Caregiver stress and high blood sugar warning...

Dear Gtmerkley,

Thank you for the heads up. I appreciate the information. I do find I tend to stress eat and I'm sure that is not good for my blood sugars either.

I've heard that poor sleep can negatively affect blood sugar levels as well. If you're up late reading this forum like I am, go to bed now!! ;)

Thank you, Gtmerkley! I guess I need to stop self-medicating with Ding Dongs...

Wow, maybe this is why my brother has such periods of rage--he is mother's primary caregiver and she drives him crazy. He has a temper and everyone around him just shuts down when he rages--maybe his blood sugar is completely out of whack at those times! (He has Type II diabetes and is about 150 lbs overweight.)

The problem with sleep and high blood sugar is that people who don't get enough sleep tend to eat to compensate. But eating alone won't give you high blood sugar. You have an underlying condition like diabetes. I'm lucky in that I can eat a bag of sugar and my blood sugar is rock solid. It's genetics. I can also scarf down food like the world is ending and not gain much weight. On the other end, I can not really eat much and not lose weight either. Pretty much I'm static. My BP, blood glucose, pulse and weight have been pretty much the same since I was a teenager. I can still put on my high school jeans. I even tell my doctor what my BP will be before he takes it. It's always the same as long as I'm sitting still.

Stress of any kind can raise blood sugar, even if you do not change your eating habits, though many people tend to make bad food choices when under stress. The key thing is to learn to reduce stress as much as possible and live a healthy lifestyle. Certainly, lack of sleep does the same thing. Exercise will reduce stress, lower blood sugar and blood pressure. You don't have to run marathons. just have a decent walk most days and keep moving a good part of the day. Housework normally does that.

When my youngest son was killed, my BS went up from the stress. I did not do anything more specific about it than lifestyle stuff. I knew I had to take better care of myself, and it came down, It is so important to do things that are good for us. There is self indulgence and there is self care. Self indulgence is not a good route to follow, as,  in the long run, we end up harming ourselves. Self care is linked to self love, and we benefit.