Does testing cause anxiety?

[smw99]

In this case knowledge allows us to change and improve our health. I feel reassured to test not anxious. I'm afraid that the anxiety is the thought of funding test strips. It is so short sighted as it could save so much money and keep people healthier in the long run.

 

[OrsonKartt]

I was told last Wednesday by my DN that testing wouldn't make the slightest difference. That really confused me, even more so since joining this forum and reading all the posts from you lovely people.

Its really tough figuring out that someone you felt like you should be able to trust ie your doctor/nurse doesnt exactly know what they are doing... Its a bit like finding out that father christmas doesnt really exist. At least here people are able to tell me the truth and give me the science rather than a well meant but often wrong opinion .

 

[bluelybell]

At the moment the only real anxiety is about sticking at the testing and making it work for me, though haven't started yet as haven't got a meter.

 

[Glucobabu]

DAFNE course teaches you how to work out the carbohydrate content of your meal and adjust your insult dose accordingly. Hence it follows that one needs to test before and 2 hours after each meal. If you get it wrong you may have to take a correction dose and test again to check if you got it right! Besides, the law stipulates that you test each time before setting off in your car. This means lots of testing and using lots of test strips. But isn't this the whole point? You endeavour to keep your BG as normal as possible and live a healthy, safe life? So how can these 'medics' discourage you from testing and rationing your test strips? No diabetics should have to fight this basic right.

 

[Glucobabu]

'Insult' ofcourse means insulin

 

[jonnoras]

Hi. I am a type 2 diabetic using exercise and diet to control my blood. I Think this is purely a subjective issue. I know that when I started testing before and after every meal I managed to control my blood glucose through the food I ate. I continued testing my blood two hours after every meal and then one hour after every meal and it began to become a bit of an obsession. After a time I would become very anxious if my blood glucose wasn't in the region I thought it should be after monitoring my food intake. I ended up feeling very disappointed and sometimes elated because it was not possible to predict my blood glucose with such accuracy. I decided to completely reduce the amount of testing I do. I now test three or four times a week but at different times. So I might test when I wake up in the morning, or one hour after meal, or two hours after a meal or before a meal. My blood levels are under control (I hope) and I don't obsess about what my blood glucose is going to be as much as I did. It has definitely helped me not taking my blood as often as I did. This is entirely right for me but not necessarily right for other people. I suppose it depends on what sort of person you are. I think I'm a bit of a pessimist and a worrier. Having said all that, I feel the high amount of testing I undertook at the beginning give me an awful lot of information about what food was right for me. I now stick strictly to this diet so I feel much more confident that my blood is under control whether I test myself or not. I hope this makes some sense.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Today I was told by my GP to stop testing myself as it causes anxiety. Is there any science behind this statement? Does anyone have links to science papers which indicate this or the reverse?

BTW I have never felt more in control of my own health than at the mo!!

I was told something similar but I think your GP may have another agenda. People are always concerned about their health. There is half an acre of space in my Tesco on body products. Holland and Barratt are doing nicely thank you. There has been the argument that quality of life should be measured against the quantity of life but instinct seems to support the quantity of life argument. No-one wants to die.

There was a study which suggested that being diagnosed with diabetes had the same life affecting qualities as a stroke but I can't find it at the moment.

I feel that your GP is pushing the party line. If he didn't want you to be anxious he wouldn't have diagnosed you as diabetic.

 

[dbr10]

Too right....With all this Its dificult for me to comprehend how far behind the learning curve NHS practice is. Also it really is tough when confronted with an argument from someone ie my doctor, who I would dearly like to trust and respect. In a real sense this is an abuse of power.

If you test, you soon learn what advice to trust, and what not to.

 

[Prem51]

At the moment the only real anxiety is about sticking at the testing and making it work for me, though haven't started yet as haven't got a meter.

I didn't like the idea of doing the finger pricking, but you soon get used to it.

 

[Prem51]

DAFNE course teaches you how to work out the carbohydrate content of your meal and adjust your insult dose accordingly. Hence it follows that one needs to test before and 2 hours after each meal. If you get it wrong you may have to take a correction dose and test again to check if you got it right! Besides, the law stipulates that you test each time before setting off in your car. This means lots of testing and using lots of test strips. But isn't this the whole point? You endeavour to keep your BG as normal as possible and live a healthy, safe life? So how can these 'medics' discourage you from testing and rationing your test strips? No diabetics should have to fight this basic right.

Hi @Glucobabu Type 1 diabetics are prescribed meters and testing strips in the UK as they have to balance their insulin doses. It is Type 2s who are discouraged from self testing.

