Am I expecting too much?

[happydog]

My husband died 5 weeks ago. He was very ill before he died and I was his sole carer. I have noticed that my blood sugar is higher than it was especially first thing in the morning. It has been 8 a couple of times. It has not gone below 6 much lately. I am also suffering with what I think is acid reflux. A sort of burning sensation in my chest and throat. I have not changed my eating habits so I am not sure what is causing it. What can I do? I am also finding it difficult to sleep at the moment. Could this be a factor? Am I expecting too much for my body to have settled down again by now? Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

[rebrascora]

Oh goodness! I am so very sorry! You will be missing him terribly, especially as you were his carer as well.
Higher BG levels are to be expected because you will be stressed. Whilst readings of 8 are higher than normal they are not hugely high and in fact I regularly get readings of 8 and above, so at this early stage of grief I would not be too concerned about it. have you tried taking something like Gaviscon for the heartburn sensation. If it is indigestion, the Gaviscon will help and if it doesn't help then that suggests you need to see the doctor and get checked out. I found that Metformin would sometimes cause that particularly if I didn't take it in the middle of a substantial meal.

 

[stephknits]

So sorry to hear your sad news. I think as you suspect, your body will be all over the place at the minute. Five weeks is a very short time and as Barbara says, being in the 7s and 8s are not high. Give yourself and your body time to heal and I'm sure you will get back your excellent readings.
I hope you are getting lots of support and are looking after yourself. Take care and all best wishes

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

I am so sorry to hear about your husband, @happydog

I agree with Barbara and Steph, I would expect your blood sugar to be higher than usual at the moment, and 8 isn't really very high - it's within normal range for after meals and not much above range for before meals. Go easy on yourself, your blood sugar is likely to take quite a while to settle down.

If I were you I'd talk to your GP about not sleeping - s/he may be able to give you something to help you sleep, and that is likely to help with everything else, because everything seems worse when you're not sleeping. Burning in the chest and throat could well be acid reflux or some form of dysmotility (I get that occasionally and I take Ranitidine for it, which I get on prescription) but I'd talk to your GP about that too.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Many people seem to experience sleeplessness when grieving, and you are only at the beginning of that process. I’m 11 months in, and still only feel that I’m just getting started.

Sorry to hear about your acid reflux, hope you find some relief soon. And hope the BGs settle too.

 

[happydog]

Thank you all for your replies. I know I will always get good advice here. I went to the pharmacy this morning and got some Gaviscon ?spelling Advance which the pharmacist recommended. I'll try to stop fretting over the BG levels. It took me such a long time to get them down and I do want them to stay there. Comforted to learn that the disturbed sleep is "normal", thank you. My friend's husband who was diagnosed around the same time as me died last week. He never really came to terms with his diabetes and said it was too difficult to manage, so I am sad for him and for her. Not the best time at the moment but I am sure that things will improve soon.

 

[rebrascora]

My heart goes out to you and your friend. It must have been very hard for her to live with someone who would not make the effort to get his diabetes under control. Clearly you do not fall into that category. This is almost certainly a temporary setback with your BG levels. Mine have been stubbornly stuck in the 8-10 range for about 7 weeks, apart from odd days when I have had a few normal readings and some too low (when I have used a bit too much insulin to try to bring it down) It is no good worrying about it because worrying and stress just pushed it up further. Keep doing all the right things that you were doing prior to this tragedy and if things have not improved a little in a few months time, then speak to your diabetic nurse about it and see what he/she suggests.

 

[Pine Marten]

Oh @happydog, I am so sorry to hear about your husband and also your friend's - my first husband died years ago from cancer (long before I got D) and I understand completely about giving yourself time to grieve, about sleeplessness and the rest. You will experience all sorts of emotions, so you must take of yourself and not worry too much slightly higher readings. As others have said, this will temporary, and things will gradually get better.

My thoughts and prayers go with you {{{hugs}}} xxx

 

[Grannylorraine]

So sorry to hear your news. Give yourself time to grieve as well as the stress this is probably causing you which will affect your blood sugars.

 

[Lizzzie]

I think you are expecting an awful lot of yourself. I wish I could say something to help you feel better other than that it's ok - in fact, necessary - to experience stress and grief. And hopefully reassure you, as others have done before me, that if 8 is 'bad' , you must usually do very well. Stress causes BG increases; loss of routine disrupts diabetes, grief disrupts everything.... perhaps 8 is 'good enough' for a little while yet, which is one less thing to battle. Then maybe it's time to check your habits and see if there's anything you should change.
Has the funeral passed?

Finally of course, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. I wish I could say something to make that OK.

 

[miguel81]

I am so very sorry to read of the death of your husband and I offer my sincerest condolences. There is nothing that I can add to the information that you have been given on the forum so I won't repeat it.