Do emotions really play into your bg #s?
So.. I just have to rant..
I work in a doctor's office -- when I had gotten in to open up the clinic, the person that usually comes in at 830am didn't show.. typically when this person shows up, I take a fast break so that I can check my bg, take insulin, and then have a quick breakfast (which usually involves a cup of skim milk and cherrios, a total of 33g of carbs, which I can down in less than 3 minutes).
When this person didn't show up, I had to put up a sign saying "will be back in 5 minutes" -- I checked my bg and it was at 375! I hurried over to where my supervisor was to let her know and had asked if I can sit out in the back to give myself correction and to eat a little (since I was starving -- typically I wouldn't have eaten since my sugar was so high already, but I figured my liver will not stop dumping sugars into my bloodstream until I can stop the hunger). She gave me the go ahead and watched the counter for me.
The charge nurse comes in and starts questioning me as to why i was out in back -- I told her what was going on and she told me she didn't believe me and am trying to get attention (now mind you, I am open about my Diabetes, make a long story short, at my last job they didn't know I was diabetic and I was hospitalized twice, until I told my manager what really was going on with me). She said that I should go out and exercise (ok, obviously she doesn't know what she's talking about and she's the charge nurse, sheesh!)-- THEN proceeded to go on about if I haven't eaten and hadnt taken my insulin then my bg #s shouldn't be that high -- mind you her husband is a T2, and I understand that with T2's (as I was miss diagnosed as T2 in 2009), that is the case -- I was SUPER frustrated.. and of course got all worked up, checked my bg #s again after 15 minutes of administering insulin, it went up 10 points!!
I've heard everything can affect bg #s, but I never thought my emotions would play a big part in it (although now that I think about it, I suppose it does) -- my ex-endocrinoloogist would tell me from time to time that it's because it's "...those diabetics who didn't know how to handle their stressors that leads them to gorge on foods under the "no-no" categories, which would cause high bg #s." I've sinced moved on to getting a new endo (since my old one was a nut, and was helping me none), but haven't gotten the courage to ask my new one about emotions playing a part of bg #s....
I think I might have posted a similar question back in 2009, when I was first diagnosed...
Anyway, for those who are more experienced and knowledgable, please enlighten me!!!
And, yes, I snapped at the charge nurse (just because A. I wasn't feeling well and B. She seriously hit a nerve), and just ended up going back to the front counter and sitting next to my supervisor (she thought what happened was funny and told me to let it go).. it had taken me at least 72 hours to get my sugar close to normal after that day...
-_-
Ok, done with my ranting!
I work in a doctor's office -- when I had gotten in to open up the clinic, the person that usually comes in at 830am didn't show.. typically when this person shows up, I take a fast break so that I can check my bg, take insulin, and then have a quick breakfast (which usually involves a cup of skim milk and cherrios, a total of 33g of carbs, which I can down in less than 3 minutes).
When this person didn't show up, I had to put up a sign saying "will be back in 5 minutes" -- I checked my bg and it was at 375! I hurried over to where my supervisor was to let her know and had asked if I can sit out in the back to give myself correction and to eat a little (since I was starving -- typically I wouldn't have eaten since my sugar was so high already, but I figured my liver will not stop dumping sugars into my bloodstream until I can stop the hunger). She gave me the go ahead and watched the counter for me.
The charge nurse comes in and starts questioning me as to why i was out in back -- I told her what was going on and she told me she didn't believe me and am trying to get attention (now mind you, I am open about my Diabetes, make a long story short, at my last job they didn't know I was diabetic and I was hospitalized twice, until I told my manager what really was going on with me). She said that I should go out and exercise (ok, obviously she doesn't know what she's talking about and she's the charge nurse, sheesh!)-- THEN proceeded to go on about if I haven't eaten and hadnt taken my insulin then my bg #s shouldn't be that high -- mind you her husband is a T2, and I understand that with T2's (as I was miss diagnosed as T2 in 2009), that is the case -- I was SUPER frustrated.. and of course got all worked up, checked my bg #s again after 15 minutes of administering insulin, it went up 10 points!!
I've heard everything can affect bg #s, but I never thought my emotions would play a big part in it (although now that I think about it, I suppose it does) -- my ex-endocrinoloogist would tell me from time to time that it's because it's "...those diabetics who didn't know how to handle their stressors that leads them to gorge on foods under the "no-no" categories, which would cause high bg #s." I've sinced moved on to getting a new endo (since my old one was a nut, and was helping me none), but haven't gotten the courage to ask my new one about emotions playing a part of bg #s....
I think I might have posted a similar question back in 2009, when I was first diagnosed...
Anyway, for those who are more experienced and knowledgable, please enlighten me!!!
And, yes, I snapped at the charge nurse (just because A. I wasn't feeling well and B. She seriously hit a nerve), and just ended up going back to the front counter and sitting next to my supervisor (she thought what happened was funny and told me to let it go).. it had taken me at least 72 hours to get my sugar close to normal after that day...
-_-
Ok, done with my ranting!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RissaMae83 on -
yes.. it's funny that you mention about school and high bg #s -- I'm back in school and I can actually point out which days I am getting ready for any exam... ((nodding)) I am realizing the trend!
