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Can high sugar levels cause agitation?

jackabias

jackabias

Newbie
Messages
3
Location
UK
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Hi everyone - I was hoping someone might be able to give me some advice. My sugar levels are very high at the moment, they range from 14 - 18 and have gone up as much as 25 over the weekend. I am being tested for a kidney infection, which might be the reason why I feel so rough right now.

What is worrying me is that I seem to have become very agitated and incredibly snappy - I am not good to live with right now and it is frightening me, could it be the high sugar levels that are causing this? Has anyone every experienced this before and how do you cope with it?

I am hoping for the results of the urine test today, but I was only diagnosed with type 2 in January and have had a few problems with the medications, so am not sure how best to help myself and am feeling quite frightened by everything that is going on. Currently I am taking Byetta 5mg twice daily injections and I don't think that new medications will be added into the mix until the kidney infection is cleared up (if it is that), so it might be a while before things are sorted and this mood swing thing is awful.

Thanks for listening,

Samm
 
Yes in my experience high sugar levels do make me irritable and snappy. It's one of the tell tale signs as far as I am concerned.

Then again the added stress because of the infection may also be contributing.

Pavlos
 
yes, it can, you must also feel terrible with those levels, I hope the infection clears up soon for you
when you are feeling better, I don't know what diet you are on, but a lot of us here find that reducing our carbs can help with BG too
 
Thank you both for replying, it has made me feel better to know that it can be caused by the high levels - I have also struggled with depression and anxiety in the past so I think that everything going on is pressing other health buttons to!

As for diet, I have been reading these forums and can see that a low carb/high fat diet could really be good for me, I do like my carbs - my cholesterol is 4.3, which I am pleased and surprised about! My main problem has been trying to cut back on the bread and potatoes - has anyone any suggestions? I am also a vegetarian!

Thanks again, I really am not good to live with right now, my poor husband:(
 
Hope it all gets sorted out for you as quick as possible.:)
To answer your Question, yes blood sugar imbalances can cause mood swings (read it some where)
Also @pavlosn is correct regarding stress and worry.
 
jackabias said:
Thank you both for replying, it has made me feel better to know that it can be caused by the high levels - I have also struggled with depression and anxiety in the past so I think that everything going on is pressing other health buttons to!

As for diet, I have been reading these forums and can see that a low carb/high fat diet could really be good for me, I do like my carbs - my cholesterol is 4.3, which I am pleased and surprised about! My main problem has been trying to cut back on the bread and potatoes - has anyone any suggestions? I am also a vegetarian!

Thanks again, I really am not good to live with right now, my poor husband:(
Click to expand...
Hi and welcome!

If your BG has been high for a while, then I would try bringing it down gently, rather than switching to low carb too quickly.

It's kinder on the body, and if you have any retinopathy (diagnosed, or not) bringing BG down sharply can aggravate things (I can provide links about this, if you like, but I don't want to smother you with info!)

So, if you want to try low carbing, I should start gently, and read up on it.

Maybe switch to a low carb breakfast (scrambled eggs - no bread - or omelette, or Greek yog and berries) for a couple of weeks. Maybe cut your bread and potato portions by half in your main meals. See how you are on that, watch the effect on your BG levels, and then make some more changes.

We've got some great low carbing vegetarians who post on here. Avocado Sevenfold is one. She does great veggie menus in the 'what have you eaten today' thread in the low carb section.

And there are some fantastic recipes there too, that have been posted by people.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jackabias said:
Hi everyone - I was hoping someone might be able to give me some advice. My sugar levels are very high at the moment, they range from 14 - 18 and have gone up as much as 25 over the weekend. I am being tested for a kidney infection, which might be the reason why I feel so rough right now.

What is worrying me is that I seem to have become very agitated and incredibly snappy - I am not good to live with right now and it is frightening me, could it be the high sugar levels that are causing this? Has anyone every experienced this before and how do you cope with it?

I am hoping for the results of the urine test today, but I was only diagnosed with type 2 in January and have had a few problems with the medications, so am not sure how best to help myself and am feeling quite frightened by everything that is going on. Currently I am taking Byetta 5mg twice daily injections and I don't think that new medications will be added into the mix until the kidney infection is cleared up (if it is that), so it might be a while before things are sorted and this mood swing thing is awful.

Thanks for listening,

Samm
Click to expand...

Hi Samm,

I am a Type 2 diagnosed last October and believe me I had awful agitation and snappiness when I had high sugar levels. I was at 32 when diagnosed and I have had to apologise to my family for my volatility and beg their forgiveness for the way I behaved. I am glad to say that going on a HFLC ( high fat low carb diet) has calmed me down enormously and I am now enjoying much better relations with my family as a result. It's tough when you are sick but do check out using diet to sort out your sugar levels rather than relying on the meds. I had no idea that the regulation system that tells you when you are full cannot detect carbs just protein and fat so changing to a diet which cuts out all complex carbs has really helped me.

Best wishes,
Angelmum21
 
Hi everyone, a huge thank you to you all for your replies, I have found your replies to be so helpful and comforting and I really do appreciate it. x It is nice to know that I am not alone and to learn what others have done and what has worked for you. I totally take on board about lowering my carbohydrates, I never realised how much they affect the BG levels and I am afraid that I am a total carb addict.

I am going to take it very slowly and ease off the carbs bit by bit, I have started by ruling out the toast at breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, and am looking at lots of alternatives for meals - its going to be a challenge but I really do need to do this, for my sanity as well as my health!!

I found out that I do not have a kidney infection - my nurse is arranging another blood test for me to see if I am now entering menopause (great!!) and after that she may add in another medication as the metformin was so problematic for me, I forget what she called it but she said that essentially you can pee out excess glucose. In the meantime I am now going up to the 10mg byetta pen to see how well I can tolerate that and what effects it has on the BG levels.

So, today I feel more positive and more in control again, but I know that this is going to be a long journey with many ups and downs - thanks for being there:)
 
I get occasional spells when I get very irritable and snappy, usually when I'm stressed and/or hungry.

This really upsets me when I have a go at my poor little dogs as they don't deserve it, but I think it's teaching my husband to treat me with a little more respect,as he can be quite condescending and bitchy, and he's just getting as good as he gives ...:mad: So while I don't like the fact that I have little control over my flare ups I don't feel quite so bad about i in his case! :wideyed:

Robbity
 
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