Hoping this Tuesday is treating you and your diabetes well! And I also hope our non-diabetic readers are having a pleasant day as well 
So yesterday was my last final. Hooray! I am so wiped out and tired. I am hoping my levels start to become normal again. But who am I kidding! The Holidays are here and a friend of mine is sending me these amazing cookies. I have a family that cooks like there is no tomorrow during the holidays and I intend on eating like there is no tomorrow.
I was also invited to a graduate course of Tudor and Stuart England! I am so excited!
But even with all this food, I know my levels won’t be so bad because I will not be so stressed and sleep deprived. Ah the life of a student. Most of you know I study the Tudor period and the English Reformation. I had a 40 page paper due last week and it was a hit with my professor and the research competition I am in.
Even though I enjoy what I study the fact remains that deadlines, 5 other classes and ACT1 website designing can still make you a little nutty.
Now that finals, papers and a gathering I went to is over, I wish I would have taken that plane and opportunity to London last week and do research out there and just relax. Maybe even catch the train into Paris and hit the beautiful Latin quarter.
I don’t care what anyone says. Diet and exercise aren’t the only remedies and guaranteed ways of having beautiful glucose levels. Stress levels are a big part of it. I don’t mean little doses of stress here and there like running late for work. I mean a whole pile of crap can get your levels bonkers.
PLEASE NOTE: The following is not medical advice.I am only sharing the result I found in my situation and what I have tried. Everyone is different. Please consult your doctor for medical advice.
One time I had the same foods at the same times for an entire week, along with the same correction factor and carb/insulin ratio. Guess what? Each day was a completely different result. While one day I was running 100-150, the next I was sky rocket in the 300’s and 400’s. So what were the other factors of my boring week of food? Well work was one, a breakup was another, problems with friends, insurance battles for my insulin and basically just life!
To deal with these things I try to increase my basal rate, which sometimes helps. I started going out to walk and jog. And since I believe in prayer well I do that too with some meditations. Ok ok I also eat magnolia cupcakes which bring me up only 12-15pts even after the two hr mark
So my question this week…
Do you have weird glucose levels when you are stressed or depressed? How do you control them? What are your coping mechanisms?
Happy Holidays!
Hope to see some of you tonight!
YES! I think we all have higher/whacked out sugars when stress is high. Stacey suggested I try using a higher temp basal and it totally works for me. I also double my boluses when I am eating high carb meals… when I am stressed I seem to need about double. Of course, be careful you don’t go low. But just play around. The stress will eventually go away, and then it will be something else (PMS???) making your sugars crazy.
Basically I just increase insulin until I start to see a downward trend & better readings. I think when one is overly stressed, some sort of relaxation and light intensive exercise is good overall, but may not always work for bg levels. I’m glad to hear that your stress has lessened so that you can enjoy the holidays
Congrats on finishing finals! But ugh I am so sorry about that jerk making you redo your course, that is so frustrating. Hmm, stress and bg’s, I’m looking forward to the pump for helping with that one, but I would increase levemir too if it’s been a consistently stressful + high bg time.
Yay, your finals are over! Boo to that nasty professor! I am so glad you are going to try enjoy the holidays. Eating can be fun, so long as you don’t overdo as Venus and I did last night, lol. I think stress plays a major role in BG control. My numbers are the craziest around the holidays. My suggestion is to take a book and go sit under that tree pictured in your blog. Then tell me where it is because that is one peaceful spot! You that DexCom Is going to make life a lot easier, soon, soon, soon!
I always new that the wacky numbers were happening because of stress, but I never realized that it was because of the stress until after it was over. I haven’t figured out a good way of correcting for stress…