Ive recently had my diagnosis formally changed from type 2 to type 1 diabetes. I've been struggling with my diabetes in the last few weeks having lots of hypos at night and just fluctuating blood glucose readings leaving me drained most of the time. I'm a community worker and there's a level of stress that comes with it although i think ive generally been in denial that im stressed or that this source of stress (work) is affecting my diabetes in varying degrees.
I had a bit of a scare last Thursday where I experienced a dizzy spell after waking from a slightly low blood reading.
Has anyone else found that stress increase blood glucose readings or experienced dizziness with diabetes?
Hi Simone, welcome to the forum
🙂 How long were you thought to be a Type 2, and what were the circumstances of your original diagnosis? Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to get a misdiagnosis initially, but it's good to hear that your situation has now been recognised and you are receiving appropriate treatment
🙂 What insulin are you using?
It will take some time for you to become familiar with how to manage your diabetes now you are on insulin, and it's a pretty steep learning curve. Always make sure you test if you feel 'out of the ordinary' as this will provide useful information for the future. Stress can affect people in different ways - some people find their levels dip, but I think it's more likely levels will increase, as the stress response is to increase levels of cortisol and adrenalin. These are hormones that stimulate your liver to release extra glucose into your blood - in theory to supply you with extra energy to deal with whatever is triggering the stress, but in practice we could do without when we have diabetes!
🙄 How is your blood pressure? If on the low side, this can cause dizziness, or, of course, your blood sugar levels dropping can cause dizziness too, so important to test
🙂
I'd highly recommend getting a copy of
Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas - don't be misled by the title - this book is relevant to people of all ages (I was 49 at diagnosis and find it immensely helpful, especially at first)
🙂
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns - there are people here with all sorts of experiences and whatever is troubling you, the chances are someone else has experienced it too and developed a strategy for dealing with it
🙂 I look forward to hearing more from you
🙂
