I am not really qualified to address the role stress plays in diabetes for everyone, but it does have a negative effect on me. I have talked to several friends I am in touch with, and they agree that stress does seem to elevate the blood numbers. My stress is pretty much a constant. I do not sleep well at night. I feel as if I'm wasting time if I'm asleep, and that makes me stressed. I know I need to be calm and relaxed, but that isn't always possible. When I am stressed, my blood pressure also increases and so does my blood. I am trying to research to see the correlation. My endo. also told me that I was too stressed, and that made my body have to work harder to absorb the stress. I don't know if that is true or not. I do know that when personal problems change my routine, my blood sugar is higher. For now my husband is having heart problems. He has been a cardio patient with heart disease for seven years. This includes a heart attack, numerous heart caths, blood pressure at stroke level. All of that keeps me totally on edge. I get upset when my blood is high, and that causes more stress. I do not know if other people react this way, but this is the way I am. Even at my age, I cannot change. I am going to be stressed out and in control of what's going on. That's one reason I have a problem with most people in the medical profession. I read and research before appointments so that they cannot talk med-speak to me, and I ask questions that make them know that I am informed. Each person has to know his/her body and be aware of what's happening. Being stressed is difficult. If people can learn to calm themselves, that can be effective. Rather than cry and yell about diabetes, I do my best to control it with what I know. Diabetes is a disease that I will always have, but I must be on top of the disease and do what I can to keep it from taking me down. This old lady still has a lot of fight left in her.

retiredteacher