Question:
If I have elevated blood sugar will my surgery be cancelled?

I am scheduled for my surgery one month from today. Sometimes when I am anxious, my blood sugar can register high. My surgeon is Dr. Champion in Atlanta. Does anyone have any experience with this issue and his policy?    — April B. (posted on March 27, 2001)

March 27, 2001
Hi April, I can only speak for myself, but it should not interfere with your surgery. I was a type II diabetic and my surgeon had my nurses monitor my sugar levels every hour. I say that I "was" a type II because I no longer have to take my meds or monitor my sugar as closely since my surgery. Good luck with your upcoming surgery!
   — Cindy K.

March 27, 2001
Are you sure your blood SUGAR is high when you are anxious? Your blood sugar reading is a byproduct of your sugar/insulin relationship. I know that your blood pressure can elevate with anxiety. But I am not sure about your blood sugar. I believe it is a definite amount that has no outside influence like anxiety. If your blood sugar level is recording high, then it is truly high. I would definitely take the reading seriously and not pass it off as your being anxious.
   — [Anonymous]

March 27, 2001
As a child of a woman who has been type II diabetic for the last 20 years, I can certainly attest to the fact that your nerves can affect your blood sugar. My mother can test at home, on her own well calibrated monitor at 135. Then she leaves for the doctors office and by the time they test her there (after only one cup of plain, black coffee), her blood sugar can be 200. Her doctor is at a loss to explain this, because according to him, its not supposed to happen. Also according to him, he sees it quite frequently. However, I'm sure all your doctor will do is order extra monitoring while you're in the hospital, and probably suggest that you get a monitor to test yourself at home too.
   — Dee P.

March 27, 2001
Just to add my two cents' worth--when an animal's fight-or-flight response kicks in, the body wants to be able to react quickly to the situation. This means having lots of energy (in the form of glucose) available to the muscles in case they need it. To do this, the body's stores of glucose are metabolized and released into the blood. So blood glucose can temporarily increase in a stressed individual. (Vets sometimes see this in cats brought into a clinic. Compared to a dog, a cat is more likely to find an office visit stressful; when their blood is drawn their glucose may be a little high just from the stress.) I don't know if this is a common response in humans, but my (human) physiology book seems to indicate that it's at least possible.
   — Kristy S.