrual cycle, and also with some added progestogens - specifically sometimes getting reactive hypoglycaemia (apparent low blood sugar) from sudden decreases when blood sugar is not in fact in the hypo level. I know others have reported this too. If you are diabetic and something similar is going on with surging hormones I can imagine this must be impossible. Surely there must be specilaist advice to diabetic women in peri-menopause?

HRT would stabilise her cycle somewhat but not eliminate it, or maybe the pill ( there is one that is like HRT) - as the latter controls the cycle and therefore the hormone surges - depending on where she is in menopause and how old she is.

Her aches and pains could well be partly due to low oestrogen if she going through menopause and I presume her thyroid function is monitored regularly?

She should be able to google the link between diabetes and menopause.... I have now just done so and uo comes the Mayo Clinic again:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/diabetes/art-20044312

http://www.mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/leaflets/menopause.asp?ID=814&thesection=living&thetitle=Diabetes%20and%20Menopause&thetype=leaflet

http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca/health-centres/diabetes/diabetes-and-menopause/

http://insulinnation.com/living/diabetes-and-menopause-what-you-need-to-know/

Hope some of these are helpful

Hurdity x

[Katty]

My friend was on Prempak until about 18 months ago. At that time she was also on strong pain killers, anti depressants as well as injecting insulin. She had a bad episode and was on life support for days. In that situation all medication was withdrawn and ever since she left hospital she's been battling to sort out her health.

She's no longer on pain killers for her Fibromyalgia. She's recently been put back on anti depressants. She's getting a couple of hours sleep a night, terrible dryness, full of aches and pains and her blood sugars are constantly too high or too low. She's struggling to deal with fighting the system to get where she needs to be. She's now 54 like me and obviously post menopausal. I recently started HRT and I know what a difference it is making to me so I wondered if the continuous combined regime would help her with some of her issues. On researching a bit I found some links between diabetes and menopause and it obviously has heightened importance for a diabetic. The thing is she had no idea that menopause would even affect her diabetes control. No doctor had mentioned it and most NHS websites don't really link the two. Even if they did she is not one to research on the internet and not everyone has it. I haven't been through all of this website but the links above have been very helpful. Thank you. I just feel if there are no health reasons why she shouldn't be on continuous combined HRT then it's worth a try to see if it could help her quality of life.

She appears to have no continuity of care, no joined up thinking and a series of different locums dealing with her. Hopefully armed with some new information she can get somewhere at last. I think this particular area needs flagging up in the medical profession and a raising of awareness generally. Maybe those specialists on this site would consider looking at it. Diabetes is apparently on the rise and there must be 1000's of women out there at risk because they do not realise the impact that the menopause may have on their control of their sugar levels. Every diabetic woman in her 40's needs to be educated about this.