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Can diabetes explain 'odd' behaviour?

H

heartless

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I have just finished with my boyfriend due to his "odd", and frankly scary, behaviour - eg: having conversations with me as if I was his ex-wife, accusing me of there being another man in the house, thinking we were camping in the outback, saying he was going to kill me, but then having no recollection of the conversations. Could such behaviour be explained by uncontrolled diabetes? - he has just been diagnosed now as Type 1 after a recent incorrect diagnosis of Type 2 - I dont want to be heartless as I am sure this is a time he needs support, and not rejection - Thanks!!!!
 
Confused behaviour can be a diabetes symptom. My husband has done some silly things in his time. He's a lifetime type 1. He tends to be worst if going hypo. We had a bad spell with him after he was changed from pork insulin to the humologues (25 years ago). He ended up in A&E every saturday morning for a couple of months. He'd got his routine oranised for the working week , but didn't stick to it at weekends. He did the classic of being mistaken for a drunk outside the paper shop and was saved by an elderly lady, who recognised the sypmtoms from a TV programme ( probably Casualty )and called the ambulance. On another occasion, he walked to the local supermarket with our then 4 year-old and had a full blooded fit there. the manager called the ambulance, but no-one listened to my well-trained baby saying "give Daddy some sugar". What made it more confusing for them was that he'd snatched a Kit-Kat bar off the shelf and was foaming chocolate at the mouth. they thought he'd bitten his tongue. Chocolate and blood being a similar colour. He has a whole bookful of adventures. the Sister in A&E once asked him if he just came in htere for his breakfasts.
 
Yes, angry and strange moods can happen during hypos.
Also general poor control you get at the start stresses the body in my view leaving you tired and irritable.
Better control a bit down the line should improve things, but you've also got to consider that being diagnosed with a serious condition can have personality-changing effects of its own.
You got to allow at least 6 to 9 months for things to settle.
 
Hello heartless,

Yeah, being stuck with a chronic disease that you didn't ask for can leave you a bit tetchy.

Regards,
timo.
 
the behaviour does sound odd and I'm not so sure that it is caused by the diabetes, although very high and low blood sugars do cause changes in behavior. The only way to tell really is to see if the behaviour continues once blood sugars are normalised. Do his doctors know about it?
 
My recent brush with cryptosporidium left me at times with very low BG levels. With so many instances so close together I've learned that one of the symptoms of low BG, for me, is a light headed feeling (about two gin and tonics' worth) and talking complete BS (and I don't mean blood sugar). :mrgreen:

I've always had a bit of a temper (what do you expect with Mars in Aries?), but before I was diagnosed and was running around with my BG in the twenties, my temper would go to weapons of mass destruction mode in about five seconds. Imagine the devil as a crackhead... Not nice.

But it's also important to remember that there could be all sorts of other reasons for odd behaviour and symptoms in general. For months I put my two hours naps on the sofa mid afternoon down to fatigue caused by HIV. Now my BG is more under control, I rarely nap. Last Hba1c: 6.3

Steve
 
What you're describing sounds too extreme to be diabetes related. My most "out there" idea is that he's at the stage of suffering severe complications that have in some way created a secondary effect of damaging him neurologically.

In short there's no rationale for saying this is caused by diabetes. It sounds more like a nervous breakdown or other mental break.
 
Yes of course it can cause this kinda behaviour. I do some seriously and say some seriously strange stuff and often have no recollection. I have seen this behaviour in my father and one of my best friends. Having little or no warning signs my colleges can tell when I am going low due to my odd behaviour. Cognitive function is severely affected by hypo in some but not all type ones.
We must all remember we are all individuals and are affect differently by diabetes. This is where the healthcare professionals fail miserably. The look at us a group.
 
Many thanks to all - it would seem that the answer is 'yes' and 'no' and 'maybe'. Sadly, I have decided I cannot take the risk at the moment (for me and my little daughter) of having someone in my life who may or may not be in control of his actions :cry:
 
I can be very difficult for the significant other to deal with some of the **** that can accompany type 1 diabetes.
My partner has stuck by me through some seriously strange situations. I don't think I cope with me.
 
Heartless.......this behaviour does sound extremely odd. Get him to check his blood sugars when he is accusing you of things and this might help. If its low then its probably down to that if not then i think he needs to see a dcotor as this could be a mental health issue.
 
