Chances are you really haven’t ever thought about what your blood glucose (or sugar) is doing behind the scenes. Unless you have a form of diabetes, or have had episodes of hypoglycemia, we take for granted that our bodies have everything perfectly under control…..that is….until they don’t 🫣.
In reality, your blood sugar is constantly changing. Increasing and decreasing minute by minute based on what you’re eating, stress, water intake, exercise, and so much more! Other hormones and factors have impacts on your blood sugar as well. Stored sugar, or glucose, from your liver can increase your blood sugar levels even while you’re sleeping.
Much of the time we are alerted that something is wrong when our numbers become significantly out of range, like on a routine lab draw, or we start to notice symptoms of high or low blood sugars. This can take YEARS to occur. Some people never have symptoms or signs that their numbers are out of range until it’s much too late.
If you know someone with diabetes, especially type 1, you’ve most likely seen the significant changes and impacts the disease can have on their life. All of this is very much preventable and often reversible. The trick is discovering issues with your body BEFORE it breaks.
Just a little bit of back story, I was diabetic with my second pregnancy. I learned very quickly the importance and difficulty of monitoring and controlling my blood sugar to prevent harm to my unborn child. WOW, was this ever a wake up call for me! At that point in my life I had been a nurse for about 8 years. I had seen people come in and out of ICU and hospice with co-morbidities and problems caused by their underlying choices, but I didn’t realize how this could be largely prevented. I made some really significant changes in my diet and lifestyle when my health and my child’s health depended on it.
However, after she was born I went back to my old habits, and then some! Over the next year, I gained back every bit of my pregnancy weight…without being pregnant. I didn’t like how I looked or felt, and I knew from nursing school that my chances or developing diabetes later in life were higher since I had it during a pregnancy. I decided it was time for a change!
I don’t ever want to fall back into those habits but I’ve often wondered what my blood sugars are doing now that I’m not watching them and checking after each meal, like I did when I was diabetic. Do you ever think about the levels your body adjusts on autopilot or is it just me 😆??
I’ve decided to do a trial of a newer product that continuously monitors your blood sugar to see how certain meals and environmental factors effect blood sugar. Be sure to follow over the next week as I activate and place the sensor, and start watching what my body is doing in the background.
- Traysi
- Registered Nurse and Health Coach