March 8, 2004
Insulin Analogs, Other
Question from Wisconsin, USA:
My daughter is 16 and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes eight years ago. She recently has switched over to Lantus. Since the switch, her menstrual cycles are pretty messed up. Instead of one week on and three off, it is more like three days on, two days off. Since insulin is a type of hormone, could it possibly be affecting her other hormones? Her nurse and doctor don’t think so, but it is too coincidental. We don’t want to stop the Lantus to find out. It works really well and makes life so much easier.
Answer:
It is unlikely that Lantus or any other insulin has a direct effect on menstrual cycles. It sounds like your daughter should have a gynecologic evaluation either with her endocrinologist or a gynecologist to be sure that there is no other explanation for the irregular bleeding cycles since there are several diagnostic possibilities that would be amenable to treatment to stabilize the cycles themselves.
SB