 

[AliciaWarren]

I'm only prediabetic. But I bought myself a BG meter and test myself. I have learned a lot about how to control my blood glucose through diet. I also learned that if my vision is blurred it means my BG is over 7.

 

[Freema]

Today I was told by my GP to stop testing myself as it causes anxiety. Is there any science behind this statement? Does anyone have links to science papers which indicate this or the reverse?

BTW I have never felt more in control of my own health than at the mo!!

I think it can cause anxiety in people that already have a neurotic control-need but to be in control in a sensible way how can that cause anxiety, I would think it would make people know that they are at a healthy level and don´t have to worry much anymore.. that of cause only work for people that do also control their foods almost all the time, if one is not ready to change lifestyle and eat to their meter and to their knowledge, I think it might create a feeling of eternal bad consiousness and a scary feeling of when all the bad adding conditions will hit and hurt the person.. so yes seen in that perspective it could make people even more scared on forehand instead of just embracing the adding condition one by one as they hit and hurt you..

so does it cause anxiety ?... well depends on how successful you are in controling foodstyle and lifestyle like using ones body as much as possible... hmm.. to some it might be a negative focus on an ever worsening déroute... going downhill all the time..

but telling every new patient that it will just cause anxiety , actually shows that health care haven´t even noticed that it is really possible to control this disease long term.. A scary lack of knowledge ..we ought go together writing a letter to top of all healthcare systems in the world , telling them that it is in fact possible to stop this condition progressing

 

[spook_kate_]

Today I was told by my GP to stop testing myself as it causes anxiety. Is there any science behind this statement? Does anyone have links to science papers which indicate this or the reverse?

BTW I have never felt more in control of my own health than at the mo!!

I'd be beside myself if I couldn't test!! You'd find me rocking and banging my head in the corner. How else is one supposed to know where they're at, if not for testing? You test and do what you need to do..

 

[spook_kate_]

'Insult' ofcourse means insulin

 

[Pinkorchid]

Yes I do believe that in some people those who are worriers about a lot of things for instance it can cause anxiety if they do not get the results they want to see and with people who have a needle phobia the anxiety could be really bad. One reason medics will say don't test is because some people can become paranoid about it

 

[Alison Campbell]

They are spending millions on type 2 education programmes and missing the most important part. Criminal.

 

[OrsonKartt]

I'm only prediabetic. But I bought myself a BG meter and test myself. I have learned a lot about how to control my blood glucose through diet. I also learned that if my vision is blurred it means my BG is over 7.

I wish I had done this earlier , much earlier!! There is a definite prejudice in this area about people taking care of themselves!!

 

[Tony337]

Whether Type 1 or type 2 if we do a test it gives us options on what to do next.
Take insulin or pills or avoid eating or eat or do some exercises and heres the big one.....
If the test is as it should be then we can give ourselves a huge mental pat on the back.
Being a simple sole I sometimes think of a blood test as a safety blanket.

Good luck

Tony

 

[Pinkorchid]

I often think new people with T2 joining here are pressurised into getting a meter and testing their blood and made to think it is something they have to do. That could cause a lot of anxiety to add to the shock of having T2 and probably really confusing if they have already been told by their medics they don't need to test. Those of us that test however frequently, infrequently or when we do it do is our own choice we have to do what we are personally comfortable with. My choice was not to test for food I just cut out the sugar stuff and all foods that are high in carbs and I just test a 2 or 3 times a week to see how I am doing and that suits me but may not suit others. My last HbA1c was 41

 

[Freema]

I often think new people with T2 joining here are pressurised into getting a meter and testing their blood and made to think it is something they have to do. That could cause a lot of anxiety to add to the shock of having T2 and probably really confusing if they have already been told by their medics they don't need to test. Those of us that test however frequently, infrequently or when we do it do is our own choice we have to do what we are personally comfortable with. My choice was not to test for food I just cut out the sugar stuff and all foods that are high in carbs and I just test a 2 or 3 times a week to see how I am doing and that suits me but may not suit others. My last HbA1c was 41

well but the official advice at GP is often only to lower carbs a bit and maybe eat metformin... and that is insubstantial advice when it comes to taking control if we didn´t offer people to really take control.

and that can only be done by knowing excactly what you eat and what it does to your blood sugar...

so even when having a bit more anxiety at first it soon shows that it is really possible to take full control and get numbers down to non diabetic levels... there just isn´t any way around that low carbing is the only way to really control type 2 diabetes and that is almost never really fully revealed at ones GP or diabetic nurse.

I believe it is an important thing to claim that you DO need to know where your blood glucose is if you don´t want to slide toward ever growing number of adding diseases.