It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, mostly due to the topic of my post. I’m interested in what strategies people here use to deal with stress and keep it from interfering with glucose control. I’ve had an extremely stressful few years, in short:
one of my childhood abusers went on trial for assaulting another family member. Needless to say this raised a few PTSD issues.
Due to flashbacks, nightmares and other PTSD issues I became unable to maintain my work standards and lost my job after putting in 15 years at my company.
My long term disability claim has been denied, so I’ve been without an income for approaching a year.
one of the psych drugs I’ve been on apparently raises blood sugar (Abilify), so I’m in the process of tapering off that drug despite some positive benefits.
in the last year my A1C has gone from a consistent 5.5-6.1 up to 8.4, which is where I was at diagnosis. I regularly have fasting blood sugars > 180, and this week I’ve seen pre- and post-meal numbers in the 250-425 range. My endo has been working on pump adjustments with me, he’s not aware of the 400. Umber yet but I already have an appt to see him next week, I’ll tell him then.
Has anyone else experienced their diabetes control crashing alongside their emotional state? Diabetes was one area of my life where I had some control, now it just seems like it’s gone to hell with everything else.
If the answer ends up being that my control is toast until I get back on a regular sleep cycle and get more stable emotionally I’ll deal with that, but it would be nice to have some sugar control so I don’t feel totally at the mercy of my disease.
It's probably not that unusual to have stress mess up your BG. I've seen mine "redline" and fly up suddenly when I get into it with my daughter, usually feuding about cleaning rooms and other general stuff, not exactly the same league but, when I get cranky, it will go up. I will correct this. If it's a general problem and your BG is always up there, it may be useful to try more basal insulin or adjust ratios, depending on which specific numbers are off but, this can be risky. Sometimes, dropping carbs can provide a similar solution and help pinpoint a BG area that's in need of adjustment. I hope you can figure everything out! there's a lot of people here who will be able to give you answers, if you want to share specific BG type of issues, perhaps someone can help and you can get some success to build on.
Yes, yes, yes! I absolutely have trouble controlling my blood glucose when I am very stressed. My numbers tend to SOAR when I am going through some emotional state. For example, my cat (who is basically an emotional support animal for me) has been very ill for the past month, and the relationship I had for four years suddenly ended. Needless to say, my blood sugars have not been super great lately, but that's typical.
I am so sorry to hear about all of these issues causing you emotional distress! Always remember that we are here for you, even if your problems aren't related to diabetes! Many people would be willing to discuss the other issues if you need someone.
It sounds like going off the abilify is a good idea if it is making control very difficult for you. Maybe your doctor or psychiatrist can find you another medication with similar effects that doesn't affect blood glucose? When I started finding a hormonal method of birth control, I had to experiment a bit to find one that didn't make my BG soar.
I hope things get better for you soon! Much love, <3
I just want to ditto what twinchick said. If you filed with Social Security...file for a review and, if necessary, get a lawyer and file for a reconsideration of your disability claim. Do it asap, as there's a time limit beyond which it'll be considered as a new claim. If it's considered as the same claim as before, then if you win, your SSDI will be retroactive!
