Mind over blood glucose levels

[Andy HB]

I've just had a thought (Oh No!!). 🙂

The mind has a strong influence over the body as evidenced by the placebo effect and other studies where people have been found to behave as if they are drunk/stoned even when the experimenters didn't give them anything that should cause such an effect (and subsequently 'sobered up' when told so!).

Anyway, based on that. Do you think it's possible that some people can 'control' their BG levels better because they expect to be able to do so? Or if they think a particular food is Ok, then it is and conversely if they think it is dodgy then it is too!

If that is possible, I suspect we need more hypnotherapists!

Andy 🙂

 

[Copepod]

Interesting idea, AndyHB.

I sometimes wonder if it's luck or something else that means that my HbA1cs over the past 16 years or so, which have always been 7.x (although there were several years in the early days when I didn't attend any clinics, so didn't get any readings) have not resulted in any complications. Personally, I think there's more to life than blood glucose readings, so if a bit high after a nice meal, I don't worry too much, plus I reckon that keeping fit, active and happy (I couldn't be happy if I weren't active) has a good effect on overall health.

 

[Northerner]

I suppose it might depend on what your starting point is. If you are regularly in range then I think it's a reasonable expectation that you will remain so as long as there aren't any big new variables coming into play - maybe this encourages you, subconsciously, to avoid making decisions that might produce poor readings? To some extent, I suspect that is what happens with me 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hehe! The very same thought occured to me Andy in my first weeks on the pump (didn't last!) - http://www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk/2012/02/placebo-effect-and-insulin-pumps.html

 

[Andy HB]

Hehe! The very same thought occured to me Andy in my first weeks on the pump (didn't last!) - http://www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk/2012/02/placebo-effect-and-insulin-pumps.html

.... and it also goes to prove my other thought that anything I can think of that may be novel probably won't be. Someone would already have written about it somewhere on the internet!

 

[Otenba]

Anyway, based on that. Do you think it's possible that some people can 'control' their BG levels better because they expect to be able to do so? Or if they think a particular food is Ok, then it is and conversely if they think it is dodgy then it is too!

It's been proven in studies that if you are low mood or depressed, you are more likely to suffer poor BG control because you'll be more prone to being neglectful.

It's like that phrase "give a man the skills for fishing and he'll be fed for the rest of his life" or something like that... I feel like that applies to me when I did the DAFNE course. My confidence in my control went wild while after doing that course and I can now live my life even more independently than I could before.

It is hard to have confidence when you're in a massive guesswork cloud and being low in yourself can make it harder to make you want to learn something new. Diabetes is a very complicated thing after all and a course can take a lot of mental work to understand - especially when you have hard rooted habits to break as well.

If hypnosis is what's needed to get all diabetics to definitely learn a diabetic educational course successfully and change their bad habits (like correcting for every high BG they see regardless of timing for example) though, then best we get some hypnosis going on, eh! 😉

 

[Abi]

The mind is certainly a powerful entity
I suspect that an individual's expectation of good control of their own condition is linked to a generally positive frame of mind and absence of excess stress or depression
I think the importance of the direct influence of stress hormones such as cortisol on blood glucose control is put too far down the ranks and it is assumed that bad control during stressful periods is all due to the patient being neglectful. Without doubt this happens but I personally have had appalling highs during stressful times, with ketones, and while not perhaps being as vigilant as I should under the circumstances I was still checking 4 times a day, correcting highs and counting and blousing for carbs

 

[Caroline]

Not sure where the saying comes from but where the mind leads the body follows.

Have seen it in action many times in many different ways, I say to people if you really want to do something you'll be able to do it and very often they can do it.