moody and irritable

[Curleous]

Hi all
please can someone help. Have only been a type 1 for less than 6 months on Lantus 14 units and novorapid. I have v g control of my levels but have been told my family that i have become exceptionally short tempered. I have even noticed this over the last few weeks especially the last 2 weeks. I have had an exceptionally bad year with t1 diagnosis and a nasty accident before diagnosis breaking multiple ribs in multiple places , threats of redundancy etc but i can't carry on being this irritable and short tempered. It is not fair on my family. I don't do it on purpose but have just become bad tempered!!!!!!!!!!! I have made an appointment to see the doctor later this week to see what he says. Is it normal to feel angry after diagnosis or even depressed and down. I have read about Lantus causing problems but it seems to be doing the job in keeping my bloos sugars steady so would be reluctant to change. My diabetic consultany was dead against me changing when i mentioned it to him 2 months ago.

Many Thanks

Angry Curleous

 

[cugila]

Just a thought until some other Lantus users or Type 1's come along.

You say you have very good control of your blood glucose levels.....reason I ask about this is that a couple of the many symptoms displayed when you are running very low numbers, in or around hypo territory is Irritability, personality change ???

It is normal to feel all the emotions, anger, sadness, depression, denial, etc etc........that in itself could be stressing you out and seriously affecting your whole 'persona.' Having been there many years ago, it is easier said than done to drag yourself out of it. It will take time, patience and co-operation of all your family. Talking about your worries and fears to someone close can help.

Hope I have given you some pointers to getting through this.

 

[hanadr]

Curleous
I looked at your Hba1c of 12.8.dropping to 7.2, so unless you've tightened up a lot since it was done, it may be the opposite of Ken's suggestion. You may be running high. Many people don't noice, but some do get very ratty.
I would certainly advise you to keep really GOOD control and verify with checking at least twice per day.
It's not easy to do, especially when you are new to everything, but to aim to be as near non-diabetic as possible, would be a good idea.
Can you let us know your levels and diet and medication, so we can make some suggestions for "tweaking"
Hana

 

[shedges]

Hi Curleous,

What you're going through sounds very similar to what I went through earlier this year. I was mainly depressed and feeling down most of the time, but also got snappy and irritable, especially with my wife. I'm not perfect, and still have the odd 'Grrrr' moment, but I've got to say that addressing it was the biggest factor in the equation - possibly verbalising it cemented what I was feeling inside and forced me to do something about it on the outside.

I brought up the subject of lantus with my diabetes consultant and he dismissed that as a first port of call. He talked about blood sugar levels and other factors in my life. We discussed the chemical nature of depression (as opposed to the purely psychological side). When he got to the point of prescribing anti depressants I decided to give it a go without and see how I got on.

I'm convinced it was purely admitting to a professional how I was feeling and talking about my feelings and other circumstances (work, personal life, exercise, etc) that brought me out of that spell of feeling down and facilitated my doing something about it. That and the responses I got from the other forum users.

Have a think about something you may be doing that could be subconsciously making you feel down but isn't the obvious answer. For example: I know someone who had spent time at work flirting with a colleague, which indirectly made him go home and behave horribly to his loving spouse. He didn't realise this was making him behave in that way, and it was only when he admitted it to her and got over it that their homelife returned to normal. I'm not saying you are like this, but the mind is a curious thing and can often do things for strange reasons.

Or it could be the chemical imbalance that my doctor talked about.

Whatever it is, it's good to talk to specialists and rule things out. Get things off your chest when you talk to your doctor later this week and things might sort themselves out!

Let us know how you get on,
Sam.

 

[Curleous]

thanks all

have nect hb1ac done tomorrow and expect it to be a lot better than 7.2 as that was only 2 months worth of non diabetic. I wil post more when i have this result but thanks all.

Cheers

Curleous

 

[Curleous]

I do test six times a day and my 7 14 and 30 day averages are 6.0 5.9 and 5.9 respectively. I have 14 lantus at bedtime and 3 units of novorapid at brekkie 3 to 4 at lunch and 4 to 7 with evening meal depending on meal and hunger. Should i be looking to get these any lower as i have experienced several blow 4 readings at the moment. Are these averages a good indication as to hb1ac as well.

Many thanks again

Curleous

 

[cugila]

I do test six times a day and my 7 14 and 30 day averages are 6.0 5.9 and 5.9 respectively. Should i be looking to get these any lower as i have experienced several blow 4 readings at the moment. Are these averages a good indication as to hb1ac as well.

Many thanks again

Curleosu

Those averages sound really good. A 30 day average of 5.9 should give you a probable HbA1c of 6%.

What you should try to avoid is going below 4 mmol/l. As previously stated this is considered hypoglycaemia and can have many side effects, if your awareness is good, then you will get the symptoms earlier than 4. If it is not good then you won't feel any symptoms at all when hypoglycaemic !

 

[Curleous]

Hi All

have just had the result of my first full hb1ac as type 1 diabetic. My initial on diagnosis in early July was 12.8 followed by a 7.2 after 8 weeks treatment and todays reading was 5.7. Diabetic nurse who gave me the result over the telephone was extremely pleased . cholsesterol came in at 5 which she said was slightly high.

Thanks
Curleous

 

[cugila]

Well done Curleous. A great result. We weren't far out with the HbA1c, so that shows the site calculator is reasonably accurate. You have done really well.

I think you have earned a little celebration tonight, go for it......

 

[Curleous]

Thanks All

i am pleased and will continue to to try and keep it around this figure. There will be a treat tomorrow as xmas works do at local indian restaurant and a couple of beers before the meal. I am really looking forward to it. It is good that these meteres average work out close to the test result. I now need to know if cholesterol of 5 is a real problem and what would be a satisfactory result to aim for on this. I eat pro activ spreads etc and have a fondness for nuts and cheese as snacks!!!!.

Cheers again and thanks all for the support and encouragement.

Curleous

 

[cugila]

Cholesterol Levels.

Here is a link to the Blood Pressure Association website which gives advice on how to lower Cholesterol levels. Basically you want to try and get TC below 4, however you also nered to be aware of HDL/LDL levels as well.
http://www.bpassoc.org.uk/BloodPressure ... pyourheart
AND
Here is the link from the British Heart Foundation about Cholesterol.
http://www.bhf.org.uk/Keeping_your_hear ... terol.aspx