Stress and GL

[jakesfnm]

I've learned much through this forum and now feel not-so-alone. Doc said I had an A1c of 6.1, but it seemed "controlled" and "lose weight - that might do it." I have lost 14% of my body weight and have a bmi of 23. Like the others, I'm 58, active, a vegetarian and eat very healthy. No meds. It was a shock. My questions is: Have any of you seen a marked increase during stressful times. When I had that 6.1 test, I had not been sleeping well for 3 months, had a virus and was taking mega-doses of vitamin C (I've heard that can effect the test." Mostly it was a very stressful period. Since then I've been test on home monitors really often - almost always 80-114 depending on after dinner or random etc. But I had a very stressful couple of days -tested at home - it was 65 - ate a meal with more carbs than usual and it was 142. Today it was 145, 2.5 hours after just some low carb soup! Again, could this be stress or just the way it is for diabetics. thanks.

[Ronin]

Hi Jakesfnm!

Stress can be either the cause of a rash of problems or the catch-all excuse.

An HbA1c of 6.1 isn't terrible for a full-blown diabetic, it isn't great for a Pre-Diabetic and would tend to indicate that you are probably already in the diabetic camp. That being said, it is important to remember that the A1c is a 90 day weighted average (weighted to the past 4 - 6 weeks of the total 13) so an incident of "stress" cannot make it spike.

Your recent BG tests say that your body is having difficulty in managing BG levels. There can be multiple reasons for this all of which point towards adult onset of some form of diabetes. The question is -- which type?

I'm personally in the camp of either a fasting C-Peptide test or an OGTT with C-Peptide values which will indicate how much insulin your body produces in response to glucose. This is important for a proper diagnosis and treatment. If you have a high insulin output in response but a slow recovery then you are probably a Type-2. If you have a low insulin output in response then you are probably a Type-1.5. What is important to know is that the treatment response to these two types of diabetes is completly different. Type-2's require drugs that increase insulin sensitivity whereas the Type-1.5 require supplamental insulin.

While stress is not helpful to any condition, I have to wonder what your form of stress is and if you can manage the stressors. As a vegetarian, you get the vast majority of calories from foods that have carbohydrates so you depend on the pancreas a lot. I highly recommend getting that C-Peptide or OGTT with C-Peptide testing done soon.

[xMenace]

Stress can be very tough on the BGs.

Personally I avoid vitamin C. I know many believe in it, but I think it's another stressor on my kidneys which I don't need. I go for natural sources.

[jakesfnm]

Thank you. Made appt. with doc next week. Will be pro-active and active on this - try to relax more. Back to my yoga.