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Pain and blood sugar levels

Me too actually. Very separate to diabetes.

It was full recognition this April when I had 2nd general op and it shone up on my cgm....

The cgm doesnt work on blood from finger and it highlighted how differently my inner body was working to my actual blood...
So if this was doing it to the cgm I could align it fully to everything going on at that time.

Having the cgm for a while funded has helped me with stress and pain identification enormously.
 
Yes, I'm lucky in a sense.. got CGM funded by my CCG for another 6 months.
Helps with recognising life in general..
 
Have any of you tried a tens machine for pain?

I find it helps both distract me from the pain sensation, and enables me to get on with just getting on.
 
I have 2 wireless ones - fantastic if you need them at work. Husband had back pain and I convinced him to try a tens machine, he didn't think it would work but was very surprised at how well it did. The adhesive does struggle with hairy backs.
 
I find it interesting that some have mentioned the higher blood glucose readings with or before pain. It is something I will take more notice of.

As for pain and diabetes link, in my case I think the pain could have been a contributory factor in my developing T2.
 
I think my pain is separate from my diabetes however I do think that pain meant I ate in a way which was more likely to encourage my diabetes to develop.
 
cott97 said:
I think my pain is separate from my diabetes however I do think that pain meant I ate in a way which was more likely to encourage my diabetes to develop.
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Interesting. Pain alters the way we react to all sorts of situations. What I meant was that having chronic pain was one factor that altered my behaviour. For example it affected mental wellbeing, I was less able to exercise, participate in social activities I had previously enjoyed, became less able to plan, shop for and prepare decent meals, etc.
 
Pipp said:
Interesting. Pain alters the way we react to all sorts of situations. What I meant was that having chronic pain was one factor that altered my behaviour. For example it affected mental wellbeing, I was less able to exercise, participate in social activities I had previously enjoyed, became less able to plan, shop for and prepare decent meals, etc.
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Would totally agree. I don't think I've heard of any research suggesting chronic pain might be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. I also think your diabetes has to be at certain levels with pain before it takes precedence over the pain.
 
Do you mean that the pain could be diabetes related if there is also an increase in blood glucose, @cott97 ?

My pain was / is arthritic and spinal injury related. These began over 20 years before the T 2 diagnosis.
 
Pipp said:
Do you mean that the pain could be diabetes related if there is also an increase in blood glucose, @cott97 ?

My pain was / is arthritic and spinal injury related. These began over 20 years before the T 2 diagnosis.
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Mine is spinal related too. No I meant that just as obesity is a risk factor but that not everyone who is overweight becomes diabetic and not everyone who has T2 is overweight perhaps chronic pain could also be a risk factor, perhaps more to the point anyone where inflammation may be the cause or a side effect of the pain could be at greater risk of T2 as the pain continually raises blood sugar which might lead to greater insulin resistance.
 
Interesting.

It seems chronic pain and obesity have a two-way relationship, i.e. having one can lead to the other:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892725/

And this makes instinctive sense to me (though my instincts are often wrong!). But for years the only way I could manage my period pains was to eat something stodgy that would sit in my gut for hours and hours (and ultimately knock me out - I literally ate myself into a carb coma one week a month).

Now that I'm in constant pain (ironically worsened because I'm losing weight), the instinct to eat - whether a self-comforting mechanism, a habit learned over a lifetime, or a genuine physical need - is very strong indeed.

The fact is that illness and stress can raise BG levels; the mechanisms for that are very well known and described. When we're in pain, I guess our bodies are dealing with both factors at once. I'm still fascinated by @donnellysdogs ' ACT therapy suggestion and am certain that it will lessen both my "need" to eat and my need to stay still, curl up, not move when things get bad.

House move and this next, awful month aside (now looks like I've got a wrist fracture, too, but I'm not feeling any pain for that), I'm wondering whether just accepting and "living around" the fact that I'm going to have pain sometimes will reduce the stress factors and, in turn, lead to a drop in BG while learning from what people have said about elevated BG being a signal that pain is on the way and being more mindful of how I plan and schedule my activities when that signal flare has gone up.

