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Troubled relationship

D

Dude26

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi everyone, Sorry if this is too long but I hope you can help me. I have been diagnosed type 1 6 years ago. I feel that I have been a much angrier person since my diagnosis. My partner has said that my moods are too much for her to be dealing with. I don't want to tell her that I feel my diabetes is the cause, especially if indeed it is not. I am not looking for an excuse. What I am looking for is
1. Can diabetes cause bad moods?
2. What can I do about it?
3. Can any partners of diabetics provide any insight
Looking forward to any help.


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Hi, @Dude26 and welcome to the forum.

Diabetes can lead to a few lacking minerals and vitamins, which can - in turn - lead to tiredness, grumpiness and whatnot. But, from the little you've said, I suspect that your diabetes is the cause of your change in mood in that, maybe, you're still quite angry about the diagnosis, the complications, drama, discipline, self-treatment and limitations of it.

As with any life-changing diagnosis, you need to come to terms with it - a process much like grieving - and that can be really hard to do alone. The first thing I'd do is talk to your partner about it - how you feel about your diabetes, as it seems that's something you're avoiding doing at the moment. Let her in on what's happening to you and how you feel - it's incredibly difficult for her, too, especially if you're not telling her what's going on.

And then I'd look for a bit of help and mental health support. There are services that will help you process and come to accept your illness so that you can live without this ball of anger which is big enough to affect your daily life and relationships now.

Of course, I'm just some words on the internet and I don't know you at all. But from what little you've said, that's where I'd put my money.

Good luck and let us know how it goes, eh?

Sock x
 
Hey @Dude26 - to say that your t1 might not be the cause of your anger is under estimating the impact of how t1 has affected your life. Having t1 can be a consuming mental process, so thinking about looking after yourself and managing your condition then on top of that relationships, work and all the other stresses that life throws at you, it can be a wearing process. If your levels are high/low then this can impact mentally too, personally I found maintaining stable Bg levels helped me cope mentally better. You need to talk through your feelings with your partner, be open and trust them, try not to close doors.
 
Hi. I don't think diabetes itself if reasonably well controlled causes bad moods but some people get depressed from the diagnosis (not the diabetes itself) and this can be a problem. If the problem remains you may need some CBT therapy organised by the GP or one of the mental health charities
 
When my sugars are high I get very moody and my partner can tell. I try to test when I'm feeling poorly so I can warn my family and be aware of it (and not just be an a$$ to them). Leading up to diagnosis, I thought I was just depressed, but it turns out when I got my sugars under control I was no longer sad and tired all the time! I am still rather amazed that a physical thing can have that much control over my mental state, but it certainly can. However, if your sugars have been well controlled and you're still feeling quite angry when they are nice and low-but-not-too-low, you may be feeling it because of the diagnosis, in which case the above suggestions are probably more applicable.

What did *not* help my partner, FWIW, was reading stuff online by and for partners of diabetics--they got really upset and felt like I was going to be angry forever and die young, basically!
 
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