Stress and High BG

[Maple]

Hi... I've searched the forum to see if this has been addressed, if I have overlooked a thread and this is a duplicate please point me in the right direction....

Can stress cause BG to go up? I'm currently doing some driving lessons. I ate a small lunch (sandwich and a banana) about 1/2 an hour before the lesson and took enough insulin (humalog)to cover it... the same as I would on a normal day. I tested when I got home and was SHOCKED to see that my BG was over 15!

The only thing I can attribute this to is that learning to drive is a bit stressful, could that be the reason?

 

[jopar]

Yes stress can have an impact on our blood glucose...

Has the body releases stress hormones it effects our blood glucose, in general they go upwards but it's possible if you are shocked your levels can dump instead..

As for your driving lesson's it's going to be difficult to determine which is the best way to go, because last thing you want is to inject to over compensate for the stress kick, and give yourself an hypo... I'd been tempted to change the time of my driving lesson to before a meal... And keep an eye on what's happening then hopefully if you get a raise for stress before the meal be less impact and easier to correct etc...

 

[SophiaW]

Yes, stress can cause higher than usual BG I've noticed that with my daughter's readings. Make sure you understand the DVLA requirements for type 1 diabetics who drive (I'm assuming you live in the UK). Good luck with the lessons

 

[xyzzy]

Yes it certainly can. I read it was something to do with your bodies ancient fight or flight response. At the point you get stressed you brain tells your liver to shove a load of glucose in your bloodstream in case you need to run away fast! It doesn't draw a distinction between physical and mental stress.

 

[noblehead]

I can categorically say yes that stress can push-up bg readings .........good luck with the driving lessons!

 

[Maple]

Thanks very much everyone, as always, your input is MUCH appreciated!