Diabetes Care Stress and Diabetes | Accu-Chek®
hamburger overlay
Woman working from home

5 ways to manage type 2 diabetes while working from home

Making the shift from being an in-office employee to one who works remotely can certainly be an adjustment. You may need to learn how to balance your own conference calls, create boundaries between your family time and late-night requests from colleagues when there’s no commute separating the spheres of your life and focus on that quarterly report when there are piles of laundry staring you in the face. But if you’re one of the nearly 4 million Canadians living with diabetes, working from home presents a whole different set of challenges. Let’s face it; it’s easier to give into stress...

Read More

Refine Results

Coming to terms with a diabetes diagnosis

Coming to terms with a diabetes diagnosis

You’ve just received the news: you or your child are living with diabetes. After the initial shock, you’ll probably experience a whole range of emotions and have a ton of questions. It’s a normal process that’s unique to everyone, and it may include the following stages: Denial. You don’t believe the diagnosis. Anger. You feel a sense of injustice, or anxiety that turns into revolt. Bargaining. You partially accept the situation, but question...

Read More
man sitting on a bench park looking depressed

Diabetes And Depression: Warding Off The Sword Of Damocles

Being diagnosed with diabetes means it’s suddenly time to make lifestyle changes, which can feel like a loss. It’s normal to feel destabilized and experience negative feelings at first. But even beyond that initial shock, people living with diabetes are more likely to slip into depression. Greater risk Nearly 10% of people living with diabetes will experience major depression; around 30% will experience symptoms. That prevalence of depression is twice that found in populations without a chronic disease. ...

Read More

Cold and Flu Season

  Every year we cross our fingers, hoping we’ll be spared. The common cold and influenza have a nasty reputation and with good reason. Who can stand a runny nose or a hacking cough? Both infections are common and relatively harmless, but they still have to be closely monitored in people living with diabetes. A few facts Colds and influenza are viral infections affecting the respiratory tract. The common cold is relatively mundane and is generally over in ten days. The...

Read More

Stress: It’s Not All In Your Head!

When your body is under attack, or when it feels attacked, it will naturally have a fight or flight response, with the hormonal reaction this entails. Cortisol and adrenaline, among other hormones, increase glucose levels, which are quickly transported to cells to provide energy to the body. Diabetes causes insulin to not always play its role effectively, which can lead to hyperglycemia. However, if you’re living with type 1 diabetes, you are at risk of hypoglycemia. Breathe! To develop better defense mechanisms...

Read More
Blood pressure meter

Hypertension 101

Also known as “high blood pressure”, hypertension is one of the leading causes of strokes and heart disease, and the worst part is that it often shows no symptoms. People living with diabetes need to be especially watchful, as they are more likely to develop hypertension at some point and suffer from its adverse consequences. Blood pressure “Blood pressure” refers to the pressure that blood exerts on artery walls. It’s an essential part of the process that carries oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. ...

Read More
Food plates on a table

Exotic Flavours: A Recipe For Success

You’ve chosen your destination, watched all the slideshows, salivate at the delicious dishes that await you… and then, diabetes crashes your party. Yes, travelling impacts your routine, especially food-wise, but there’s no need for you to go hungry. Follow this guide! Before setting sail First, research your destination and its cuisine. For example, Mediterranean food is generally easier to manage than carb-rich Italian dishes (pizza and pasta ahoy!). Also, make sure you learn about local eating habits. In some countries, such as Spain, people...

Read More
crossed legs of lady practicing yoga

Taking Care Of Yourself

The effects of stress are no secret to anyone: the body releases hormones that are directly responsible for a spike in blood glucose. It’s also common knowledge that depression is more common in people living with diabetes. And when you’re tense and tired, you are less motivated to manage your blood glucose. This creates a vicious circle that’s hard to escape from. Getting some “me” time Paradoxically, when you feel time is too tight is when it’s most important for you to take some away for your personal use. Taking a...

Read More
A woman at work

Managing Your Diabetes At Work

We all have days when we’re just overwhelmed. No matter what field you work in, you’re always asked to produce more, faster and with fewer resources. What happens to managing diabetes, then? Stress, emergencies and blood glucose It’s a familiar refrain: stress increases cortisol and causes blood glucose fluctuations. And when your days at the office are a never-ending sprint, eating well, being active and testing your blood glucose can become secondary concerns… which threatens your health—and, ironically, that sacrosanct productivity by the same token! Jumping everyday...

Read More

Pages