My daughter has very strange behaviour. The pattern is about every 10 days. She becomes very distressed about the funniest things. Last time it was because her sister wanted a tent for her birthday. She has smashed several items, got out of car a traffic lights, and hit, kicked and punched me.When she has needed to come home from school she has screamed 'im entitled to an education'.
We have just attended our first appoinment with Childrens Mental health team in desperation to get to bottom of whats causing these outburst. They seem to think its simply her way of letting of steam. She has been through a lot over last 6 months diabetes, epilepse and dad deciding he didn't want contact with a 'disabled child'. But this behaviour has to stop for the sake of the rest of the family. Before I end up in a straight jacket.
 
hi donna - kids can react like this sometimes and tbh I would expect a little bit of it - it is alot to deal with!
Some help from the team is good. Alot of adults struggle with it and I think alot is to do with the fact that you cannot see diabetes! - if that makes sense.
 

Sounds like a typical teenage girl to me combined with the stress of dealing with diabetes. :?

Also, for the love of god, whatever you do don't agree to medication as the solution. You'll just screw her up even further.

DiabeticSkater said:
Yes of course it can cause this kinda behaviour. I do some seriously and say some seriously strange stuff and often have no recollection.
Click to expand...

You frequently threaten to kill folk do you?
 
Hello

Firstly, I am new to type 1 diabetes and irritability and memory loss can be a symptom both in response to running high sugars for a while then getting "hypo's" when low but I really don't think the bahaviour that you mentioned can be put down to diabetes.

It can be expedient to pin poor or disturbing behaviour on an illness but it ain't necesarilly so.

So far I haven't threatened to kill anyone and forgot I said it later, nor do I think theres someone else in my home. I forget appointments more and get more stressed and upset but the extra tasks imposed by this condition give a brain addled with the effects of high blood sugar and ketones, then low sugars extra stress.

Firstly, you say his diebetes is "Poorly controlled" how so? and why isn't he controlling it? does he not take his insulin correctly? does he miss meals or does he munch his way through the equivalent of a Tate and Lyle warehouse every week despite advice to the contrary? If his control was to improve do you think these thoughts and feelings would go away? I am new to all this but in my brief experience irritability and strange thoughts are either down to constantly worrying about blood sugars going up and the consequences-and hence I really don't need extra stress thank you or low sugars causing the start of a hypo.

Whilst the diabetes may be a factor in the behaviour you mentioned I don't think it is the cause, I think there may be personality and/or mental health issues involved, so advise him to improve his control of the diabetes and to approach his doctor, possibly with you there, to look at the other issues. Finally , you are far from heartless, you are trying to find a rational explanation for the behaviour of someone you have affection for. If you were heartless you wouldn't have bothered but I don't think that consistent behaviour like this can be put down to diabetes.

RPNKW
 

I have threatened all sort of crazy stuff including killing people.I have also been arrested when hypo and doing crazy stuff.
Plenty of my freinds can tell when my "control" has gone ga ga because of the change in my personality.

If the brain is working correctly because of diabetes what do you think that is?

This sort of attitude to the effects on the human mind is what caused many in the past to be locked up in mental institutions. And what makes it worse this kind of thinking these days seems to be a western
thing. Its nothing more than discrimination caused by lack of understanding and ignorance.
There is no such thing as control thats is the power only held by god. Staying alive is a totally different thing.
 
I was on Lantus for a period of time and looking back noticed behaviour changes. Family put it down to my ever head strong personality getting the better of its self. My temper is quite short to say the least and i do fly off the handle. Since i ve been on novomix 2 months ago again there were changes but ive seen to have calm down more again so my sons says! But as a whole i do believe that diabetics who are not in control of BS will suffer mood swings.
 

I don't even know what the hell those last two sentences were supposed to mean so lets concentrate on your main response:

I'd seek help and a change in treatment if I were you. Hypos are meant to be a treatable, niggling ******* of a thing you have to deal with. Not a mentally disabling event. If they are, you're not getting enough warning and need to change something.
 
RPNKW said:
Firstly, you say his diebetes is "Poorly controlled" how so? RPNKW
Click to expand...
Firstly, thanks for the long and thoughtful response...
I think he is struggling because the doctors seem to keep changing their minds on how to medicate him - he was on a low dose of metaphormine (sp?) for a while, then a higher dose, then insulin, now back to tablets. I do not know if this is what normally happens when newly diagnosed?

He is making lots of effort with his diet and regular eating, and has nearly given up smoking too so we are giving it another go (with a testing kit at hand to see if there is a blood sugar explanation if he gets scary again)
 
The answer is yes, diabetes can cause strange and even violent behavoir especially when one is in hypoglycemia. Since your boyfriend's strange behavior happened before he was diagnosed it's probable that he didn't suffer from hypo though since it's the result of meds. (To be sure about this you'd have to ask a specialist).
 
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