Type 1: Could it be stress raising my BG level ?

[miszu]

Hi,

Diagnosed in december with T1, still new to this whole thing. Im managing it alright, but theres a thing i dont understand. Some background, I had mental illnesses starting 3 years ago, it caused me bad panic attacks, i couldnt go to school, or go outside home coz i passed out from being too stressed around others. it caused me physical problems too after a point, but i could get through it somehow. i still stay home most of the time, but i can now go to shop, talk to my family and my friends on phone, even face to face sometimes. i couldnt imagine doing any of these 3 yrs ago. This period of my life helped me understanding myself more, accepting my situations easier. So when i became diabetic i took it pretty calm i would say... Its still new, so maybe in the future i ll freak out once lol but im doing okay now.
The thing im confused with is that im managing a good BG level most of the time, but i noticed when im outside my BG goes up to 14-15. it wont go down that much after insulin either, still around 10. it could be something else, but i eat what i normally do, the only difference is that i am outside home when i get these numbers. im thinking that stress could be it. tho im not stressing outside that much any more i feel like, im getting better each day, but theres still leftovers from the last 3 yrs. could stress be the problem ? i mentioned this to my doctor but she keeps asking me what i ate... I keep a good diet, i eat the "good" carbos and more fat mostly. this was also a "bad" way in her opinion, she doesnt agree having more fat than carbo in my meal, but then i would have nothing to eat lol. i completely cut off bread, pasta from my meals and a few more. in her meal plan there were all these breads and others that i refused to eat. im still very new with diabetes, so i dont really want to question my doctor but i dont agree with her way which is to starve myself. i dont believe its the food what causes me high BG level when im outside, i only eat what i make at home.

 

[lovinglife]

Sorry to hear about the bad time you have with panic attacks and anxiety- it really is a horrible thing to have to deal with. It sounds like you are managing your diabetes well, as to your question
Yes it can, stress can play havoc with anyone's bs - even non diabetics - I'm not T1 but T2 so don't want to comment too much as I don't have much knowledge of T1 but my own experience with stress is it can push my numbers up quite quickly by 3 -4 points, usually drops back down quite quickly too, but it can also go the other way and I can go low just a quickly - I can find no rhyme or reason for it, it's very random.

Hopefully some of our very knowledgeable people on here will pop along and be of more help than me

 

[Nidge247]

@miszu

Yes, I have found that stress DOES raise your BGs, for me quite dramatically. Hence we have had to change a few things to remove that issue.

Do remember that D is not a condition where one treatment suits all; it's an individual thing and you need to find what works best for you.
I'm following LCHF and taking between 30-50g carbs daily (still eating decent full and varied meals!), this keeps me generally in the 4-5 BGs range which is what my body runs best on.
Keep a diary and you will start to see a pattern of what suits you best. It's also a great way to record new types of food consumed so you can use that information in the future.

Good luck, let us know how you get on

Edited by a mod

 

[miszu]

thank you, i was worried, bcoz my BG is usually around 5-6, those 10-14s r scary to me..

 

[azure]

If you get stressed going out, and you see the higher sugars when you're out, then yes, it does sound like it could be linked to,stress.

The simplest answer, of course, is to,try to,reduce that stress, but that can be easy to,say and much harder to do. Hopefully, at least knowing that stress is a cause of highs will help you.

It is worth looking at other possible causes though - eg some people find exercise can push their sugars up, so,if you're ourside rushing about that might contribute too.

As Nidge suggested, keep a diary and see if you can work out if it definitely is stress or if anything else is causing it.

 

[devexity]

As everyone else has said, yes - stress has an impact on your blood glucose. Like you seem to be experiencing, I went through a period of agoraphobia a couple of years ago. It can have a hideous effect on glucose levels, as do panic attacks and anxiety. The mechanism is fairly simple if difficult to deal with: your body is dumping adrenaline, cortisol and glucose to get you ready for fight or flight. Not only do your glucose levels go up to give your muscles instant energy, your insulin resistance goes up too so you don't run out of that glucose.

I find that understanding the process involved goes a long way towards dispelling anxiety about it. It's transient and temporary. Keep breathing. It's quite critical to understand that it's normal and not overreact: after teaching a particularly difficult class of teenagers, my blood glucose has gone as high as 28. Injecting corrective doses does absolutely nothing until the end of the school day when all the stress goes away, my body calms down, all the insulin kicks in at once and I suddenly have a massive, catastrophic hypo.

 

[miszu]

@azure excercise brings my BG down thats what i noticed. in first weeks when eating something bad, i just had to go out jog some and it was all perfect. since then i learnt what i can eat, i still do excercises tho. i ll try to note everything.

@devexity thank u for explaining the process, its very good to know how things work !
im sorry to hear what u r experiencing at work. did u stop giving those corrective doses as its dropping ur BG that bad ?