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How does Emotions affect your Blood Sugar levels?

C

ChelseaEllie

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thursday I was feeling really low, and did everything the same as I normally do, exercise and dinner etc, yet 2 hours after eating my levels were really high for me.

This has happened a few times.

When I had my high Hba1C result (have only had 1 high result need to wait a few more weeks for the next test the doctor wanted a clear 4 months before I was tested again) I was in a really bad place not sleeping, stressed, constantly crying and really down. Was being bullied at work, had family issues and just wasnt coping with anything.

Since that result I got a BG monitor and I only seem to have high results when Im feeling stressed at work or very tired no matter what I eat.

Is this normal?
 
I think there are two things at hand
- stress whether mental or physical (e.g. a bad night’s sleep) can increase blood sugars
- high blood sugars can affect our moods negatively.

I hope you get a chance to relax.
 
I was about to attempt to explain about stress and adrenalin levels, but this article does it better than I could.

When the body is under stress, the adrenal glands trigger the release of glucose stored in various organs, which often leads to elevated levels of glucose in the bloodstream.

When the body is under stress, the adrenal glands trigger the release of glucose stored in various organs, which often leads to elevated levels of glucose in the bloodstream.
www.diabetes.co.uk

I had similar life stresses when I was first diagnosed with T2 eighteen years ago, @ChelseaEllie . Sometimes it is hard to change the things that cause the stress, but it can help if we can change how we react to the stress, by finding ways to relax.
Hope you feel better, soon, and see improvement in blood glucose and stress levels.
 
Hi,

I wear a monitor/sensor. I’ve had a pretty “intense” manager at my last job. Though he had lovely things to say when I jacked it in. (Even suggesting having me back if it didn’t work out.) any professional encounter showed up as an anomaly (spike for “no reason.) on my graph.
Of course he was under pressure too. Which showed in his behaviour. I never took it personal (others had worse things to say about the bloke.) He was actually also supportive of my time out for appointments. Even though I could still see the stress in his eyes when I booked entitled holiday leave..

I work in a more relaxed environment these days & run my own department.
 
@ChelseaEllie
I don't know if it's scientifically proved but here's here's libre graph of a very stressful day I had 2 years ago.
I had had a low carb breakfast and a low carb lunch at 12 noon. At 4pm I got a phone call which meant I had to rush out to help a relative in trouble. I knew I was unlikely to get any food so decided I'd treat it a fasting session, however long it went on.
You can see my levels rise as I left home. I then spent several hours in a police situation, which then calmed a bit until it escalated again about midnight.
I finally could leave the scene and head home about 2-3 in the morning. I ate nothing in all that time and drank only water.
You can se what stress, and possibly cold (it was a frosty night) did to my bg.
Not saying everyone is the same, but this is what my bg did.
Some stressful situations we can do nothing about, but but eating low carb and keeping my levels under control when I can, means I did recover from the situation quite quickly... note the final drop.
 

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catinahat said:
What did you eat?
Click to expand...
The same thing from every Thursday, do 2 hours of aerobics then have a salad and quiche, been the same for 6 weeks always , some times i have some fruit if im still hungry. Food doesnt have a massive impact on me.
 
Thank you that does help. I have always assumed im very influence by emotions but didnt know if that could be a thing. I will talk to the doctor next time about getting some support as I have very high anxiety levels
 
Thank you, and Im glad that things are better for you now,
 
Thank you that was a great read, and stress is a big issue for me, Im trying to find solutions
 
ChelseaEllie said:
T

The same thing from every Thursday, do 2 hours of aerobics then have a salad and quiche, been the same for 6 weeks always , some times i have some fruit if im still hungry. Food doesnt have a massive impact on me.
Click to expand...
Our emotions and stress can cause the release hormones like cortisol and adrenaline which will cause our liver to release some of its stored glucose.
Physical stress like your 2hrs of aerobics will do the same, the glucose you are seeing in your blood has either come from your food, the quiche and fruit contain quite a few carbs that will be converted to glucose when digested, or it has come from your stored glucose, or both.
Did you check your levels before and after your exercise, then again before and after your meal.
If your only test was 2hrs after your dinner then it's really impossible to say if your high level was cause by your mood, the exercise or the quiche.
 
Thank you for your response. I have been testing to see how things are affected, so test before exercise, after and 2 hours after food, and exercise only makes me increase by 0.4 max.
I had a similar thing today, tested and was 5, needed to go out, when i got to the shops I started to feel really panicked (I have social Anxiety and there were a lot of drunk people screaming at each other ) rushed home and tested and was 8.5 hadnt eaten anything for a while. I may talk to the doctor about this being a big trigger for me, Ive had the same when I have had medical tests recently and had to fast and my levels jumped when I was getting ready to go to the appointment
 
ChelseaEllie said:
there were a lot of drunk people screaming at each other
Click to expand...
I think that would cause any one to be anxious, pretty sure my levels would have risen in the same circumstances.
Do you think the testing could be adding to your anxiety? It seems to me that you know what you are doing exercise and diet wise so are you getting any benefit from testing.
Maybe easing off on the testing for a while will give you one less thing to trigger your anxiety
 
I due my second Hba1C test at the end of the month so will ease off testing by then as I should have a decent understanding of how I react to things by then.
 
I am 99% sure that stress, anxiety triggers my bg levels to shoot up. Lack of sleep also with me. I find now I am falling asleep by 8:30pm so in bed and in the land of nod by half past! The sleep helps - when I am not over thinking about trying to go to sleep, getting stressed with the "what if's"
 
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