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[paradise lost]

Hi, I’m a mum of diabetic. My son is 24 yrs old diagnosed with type 1 at the age of 18.
I have noticed that when his blood sugar goes high he becomes very tired and his mood changes terribly. He becomes very emotional, low self esteem almost severely depressed. Does anyone relate to this change.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Hyperglycemia can have this effect. If his blood sugar goes very high it implies his insulin control needs to be helped and possibly he is having too many carbs?

 

[himtoo]

Hi there @paradise lost
welcome to the forum.
blood sugars above 10 - 12 can definitely cause the symptoms you are describing for your son .

Does he take ownership of his D ??
does he test BG's regularly and correct high BG's ?
does he have a routine from day to day ?

( sorry for all the personal questions )

I myself find that loads of testing , a stable routine , and always correcting high BG's help to reduce / eliminate the highs that may be affecting your son.

It is vital if he is experiencing these highs on a regular basis that he get help from his DSN. ( diabetic nurse)

please keep posting and also ask your son if he would consider joining us here ?

all the best
himtoo
x

 

[paradise lost]

Thanks for the replies. He is pretty good mostly, Daphne trained and was better controlled when newly diagnosed. He knows and we all know in his family what he has to do to maintain good levels, but I guess he’s human and just wants to relax after eating and gets fed up with testing. I really think I could be a diabetic nurse, I’ve learnt so much. What I am not sure about is his mental state, he was always a sensitive child, but I’m not sure whether he has depression or whether it’s his diabetes. No professionals seem to know. My instinct is that his sugar level can affect his mood, and his condition has affected his confidence.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @paradise lost

You have hit the nail on the head here type 1 does have an impact on moods, running higher will slow down mental processes and contribute to low mood, personally I noticed it when I was first diagnosed and would watch my meter go from 5 to 25 and I couldn’t function at my job, it affected my life. I would highly recommend getting a libre sensor if you can afford it, it will save on testing loads and will help you identify patterns as well as acting quickly if you can see the levels starting to rise, it’s quite an empowering tool for just giving confidence but also gaining knowledge on identifying patterns. Alternatively get in touch with his nurse and see if you can get a continuous glucose monitor on loan to try and look for the triggers on these high readings, getting more stable readings will help him cope far better.

 

[paradise lost]

Hello @paradise lost

You have hit the nail on the head here type 1 does have an impact on moods, running higher will slow down mental processes and contribute to low mood, personally I noticed it when I was first diagnosed and would watch my meter go from 5 to 25 and I couldn’t function at my job, it affected my life. I would highly recommend getting a libre sensor if you can afford it, it will save on testing loads and will help you identify patterns as well as acting quickly if you can see the levels starting to rise, it’s quite an empowering tool for just giving confidence but also gaining knowledge on identifying patterns. Alternatively get in touch with his nurse and see if you can get a continuous glucose monitor on loan to try and look for the triggers on these high readings, getting more stable readings will help him cope far better.

It’s such a help hearing from people who experience the same symptoms.
Yes, the Libre Sensor is something we have discussed. I think he should try it, but he is a little worried about having anything attached to him. But it will be worth it if it makes him feel better. Thanks.

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @paradise lost - the sensor is definitely worth going for, like anything new it will feel alien at first but you very quickly forget it’s there, needs to be attached to the underside of the arm so it doesn’t get knocked off, I wouldn’t hesitate get it ordered today, he won’t have to pay VAT and there’s a group on Facebook who has a free delivery code, I think the name is something like freestyle libre group.

 

[Diakat]

Yes, when I am high I become much more irritable and snappy. Levels definitely affect mood.
Hope he manages to recognise and treat as needed.

 

[himtoo]

Thanks for the replies. He is pretty good mostly, Daphne trained and was better controlled when newly diagnosed. He knows and we all know in his family what he has to do to maintain good levels, but I guess he’s human and just wants to relax after eating and gets fed up with testing. I really think I could be a diabetic nurse, I’ve learnt so much. What I am not sure about is his mental state, he was always a sensitive child, but I’m not sure whether he has depression or whether it’s his diabetes. No professionals seem to know. My instinct is that his sugar level can affect his mood, and his condition has affected his confidence.

not only have you hit the nail on the head as @Juicyj says, but combined with the length of time your son has had T1D , it could be some Diabetes Burnout has crept in as well.

see this link http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/diabetes-burnout.13994/

you can already tell we are all rooting for your son ( and you and family )
to pull through this.

just try and take things one day at a time , and encourage when appropriate .

 

[paradise lost]

He is getting lots of support from family, we are active, aware of mindfulness and eat well. He has just moved into his own flat which I do think has contributed to burnout because he now does everything himself. We cook batch meals together once a week now to get him cooking healthy meals and carb count. His levels have improved already but seems to take a while for the tiredness to subside.
Thanks so much everyone, I will try and get him to join this forum. Good support.

 

[Ixarix]

I just

It’s such a help hearing from people who experience the same symptoms.
Yes, the Libre Sensor is something we have discussed. I think he should try it, but he is a little worried about having anything attached to him. But it will be worth it if it makes him feel better. Thanks.

I just ordered my FreeStyle Libre. My endocrinologist showed me the one she was wearing. It is a pretty cool device, and I'm looking forward too using it. I think if your son were able to actually see one, it might convince him to give it a shot.