Hi, I am wanting some advice. My husband has type 1 diabetes. Before when his blood sugar was getting low he could recognise this and do something about it himself but lately he doesn't seem to be aware. He seems to go from having a normal conversation to being completely out of it in the space of 5 minutes. The problem I'm having is when his blood sugar is low he scares me, he hasn't got violent towards me but I feel that he could, he screams in my face and can get quite aggressive. It's getting to the point where I am scared to leave the kids with him to go to work. The other night I found him having a fit and dialled 999 as I didn't know what to do. He works away from home and I'm worried if he has a fit whilst he is on his own. I can't sleep with worry. It's really affecting our relationship. I don't know what to do.
Hypo's
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donnellysdogs
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One of my first hypo's 30 years ago was scarey for 1st hubby. He called paramedics because he had tried to help me but I literally threw everything he gave me at him. I ended up with 3 paramedics and a GP. I hit the GP when he tried to get my first ever intravenous drip in my arm....not good!!
After that, we got me a tommee tipper beaker (nice pink one)... Not sure if this the actual name of the type of beaker though. (Will take a picture of it to show you. I love taking milk and sugar in it, even helping myself I always use my tommee tipper. I don't know why, I love it, but, I do and will never refuse it. The best thing though, is that it can be dropped (or thrown-lol!) and the lid stays on and it never breaks. I have had it absolutely years..
And I have had one other occasion when I smoked that although I was badly hypo I was still conversing and understanding what was said, but was very argumentative. Badly so. The way my hubby dealt with it was getting me to agree to go outside for a ciggy in exchange for tommee yippee. It worked.
Outside the house (i do not use jelly babies because of the effect they have on my stomach) I always have sweets that I love, and that I see as a treat... My favourites at the moment are some maomi sweets. Providing in my un conscience that I see things as being treats it helps me to treat myself, as I will readily eat these hypo stoppers.
To me when hypo, there is nothing worse than fizzy drinks (that I never have in my diet at all). I hate glucotabs. I know everything that is being said to me, even though I may not show any signs of responding....jelly babies even when low I know they are bad for my stomach, so I would never eat them.
I haven't had an unrecognised hypo for years now, but I think this isn't just about better control. It is also because I love my hypo treats. I was brought up on milk and complan, so milk and sugar I guess may take me back a bit to my childhood?
Your hubby probably would be helped to regain his hypo awareness by keeping his levels raised for 6-8 weeks. I don't know if he drives but the minute he is admitted to hospital especially more than once in a year, the consultants can inform the DVLA that he should not be driving....
It may be that a change of hypo stopper may encourage him to be more willing to take help.
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donnellysdogs
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innilus
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As noblehead suggests, he needs to stay away from the hypo's and monitor his levels regularly. I'm a very relaxed and laid back person but I can get "tetchy" when I'm low and if someone says something I don't like, instead of taking it in and thinking about how I'm going to reply or just brushing it off, I react without a thought.
I'd never had hypo sensitivity problems until I was changed to a new insulin last year. I was injecting the same doses as when I was on the previous insulin but the new stuff seemed to work much better. I lowered my evening dosage levels but I was still suffering hypo's non-stop while sleeping, having multiple fits for a few months and sure enough, one day I left home to go to town in a rush thinking I'll grab something to eat when I get there (only takes 10-15 minutes) but by the time I did get there my brain was firing blanks. I walked into and around tesco for god knows how long, didn't buy anything, went outside and started stumbling into people like a drunk and blacked out. Next thing I know a police officer is helping me up off the floor and had called a paramedic after seeing my diabetic dog tags. All that polava because I had no clue I was marginal before I left out. I've sorted my dosage out now though and my sensitivity is back to normal.
I would suggest getting a good dose of complex carbs as they keep my levels very stable for 3-4 hours and if I do have a hypo I have plenty of time to recognise the signs coming on. It's not for everybody though, some diabetics have to use carbs sparingly as they raise their BG levels too much but I don't have that problem to be honest. Just try and make sure he gets a small snack every couple of hours, even if you have to nag. It needs to be drummed into him. Hope he comes round and see's how dangerous low sensitivity can be, especially when you're alone or people don't know you're diabetic.
I'd never had hypo sensitivity problems until I was changed to a new insulin last year. I was injecting the same doses as when I was on the previous insulin but the new stuff seemed to work much better. I lowered my evening dosage levels but I was still suffering hypo's non-stop while sleeping, having multiple fits for a few months and sure enough, one day I left home to go to town in a rush thinking I'll grab something to eat when I get there (only takes 10-15 minutes) but by the time I did get there my brain was firing blanks. I walked into and around tesco for god knows how long, didn't buy anything, went outside and started stumbling into people like a drunk and blacked out. Next thing I know a police officer is helping me up off the floor and had called a paramedic after seeing my diabetic dog tags. All that polava because I had no clue I was marginal before I left out. I've sorted my dosage out now though and my sensitivity is back to normal.
I would suggest getting a good dose of complex carbs as they keep my levels very stable for 3-4 hours and if I do have a hypo I have plenty of time to recognise the signs coming on. It's not for everybody though, some diabetics have to use carbs sparingly as they raise their BG levels too much but I don't have that problem to be honest. Just try and make sure he gets a small snack every couple of hours, even if you have to nag. It needs to be drummed into him. Hope he comes round and see's how dangerous low sensitivity can be, especially when you're alone or people don't know you're diabetic.
