Hi,

My fiance is a type 1 diabetic for the past 15 years. He is on the pump and generally maintains quite good control with his 3-month A1C around 7. I know that stress can cause fluctuations in blood sugar readings and we have been stressed lately. He just bought a house and we were recently engaged :) We also just lost our cat :( and his blood sugar readings have been all over the place for the last week or two. He has been as low as 46 and as high as 400. These readings were always caught very quickly and actions taken to correct them. However, I am still very concerned. How much could stress be playing a part in these readings? How long do I wait before telling him I think he should see his doctor?

Thanks,
Melissa

As for stress raising his blood sugar, it doesn't have as much effect as you think. As for telling him he needs to see a Dr, I would do that now.

Most of the time when you hear about stress raising blood sugars, they are talking about physical stress. Illnesses or conditions can raise your blood sugars. Mental stress has less effect.

From the sounds of things, he needs to speak with a dietician about his insulin to carb ratio. If he is not taking enough insulin for his meals, his blood sugars will go high. Once your blood sugar gets so high, the normal rules of insulin change. It takes more insulin to control a high than to control a meal. This means that it is very easy to take too much insulin to fight a high just to go too low. Once that happens, you can get into a dangerous game where your blood sugar swing from one extreme to the other. When that happens, you no longer have control and are constantly playing catch up.

If the things you describe are causing him undo stress, he might want to look into seeing a counselor. They might help him learn to cope with things in a healthier way.

HTH