Diabetes & Stress.

I stress myself out. I do. I am not a drama queen but I sometimes resemble one, especially when I’m stressed out. Stress is an interesting thing and it does interesting things to my body. Namely, screw with my Diabetes. Stress alters my blood sugar. Life in general alters my blood sugar but stress is what I’m blogging about.


















It’s so bizarre because sometimes stress will send my bs through the roof. Other times stress will cause me to bottom out. The sad part is…I never know which result to expect. Another sad part is that Diabetes lives in each of us differently. What may make my bs skyrocket, may make another Diabetic plummet. None of us are the same. What works for me may not work for your cousin who has Diabetes. What doesn’t work for me may work for your co-worker who has Diabetes. We just never know.

Truth is, I have an invisible, chronic illness that is based on guessing. Trial & error. I guess on carbs, on my mood, on how my body will react to exercise, on bs corrections, on life. This alone causes major stress, at least for me.

Stress has a huge impact on people with Diabetes. Then again, stress has a huge impact on people. Period. Stress is a normal response to things that upset or unbalance you. It’s your body’s way of protecting you, in a sense. Your body releases adrenaline in response to a situation and that effects you physically. Ie: increased heart rate. Stress is no bueno, yet, we deal with life’s little stresses on a daily basis.

So, I guess this is a PSA to all.

Stress isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. It’s gotten a bad rap, that’s for sure. But, when your body is stressed, you become more alert, respond faster, and concentrate more. Like when some jerk slams on his brakes in front of you, your quick response is due to the stress causing your body to throw out hormones. React!! Now!! This is a good thing. But…..your body also releases glucose, which, for Diabetics, is a bad thing. Stress doesn't know if you have a disease. It just tells your body to work overtime to help you deal.

Excess stress can manifest itself into physical issues, behavioral or emotional issues. Normal stress can affect your sleep, mood, focus and your health. All of these things can screw with your Diabetes and your health. But.....stress is a way of life. (Sigh.) So, what can you do? Well, there are a lot of tips for reducing stress. Basically, they all revolve around relaxing. Relaxing? Who the hell knows how to relax? Yikes.

Some suggestions are to take yoga, meditate, get a massage, eliminate caffeine..yea, right! Eliminating caffeine would cause more stress for me! (Addict.) Try to remove yourself from the stressful situation, if at all possible. Do something you enjoy like hiking or reading a book. Go see a therapist, if necessary, or make a lunch date with a friend. It’s always a plus to talk, vent & let someone else share in your worries.














We, as a society, barely notice how stressed we are until it becomes a little too much. Try not to let it get that far. Easier said than done, yea? Also, keep your sugars in check when you find yourself in a stressful situation. This may mean checking your bs 20 times that day rather than 10. Better safe than sorry. Stress & Diabetes are partners. Unfortunately. Stupid Diabetes. If this disease doesn’t stress you out, life certainly will.

Most of all, learn how to cope. Everyone has a different coping style. Find out what yours is. You’ll be a healthier person for it.




















*Peace.

Over Correcting King Kandy

Every diabetic, at one time or another has over corrected. Blood sugar drops and in a desperate attempt to raise it before sudden death, you shove as much food as possible into your mouth. We have all done it and it is ok. This is not a perfect disease nor are we perfect people.

Last night I woke up to the shrill sound of Dex bitching at me once again. I am fairly positive that I will never get a good nights rest as long as Dex is in my life. He’s my pseudo husband, I swear. Hell bent on never letting me sleep. I even set his range lower than it was just so I could get a couple extra minutes of sleep. Dex used to scream at 80, now he screams at 70. So, about 2am I heard him buzzing. I rolled over and pushed ‘OK’ about 15 times. ‘Yea, yea, I got it, couple more minutes..zzzzzzzzzz….’ Dex must have buzzed again and I didn’t hear it because the next thing I did hear was the shrill of a 1000 banshees. UGH!!! I grabbed Dex. ‘42!!’ he yelled! ‘The answer to everything!!’

I sat straight up, let the dizziness attack, thought about dolphins, hit ‘OK’and swung my legs over the side of the bed. Not happy. Not clear. Not myself. But not completely gone. My brain automatically went into ‘madness mode’ simultaneously screaming “FEED ME NOW!!” and “DON’T EAT TOO MUCH!!” I shuffled to the pantry and shoved a chocolate Weight Watchers cake into my mouth. Not tasting, not enjoying, just correcting. The cake had its mission. It’s like how orange juice used to be good until it was used to raise my blood sugar. Now it is like medicine and I despise it. There was no sugar joy to be had here.

In my zombie like daze I walked to the kitchen, ate a cookie and a tootsie roll midgie. Then I lost control in a different way. I grabbed another cookie, a handful of Skittles, my water and headed back to my bed all the while shoving random junk into my mouth. Even in the dead of night, when the brain is clearly not functioning, the will to survive steps in and takes control. Over correction. I woke up this morning to another buzzing. This time high. Dex told me I was 310. ‘Wonderful.’ I tell myself as I feel the leftover glucose glaze on my teeth. ‘I hope you are happy.’ I bolused and set myself back on the right path once again.




















The need to bring your bs level up and the will to not over correct do a constant battle. If you are clear enough in your oxygen starved brain to realize too much is just as bad as too little, you find the will power to resist. Most of the time, I don’t have that will power. Eh, what can you do? I’d rather treat a high than a low. Low bs seems a bit more desperate to me and are a little more difficult to manage or deal with. Highs aren’t as dramatic for me…at least not now.

For everyone, stress is a bad thing. Life, the people and the things in it have a tendency to pile on the stress…sometimes on a daily basis. Not to mention the fact that I’m trying to control an uncontrollable disease day in & day out. It’s stressful enough to know that you blew it. You ate too much, not enough, didn’t calculate the carbs, didn’t work out enough, worked out too much, got road rage, yelled at your child, let your boss annoy you….all of these things screw with your bs. Mine especially. My doc and I tested my theory out. I tested my bs religiously throughout a very stressful time at work, sugars were sky high. I tested my bs religiously throughout a easy peasy lemon squeezy time at home, sugars were normal. Stress is a huge factor in how my body reacts to living. Gawd, I’m getting stressed just writing about it.

While everyone should figure out a way to keep life calm, diabetics NEED to keep life calm. If we don’t, we could end up in a sticky situation. Sweetness pun intended. How do I stop letting life dictate my bs levels? Difficult thing to do. I just have to remember to not let things effect me emotionally. Otherwise, I’ll be up…and down…every day.

I only want to live in Candy Land and marry King Kandy if I’m there by choice….not by force. I bet King Kandy doesn't yell like Dex does.















*Peace.