Stress and High #'s

Another T1 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 08:08 AM

I know when I am stressed out my #'s skyrocket. Any way to stop this from happening?

fgummett · #2 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 08:17 AM

Not to be facetious but ... there was once a man who broke his arm in three places... the Doctor's advice... "Don't go to those places anymore..!"

In all seriousness maybe you need to learn how to relax... you may think it is something that just comes naturally, but like any skill it can be practised until you are able to take yourself to place a place of relaxation very quickly

My personal favourite practise is Tai Chi.

jaimeetri · #3 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 08:38 AM

exercise!! that is my answer to everything to the point where it often becomes a stressor...lol...i love it ...in all seriousness i think it has multiple benefits...especially for people with diabetes. doesnt have to be intense....figure out what causing the stress and obviously eliminate if possible.. but that is obvious hey....it is a tough one with the BGLs! hormonal response difficult to change....as mentioned above..need to learn relaxation techniques!

xMenace · #4 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 08:41 AM

If you know it's going to happen, don't hesitate to up your insulin. I know that when I drive long distance my BGs will rise, so I always up my basals by 40%.

Subby · #5 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 08:43 AM

That's all good advice - Frank that's funny, because just today I was just thinking of finding a Tai Chi class, I've always been drawn to movement. I've done Yoga but I find the stretching and holding positions can cause a lot of fatigue for me. I like the idea of relaxe movement.

Another thing to keep in mind is that high BGs can beget high BGs. I find this is extremely common myself - sometimes i know I am high BECAUSE I find myself stressed. And I feel stress melt away when I return to lower levels. So, if you can improve the effectiveness of your corrections or use other tactics to actively bring your BG down, you can really help to minimise the stress, too.

This has been a particular advantage of the pump, where you can set a temporary basal for stressful situations. For example heat sends me high, so for every degree celcius above 30 degrees I put another percentage point on starting from 110% basal. So if it was 44c (like it was yesterday!) I used a 124% basal, which means I get an extra 24% over my regular basal.

I found this personal approach in the last few days has cracked the nut of hot weather, high BG, and extreme stress for me, for the first time in many years. It's strange to go though hot weather and not feel just awful and distressed.

That's just an example - the tactics you might use may well be varied, feel free to give some examples and we can talk about your situation. The important thing is to keep working on ways to keep from going high and ways to come down quickly (without hypoing, of course).

One other thing worth keeping in mind is that when you go high a lot of insulin resistance can kick in - meaning your insulin doesn't work as well and/or the effect is delayed. The reaon I brin this up is that it can make it quite hard to judge how much insulin is needed to get back to normal levels, it's something you might need to discuss with others such a your doctor to formulate an effective strategy.

Coppernob · #6 (**permalink**) 01-31-2009, 09:10 AM

As the others on here have said, if your numbers are really going out of whack then up your basal rate, making sure not to forget to watch closely for the return to normal BGs as you don't want to start to going too low. This is just what you would do if you were ill and your BGs were elevated.

In the last few years, I have learned to do three things which help me relax under really stressful circumstances. I consciously tell myself to breathe - I know that sounds silly but it really helps me to breathe in and out more deeply, exhale through my mouth and inhale through my nose. As the others have said, exercise is great for helping to cope with stress. Finally for me, doing crosswords and other puzzles helps me to destress too - obviously that doesn't help everyone but if you can find something to distract you, if only for a while, it helps your body to become less tense.

A combination of methods is the way to go I think if it works for you. Hope you find your way to cope with stress.