# Hot and cold weather - how they affect blood sugar levels?



## MarcLister (May 17, 2009)

Was talking to a forum member on MSN last night and we weren't sure about the effects of hot and cold weather on our blood sugar levels.

I know from personal experience that cold weather makes the blood sugar levels go down. I was shopping in Milton Keynes last December and walked back from Leighton Buzzard station to my place when I felt really quite bad. Got home and it was a massive hypo. It didn't help that I had to wait outside for about 30-40 mins for the train to take me from MK to LB.

But we were wondering then what effect does hot weather have on our blood sugar levels? Cold weather surely makes them drop because we're having to increase our usage of energy levels to try and keep warm? So we thought perhaps hot weather makes them go up because we use less energy for heating? But I wondered if perhaps hot weather makes our blood sugar levels go down, because although we aren't using energy to keep ourselves warm we are using more energy to try and stay cool?

Both of us are fairly new diabetics, in that we've not experienced a summer as a diabetic yet so whilst we've gone through a winter, this summer will be our first as diabetics and we just thought it'd be nice to know what to expect.


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## insulinaddict09 (May 17, 2009)

MarcLister said:


> Was talking to a forum member on MSN last night and we weren't sure about the effects of hot and cold weather on our blood sugar levels.
> 
> I know from personal experience that cold weather makes the blood sugar levels go down. I was shopping in Milton Keynes last December and walked back from Leighton Buzzard station to my place when I felt really quite bad. Got home and it was a massive hypo. It didn't help that I had to wait outside for about 30-40 mins for the train to take me from MK to LB.
> 
> ...




Hi Marc.. well this is my second summer on insulin and so far for me hot weather seems to increase my sugar levels... im not sure why it does that. My brother who is also type 1 has the opposite problem and his levels drop rapidly in warmer weather. Maybe it has a hormonal connection? How long have you been diagnosed?


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## katie (May 17, 2009)

Hi mark.  If you read the first posts of this thread: http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=1421&highlight=weather

There is some discussion about weather and season changes that might be useful for you to read.


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## MarcLister (May 17, 2009)

Thanks peeps. So BS levels could go up or down. 

Got a DSN appointment this Friday. I think we can guess one of the questions I'll be asking.


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## Caroline (May 18, 2009)

As a general rule of thumb I try to keep an eye on things. I go through stages where I don't want to eat, but know I have to when it's hot.

I keep checking and can avoid certain foods or eat a couple of jellty babies as necessary. I think the main thing is to keep checking and see what is going to affect you most.


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## Northerner (May 18, 2009)

I found that my levels dropped  during the few hot days we had last summer, but maybe that was due to me being more active in the garden on those days. Haven't really had enough hot days this year to come to any conclusions!


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## insulinaddict09 (May 18, 2009)

Northerner said:


> I found that my levels dropped  during the few hot days we had last summer, but maybe that was due to me being more active in the garden on those days. Haven't really had enough hot days this year to come to any conclusions!



I dont think we will have this year... raining again here... and cold brrrr


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## mikep1979 (May 18, 2009)

hot and cold tend to drop mine lol. so i cant really win!!!! hahahaha


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## aymes (May 18, 2009)

Again, could be different for everyone but I do know a lot of people find hot weather brings their numbers/insulin needs down as heat can speed up insulin absorption/efficiency. I do find I need less insulin when I'm somewhere warm. Although I don't really notice a differerence when it's very cold I have heard people say that this also drops their numbers.


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## Patricia (May 18, 2009)

aymes said:


> Again, could be different for everyone but I do know a lot of people find hot weather brings their numbers/insulin needs down as heat can speed up insulin absorption/efficiency. I do find I need less insulin when I'm somewhere warm. Although I don't really notice a differerence when it's very cold I have heard people say that this also drops their numbers.



Not that I've experienced it personally, but heat and cold both seem to drop my son. We were told similar stuff to aymes, that the potential dropping is the metabolism for cold (body working hard to stay warm), and for heat, it's the absorption rate of the insulin that's affected...


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## Northerner (May 18, 2009)

Patricia said:


> Not that I've experienced it personally, but heat and cold both seem to drop my son. We were told similar stuff to aymes, that the potential dropping is the metabolism for cold (body working hard to stay warm), and for heat, it's the absorption rate of the insulin that's affected...



Yes, that's what I was told, and it does seem to be true for me.


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## MarcLister (May 18, 2009)

Interesting. Thanks everyone for their knowledge. Looks like I'll have to wait until the next hot summer to see what happens to me. 2012 then. 

I do remember finding it very hard towards the back end of last summer when I think I was just starting to show the symptoms of diabetes. I remember sweating a lot more a lot quicker than normal and I couldn't really exhert myself in the sun for more than 5-10 minutes before I needed a sugary drink.


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