Hi everyone. I have a question that I am hoping will get answered here. Two days ago I was carrying a very large bag of books home from work. (On my left shoulder) As I was walking to my car, I could already tell that I “pulled something.” Well, the pain started in my neck and has worked it’s way down to my shoulder. Haven’t been to the doctor yet because it seemed to be getting better at one point. I’ve been taking over the counter pain meds and using Bengay but nothing is helping. Along with the pain has come lack of sleep (The pain increases when I go to bed) and high bg levels. Is this all in my head or could the two be related. My bg has been great up until this little incident. Any thoughts?
Sophie,
When I used to have pain in my tooth I would feel the pain even more when my levels where high and when I was normal I would not feel the pain I was so sure of it.
I talked to my nurse about this and she was like maybe it could be the pain increasing your levels so how come I never got any pain when I was within range?
So with me I do say that high bg levels caused me pain for sure no matter what the nurse told me.
lol lol I am a crazy sort of person but I know my own body I guess.
I get kidney stones at least once a month and man when I get those my sugars hate me and sky rocket!! they are extremely painful and usually I end up in the hospital for pain control and BG control it stinks but every diabetic is different so you might get mixed answers like if I am sick I get low sugars instead of highs.
Boshra- I am soooooo glad that you are ok! That had to be a very scary ordeal. I was going to visit a walk in clinic today but when I finally decided to go, all of the ones in my area were closed. I hate emergency rooms so I think I’ll wait it out one more night (unless the sugar continues to rise.) I’ll keep you posted!
I have arthritis in my knees and shoulder; when the pain is at it’s worst, my bgs’ will go up. it’s a stresser…likewise with the lack of sleep my bg’s are higher. So a combination of both, plus you might be worrying about getting into the doc etc…who knows for sure what exactly is going on and causes our bg’s to go up…it’s not always lack of healthy eating or no exercise, sometimes stress plays a big part in the heights. At least in my case it does. Good luck, pain is not our friend.
hey, my doctor would chew me out for mentioning my remedy for kidney stones. when I was inthe air force many years ago I got kidney stones every year atl least…worst pain I ever experienced…anyway, a med tech told me to drink a 6 pack of beer to get rid of them…seems the acid and fluid dissolves them and flushes them out. it worked for me and to this day, I drink a beer or two before going to bed almost every night. I haven’t had kidney stones since. of course this would be bad advice for someone prone to addiction…
danny
Hope you’re feeling better soon!
I hurt my back & had really high BG. As soon as I felt better, BG went down. Seems that any physical trauma, injury or illness makes BG higher.
Try using ice packs. A bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel works great because they’re not rigid like ice, conform to your shape & don’t melt. Ice forces blood to the cold area to warm up the skin & more circulation helps heal.
Muscle relaxers will help.
Actually think of pain as inflammation and inflammation can and often does contribute to high BS. It is no surprise that the two are going hand in hand. Often times when I have pain my BS goes up and it stays up. Others may have different observations. i suggest getting to the doc, as a 52 year old male, I long ago stopped trying to tough it out. Docs are there for a reason, and if I am in pain it is a good reason.
rick phillips
I have chronic pain and a lot of migraines. I’ll have to start watching how the BGs are when I am having a bad day pain wise. When I have a really bad migraine, I drink a coke with the meds (the caffeine helps) and, of course, that shoots the BGs up fast.
Gerri- Thanks for the well wishes and advice. I have been trying heat but I will try the ice tonight. I think I will be going ahead to the doctor tomorrow or Monday. 
Rick- I will definitely be going to the doctor soon (unless an overnight miracle occurs!) My husband gets so irritated with me trying to “tough it out.” At this point, even though the pain is pretty extreme, I am more bothered by the elevated bg levels! Go figure! Thanks for the info!
Hope the ice helps!
Good idea to see a doctor. No need to be in pain & getting no sleep.
I would imagine that pain would affect blood sugar since it pain affects blood pressure and the two are sometimes related. The reasoning (as it was explained to me by medical professionals) is: when you are in pain, your body tenses in reaction, the blood vessels constrict, raising blood pressure. If vessels constrict, it would stand to reason that they would have a more difficult time accepting the glucose, thus it would remain in the blood stream affecting your readings. Hope you feel better soon!
The higher than normal BGs are, unfortunately, pretty normal with the malidies that you mentioned. Severe pain, injuries (not all, some do the opposite) and lack of sleep will also contribute to a rise in insulin resistance due to physiologic changes and as a result in the BG to go up.
When ever we are under any stress (ie: sex, anger, illness, injury, pain, exercise, etc) our blood sugars can elevate. It is important to adjust your insulins (almost like sick day regimen) adjust diet, and manage the stress.