Thursday, August 07, 2008

Blood Sugar and Moods

I've been noticing more over the past couple years a stronger correlation between my blood sugars--especially high blood sugars--and my moods. When I'm low, everything seems hard--it's not a good time to ponder, for example, doing an Ironman. But when I'm high, I can feel really depressed and easily frustrated, as well as sleepy (a symptom more commonly expected). I have noticed a fairly rapid improvement as my BG's return to normal, even before I know my BG's have come down. Maybe these mood changes were always there and I am just finally noticing how my BG's relate to them; or perhaps they are becoming more pronounced through the years. I'm not sure. Anyway, this post was prompted by a BG over 400, which I attribute to letting my pump run too low (air bubbles?) and also going on a BG testing strike of 4 hours. My basals also seem a bit off these days. I loaded up on a few units which, with my current insulin on board, should bring it down. These are the times that diabetes can really be a challenge for me, emotionally, even though I know it's just the BG picking on me. Fortunately, though, I will be able to shake it off with a long swim + run in the morning. Hooray for that.

(Note: BG=blood glucose, aka blood sugar.)

3 comments:

k2 said...

Great post! Blood sugar most certainly effects our moods - as much as I hate admitting it.

When I'm low, I'm spacey (at lest more spacey than normal) & I have a hard time concentrating.
When I'm really high, my Diabetes High Blood Sugar Biotch takes over and I am a major bitch. I take comfort in the fact that I can notice this changes pretty quickly and work on fixing them.
These moodswings are just another part of this roller coaster called diabetes!
k2

Scott K. Johnson said...

I too find myself crabby and emotional when my bg is high.

It is such a subtle thing that can so easily be chalked up to other things. I think it takes great awareness to realize that it is sometimes bg related!

Wingman said...

I can even notice a change in my attitude after a big meal - when I'm waiting for the insulin to kick in I can be a bit more irritable than normal, under consistent high blood sugars (i.e., recovering from an Ironman) I wish I could lock myself in a room!