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Permalink Reply by Amy on -
She was right to let it go. Remember that some people are just plain stupid....sorry to be so blunt. After 25 years and 7 months as a Type1, I can say with 100% certainty that a BIG yes to emotions and stress can make blood sugars go whacky. Stress will make my sugars go up faster than eating something with high carbs almost every single time. I am on a pump and a CGMS and I can just watch the blood sugars climb up and of course through testing as well. Ask your new doctor, but then again your new doctor should be telling you that without you even asking. By that I mean when my sugars are out of line one of the first things my doctor asks is "how is your stress level lately?" Good luck!.
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Permalink Reply by RissaMae83 on
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Amy - no not at all blunt -- I like it when people tell me how it is, at least that cuts out the sugar coating (HA! No pun intended) and gets to the point. Hmm.. she hasn't really asked about my stress or work.. every time I see my endo, it's usually "how are you feeling"
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Permalink Reply by Amy on
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Rissa, then best to be honest with her about your stress level. If she does not tell you that it does effect your sugars. well, time for a new Endo again. Work, stress, hormones, anything going on in your life will effect your blood sugars one way or another. That is one of the reasons it can be so hard to control our blood sugars sometimes and also why every diabetic is different. We all react differently if we did not treating Diabetics/diabetes would be sooooo much easier.
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Permalink Reply by RissaMae83 on
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Aha -- yes this is true.. I will def talk to her when I see her at the end of the month about the stressors in my life.. thanks Amy! =)
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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on -
I have found that many endos generally avoid the whole emotion/blood sugar connection. I don't know why, but it seems like they don't really feel it's their issue to deal with. The endo I have now will ask me how I'm doing emotionally, whether I'm sleeping ok, and whether I have any unusual stress in my life. She's the first one I've had in a long time who "gets" that all these things play into how well controlled my BGs are.
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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on -
Well, everyone is clearly behind the idea that stress can cause huge effects on your blood sugar. But it is not just your blood sugar, those hormones from stress have broad ranging effects on your body. And there are lots of studies that show that highly stressed people are sicker and die younger.
The really hard thing to do is to manage stress in our lives. Many of us feel like our day is a constant struggle against an ongoing health crisis and that is on top of all the regular stuff. But what we really need to do is just calm down, accept certain things about our situation that we cannot change, keep in mind what is important and sometimes just say "let it go." So I don't worry about work as much, I do my best, if I am late to a meeting, then I'll deal with it. If my kids are messing up, giving me lip, failing a class, I just don't let it get me all worked up. I would like to think that as I have gotten older I have gotten better at managing stress. But I still try to work on it.
Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.
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Permalink Reply by Kim on -
Stress often significantly raises my BG. I also can't do a full correction bolus for a short term stressful event because my blood sugar will plummet. But when something big is coming up I usually set a temporary bolus.
Your blood sugar was 375 before the Cheerios, so they don't seem to be the problem in this case.
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Permalink Reply by MyBustedPancreas on
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Wow, first, yes, emotions play a HUGE role on BGs. I go sky high whenever I get stressed, angry, upset, very sad, etc. And I will often stay high in those situations even with huge corrections, until I come crashing down several hours later. I am thankful that I don't have a job that is too stressful....but on the rare occasions when I do get stressed (or even nervous, like before a presentation), it's almost guaranteed I'll be upwards of 300 for a bit. If I get angry, that's the worst. We always joke at home that I have to bolus before any marital discord.
More importantly, though....how did you not B*%@H SLAP that charge nurse? Seriously, I don't think I could have stopped myself. I can't believe the ignorance!! From a medical professional no less!! I actually don't think you should let it go...I would go back to her (once you've calmed down, of course) and explain to her that her comments/observations were factually incorrect. She is a medical professional and needs to know the difference between T1 and T2. I realize it's not your job to educate her, but keep in mind that her ignorance could negatively impact someone she's treating one day.
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Permalink Reply by Gary on -
Read all my posts. High blood sugar can cause major distress, worse then low. Eating while your sugar is that high is like pouring poison into your system. I also suffer with starvation when my sugars get high. Here you are starving to death and eating worsens the problem.
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Permalink Reply by Erin Huff Carper on
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Emotions play a very big roll in blood sugar control. For example, lots of diabetics experience high blood sugar spikes with anxiety or anger or sadness or stress, and not "because they can't handle their stressors and gorge on food" like your (crappy) endo said. I'm glad you switched doctors! I don't know much about the body's chemistry, maybe someone else can speak up about this, but I know it has something to do with adrenaline, cortisol etc. (stuff that is released in your body when you're stressed out) being a hormone and stuff like that.
As to checking your bgs 15 minutes after taking insulin and having gone up 10 points, that was probably more due to your meter. Glucose meters are allowed to have a +/- 20% variance. That means the number on your meter could actually be 20% higher or 20% lower than your actual blood sugar at any given test. 15 minutes was probably not long enough for your insulin to make any considerable dent in that high blood sugar, so the 10 pt. higher number you saw was probably just your +/- 20% meter variance. That being said, the fact that you were stressed out that day probably definitely played a roll in why it was so hard for you to get your blood sugars down to a normal range for the rest of the day.
Hang in there! I think you're doing a great job, and I'm also super glad you snapped at that charge nurse. :)
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