It's a tug-of-war, isn't it? On the one hand, we still have lives to lead, stuff to do, places to be, people who need us. But, on the other hand, we have these bodies that need our focus and self-care (and it IS care, in its purest sense) and patience.

There must be a way that both sides of our lives can be satisfied without them having to be endlessly at odds with each other.
 
I hadn't thought of it this way round - I thought that the high bg caused the pain. I have fibromyalgia and a few months ago, when I wasn't controlling my glucose levels properly, I was in a great deal of pain. When I went back to low-carbing, I noticed a marked decrease in pain. I think there is a link between insulin levels and inflammation.
In addition, triggers of pain for me are stress and lack of sleep.
 
Fibro is also linked to low mood and depression and ACT therapy has been found to help with fibro...
 
I was used to keeping a pain diary in relation to chronic pain so when I started testing my bg it was soon very apparent that pain days and higher bg showed a direct correlation. I am due another round of steroid injections later this year and will be particularly interested to see the rise (if any) of bg versus the stabilisation that occurs when the pain is at lower levels.
There may be only so far that I can lower my bg with diet alone as three of the drugs I take are known to raise levels, however, I am hoping that with lower carb intake will have a positive effect on the inflammation I suffer. It is all too early to tell yet as I have only been low carbing for a matter of weeks but fingers crossed.
My personal favourite for trying to lower the tension that pain can induce is a flaming hot shower, the small relief it can bring means I am more likely to fall asleep, though there are times when nothing works.
 
SockFiddler said:
Aaargh! The Heroic Birth Stories!

Interesting about adding the pain rating to the diary, though - I already track my periods, and sort of keep an eye on what they're doing (have only had one truly low-carb period since my diagnosis), but hadn't considered pain (and, I guess, the activity levels that often trigger it).

Good thought - thanks.

Also:

Haha :)
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No honestly! No pain during childbirth! I stopped telling the story cos other women were obviously in a lot of pain
and I didn't want to gloat.... I thought it would help them, rather than the horror stories!!
:doctor::eek::nurse::nailbiting::wideyed:
 
donnellysdogs said:
Has your pain team been through ACT therapy with you?

This is accepting that the pain is real but getting help around acceptance of it.

The only treatment for pain that I coped with was morphine, butrans and diazepam. Thanks to alternative pain management I have lidocaine patches when needed that I purchase privately and turmeric and blackpepper for anti inflammatory and off anything addictive. I also do
therapeutic art therapy through my cancer therapy group.
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Yes, @donnellysdogs , I've heard of ACT thru a pain management course. When I enquired further, it was deemed unnecessary in my case. So I asked for private help.... after the hypno-therapy. Which I use daily, more for relaxation, and I have my kindle reading to me as a distraction method. It was too expensive for the ACT, so I've opted for acupuncture. I've tried acupuncture in the past for another ailment (nausea) and it cured me on 1st session, I continued with treatments for about a year. Then we moved to a different area, and only recently found a practice near by. Today will be my 5th session. Very relaxing 45 mins :)
 
donnellysdogs said:
Me too actually. Very separate to diabetes.

It was full recognition this April when I had 2nd general op and it shone up on my cgm....

The cgm doesnt work on blood from finger and it highlighted how differently my inner body was working to my actual blood...
So if this was doing it to the cgm I could align it fully to everything going on at that time.

Having the cgm for a while funded has helped me with stress and pain identification enormously.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I must have missed a bit of info... what is cgm, please?
 
Pipp said:
Have any of you tried a tens machine for pain?

I find it helps both distract me from the pain sensation, and enables me to get on with just getting on.
Click to expand...
OOH! NO! I tried tens machine it was even wosrer! I persevered with it for a few days, also at different times of day, but no, no help at all for me :inpain::yuck:
 
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