diabetes and surgery

[LLWB]

I am very concerned about my diabetes and wound healing. I am scheduled for surgery on June 4, for a disc removal and fusion in my neck, C5-C6. As well as being diabetic, I have fibromyalgia, am overweight, and a smoker. I have been having trouble keeping my blood sugar down. The last few days it has been running around 130, even with oral medication. Have been having constant severe heedaches, whether from the ruptured disc or high blood sugar I'm not sure. And itchy crawley feelings under my skin. I itch until I bleed. Does stress raise blood sugar? I have been on a high protein diet, along with veggies. Very little sugar or sugar products. Has anyone here had surgery and have trouble healing? I still have scabs from the nerve conductin studies they did back in January, so am really worried about my neck healing. Any response would be greatly appreciated. I might mention I also lost my husband from cancer last July, have had to sell ranch, and move, so am under a lot of stress.Help!

[LLWB]

First, Pete, I haven't been able to do any grief councelling due to the fact that any get togethers etc. are in the evening where I live, and I work swing shift. My dr has me on anti-depressants, which help a little. I was also on Ambien, but stopped that cold turkey after about 8 months due to side effects. I didn't know that high protein diets could cause itching. Scotch Tape....I had blood work done in Feb,  My inorganic phosphorus was high, sodium was high, osmolality, calc was high .RBC, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were all low. My hemoglobin A1C was 5.2. But this past week my morning stick has been from 119 to 130. I don't know if they will run any pre-surgery bloodwork. I see neuro-surgeon next Thurs for pre-surgery appointment. I didn't know stress could screw up so many things. I have tried to quit smoking several times, just haven't had luck doing it. Get to 3 weeks, and fail. I know I can't smoke after the surgery for awhile, Hope I can break the habit then....Thanks so much for the replies.I have trouble going to bed at night after I get home from work, so reading these forums helps me so much.

[ScotchTape]

You really need to see an Hematologist, especially if you still have scabs from a January operation. How does your labs on blood clotting; Platelets, Protime/INR, and APTT look?

[Pete919usa]

Wow.  First and foremost, I'm very sorry to hear that you're experiencing so many traumatic things in your life.  So many losses... your husband, your home, and now your health too.  Have you spoken with a grief counselor, or posted on the grief/loss forum here?  It really does help.

Yes, stress absolutely can raise blood sugar and make it harder to control.  A high protein diet can cause itching... do you check your urine for protein and ketones?  With a high protein diet, you might want to increase your fiber intake, too... you'll get some good fiber from veg, especially leafy and baby veg (collards, sprouts) but itching and 'creeping/crawling' sensations aren't good... could be from high blood sugars, could be that your body is having trouble with too much protein, no way to know without telling your doctors and having them test your blood and urine.

Also, in times of stress I usually think that you actually should not quit smoking, (and focus instead on your eating and any amount of exercise you can do and any stress-relieving activities) but in terms of surgery and healing, smoking is so bad... you'll have to not smoke for at least a few days before surgery to make sure your body will get enough oxygen during the surgery, and then try not to smoke afterwards if you want to give yourself the best chance of healing as normally as your body can.

Please check in with your doctor about your symptoms, and also use whatever resources are available to help with your stress and worry and health: doctors, dietician, grief counselor, friends, online forums, etc etc...

Best wishes and luck.