Does altitude affect BG?

We live in the desert about 1000 feet above sea level. We went up to Flagstaff this weekend for a relative's college graduation. Flagstaff is about 7000 feet above sea level. While we thought we did a good job of counting carbs, her BGs went up last night and I couldn't get them below 200 all day. Could altitude affect her BG's if she's not used to it?

 

Yes, I think it'll definitely have an effect on bgs.

 

If you search for "altitude" you'll find a number of threads on the topic. Though it seems that not everyone responds in the same way. :cwds: ie,http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/showthread.php?t=18835&highlight=altitude

 

I'm thinking it affects the BG's too. Whenever we go to Mammoth Mountain, CA (about 8,000 ft I think), my son will run high all weekend! You wouldn't think so with all the skiing he does, but I've always wondered if the altitude had anything to do with the high numbers. Last time we went skiing, I was so glad I didn't do a lower temp basal for skiing like I thought we should - he ran high anyway!

Stephanie, mom of Jacob, age 9
Dx since 2005, pumping with MM since 12-10

 

My kids have lived at about 8,000 feet for a couple years and both nondiabetic girls had blood tests for other stuff where it turned out the composition of their blood had changed. I think they had more and smaller red blood cells? Of course, one weekend you wouldn't have adjusted yet, but it really drove home to me how intensely altitude affects the body.

That said, I've never been able to tell if going up or down makes a specific difference on her bg. But I'll tell you altitude at the very least stresses the body and puts it in a bit of a panic mode, so I'm guessing you may have at least seen an adrenaline spike.

Long car drives and excitement also tend to make Selah's bg like being higher longer.

 

Thank you for all your thoughts. We are heading up north in a couple of weeks for our summer vacation to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (8500 ft), Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.

I think I'll run a temp basal to see if I can keep her BG's in check.

 

We were in Maui over the summer and went to Haelakala which is 10,000 feet - highest road in the US. When Hana checked her BS up there, she was 400!!! But the problem was, I didn't know if she was actually 400 or if it was the meter.
We are going to the Grand Canyon in June - I didn't even think about the altitude issue there. sigh