Tickling a diabetic

[Messy]

Is it ok to tickle a person who is diabetic?
My girlfriend has diabetes and she always says I must not tickle her but never gives the full resaon why.  Im just wondering if I tickle her will she be affected or not or is she just simply messing around with.

Sorry if im wasting your time,
Thanks

[venustiana]

Hi, I'm a diabetic female. I hate to be tickle for few reasons.   As your sugar levels vary so does your moods and sensitivities. Sometimes tickling can be fun but sometimes is painful and very annoying and yes it can cause stress and anxiety. That's what happens to me. I hope this help.

[mysterious_one]

im a 16 year old type 1 diabetic and over the 10 years of having diabetes i have been tickled many times, i think it shouldnt affect her diabetes much maybe just drop her levels a bit which can be good if she has high blood sugar levels, im sure you could tickle for a short period of time and there wouldnt be a problem as i have never had much of a problem with tickling or being tickled. but well done for asking i think thats an admirable feature.

[mikewandling]

Yeah, I'm a diabetic and ticklish and tried telling my wife that she can't tickle me because of my health... didn't work.

They are right though, it's a work out if you really get going so be aware of how she's doing.

[scott1968]

When I checked my blood sugar just the other day, it was 207.  Needless to say, I was a bit downcast over this.  My friend's little stepdaughter, who dearly LOVES tickling my bare feet every time she sees them, decided to tickle them again to try to cheer me up.  Have you ever seen a 10-year-old girl tickle a 39-year-old man's bare feet until he loses control?  She tickled my bare soles incredibly hard with her fingers for about three minutes, and she was making me laugh so hard that I completely lost my breath for several seconds.  I never did take an insulin injection or anything.  When I checked my blood sugar again a half-hour later, it had dropped 63 points!

This little girl loves to tickle my bare feet, and I admit that I love getting them tickled by her.  Now, I feel that I have an entirely new reason to let her continue tickling my feet.  It appears to have therapeutic applications....in addition to just being a lot of fun for both of us! :)

[Type 1 Diabetic]

My first thought was also bruising from injections or a pump make her sensitive.  If you tickle her where her pump is connected, you may unknowingly pull it out.  Or, she may have bruises from the injections she has to take.  It wouldn't hurt to ask her for more information.  I'm glad you took the time and care enough to ask.  That's really cool.

[lflisp586]

ACTUALLY...there may be a legitimate reason for this.  i'm also a female diabetic, and i've had to tell people not to tickle  me at times, also.   it has nothing to do w/ the person, but her sites may be sore.  if she wears a pump, she may be concerned about it getting ripped out or something painful because that can easily happen.  you may want to double check with her, b/c some diabetics are just more physically sensitive if, for example, their stomach is being touched where they may inject themselves.
hope this helps!

[TonyAlmeida]

Uh - I just think she doesn't like to be tickled (some people don't).  Doubt it has anything to do with Diabetes.

[fingerhead]

maybe she just doesn't like to be tickled and the diabetes gives her a 'cop-out' card!! you will have to find other ways to amuse her!!!

[JDRF-Team-JW]

I'm not a medical professional so I can't say if there in fact is a medical reason why your girlfriend would not want to be tickled, but I agree that tickling can cause stress if you don't particularly like it and that can cause the sugar to rise. Respect your girlfriend's wishes and don't do things that can cause her unnecessary stress.

[JDRF-Team-dm]

Dear Messy,

None of us are physicians here, but volunteers and are not qualified to give medical advice. I can give you my personal experience in dealing with type 1 diabetes.

I have never seen this question come up before and have not heard that it is harmful, but as I said I am not a doctor. It could be that her doctor has told her that this is not a good thing. It could be that tickling stresses her out and stress can raise blood sugars which is something she needs to avoid.

Personally, I am a very ticklish person and it is physically
painful. This causes a very high stress reaction in me and I don't have diabetes.

I would be kind and since tickling is unnecessary, respect her wishs and don't do it.

Good Luck,

dm