04/14/2026
Did you know that perimenopause can cause disruptions to your blood sugar control? I didn’t.
Not until two years ago when I started to lose control of my blood sugars at the same time as noticing changes to my cycle. It has been a steady decline ever since then with almost monthly seizures, lots of scans, test and HRT treatments. I am now faced with the offer of a hysterectomy in the hopes that by removing my ovaries, I’ll be able to have control over my hormones levels by using tablets and an estrogen patch.
A surgery initially felt like a big, irreversible decision that up until this weekend, I wasn’t ready to commit to. That was until Friday night when I had my latest seizure and it was different. It was scary and has left me considering agreeing to surgery when I see my doctor this week. My seizures have been caused by blood sugars that crash so low that it no longer reads a number. Perimenopause causes irregular fluctuations in hormones that can have profound effects on blood sugars. The problem with this is that you can’t predict the fluctuations, you only know about it once your sugars react, which is usually too late.
This last seizure left me unable to speak for a while, with the words coming out as strange sounds. The thoughts remained jumbled in my head, refusing to come out as words. My vision in one eye was weaker for two days and I’ve had a persistent pain in one side of my head ever since. It was frightening!
I haven’t seen much posted online in the T1D community about perimenopause, seizures or needing a hysterectomy due to blood sugar control. Which is why I’m going to share some of my experience in the hopes that it might help someone else who might be going through something similar. If nothing else, I might be able to share some useful information before someone else finds themselves in the midst of perimenopause wondering why on earth your blood sugar control has become such a challenge.
If you’re a T1D and perimenopause/ menopause caused you issues or if you needed a hysterectomy, I’d love to hear about your experience.
