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Violent - Hypo unaware

J

joelcam

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Feel a bit embarrassed posting this but my head is in the shed about it.

Had a silly argument with the wife yesterday and smacked her on the hand really hard. This isn't me at all and was gutted instantly. I checked by blood and I was at 2.6. I had not other hypo symptoms so had no idea I was this low.

Normally I get agitated if I hypo but go away and sort myself out, it's never got this far before. I assumed my agitation was just the fact that we were arguing.

I don't know what I want anyone to say or do, just feel gutted and wondered if anyone else has had similar things happen.

It's a weird one as I want her to understand it was because I was low but at the same time I don't want it to happen again nor do I want her to worry anout it happening again / getting worse etc..

JC
 
Hey JC,

I just wanted to say I have been hypo unaware since my teens (diagnosed at age of 4) and now getting closer to 30 :shock:

When I'm not hypo I am a very quiet, mind my own business knda person however I have been picked up for attacking a police officer once (once they figured out I was hypo they officers thought it was hilarious as I was 15 and tiny at the time) also my husband has had bruises and scratches (and a broken front tooth) :( Luckyly for me he's very understanding and knows when I'm getting agitated to fill me up on sugar before I loose control (I must add I'm NOT violent ALL the time when I'm hypo).

Unfortunately I don't have any advise for you, I hate it when I do stuff like that however just wanted to let you know it's not just you!!!! :)
 
Joel,

I suggest you speak with your diabetes care team and look at way of improving your hypo-awareness symptoms, 2.6 is very low and the lower you go the more agitated and confused one becomes so this might explain your unusual behaviour.
 
Hi JC,

When you have low blood sugars one of the body's responses is to release adrenalin; the fight or flight hormone. That is why diabetics become aggressive. You are not 'hulking out' and releasing some monster that you normally keep hidden; it's a response to the low sugars that is all.

I would say explain that to your wife and perhaps agree with her that any time she asks you to test your blood sugars that you will do it even if you 'know' that you are fine. If you get deeply into the habit of doing that you will still do it even if hypoing at that level and things can be resolved; either by you seeing that you are hypo and taking glucose or showing your wife that your sugars are fine and that your argument is totally reasonable in the face of all that bloody nagging (as I do with my wife :lol: ).

It's a good rule to have because then she can feel confident that if she feels you are becoming aggressive or unresponsive there will be a way of immediately dealing with it. If you have other people in the house you should apply the same to them as well.

If you are constantly running very low, as Nigel says, you can up your blood sugars a bit which should bring back some hypo awareness.

Best

Dillinger
 
Just because you were 'Combative' this time doesn't mean that you will another time! Same that because you weren't aware of this particular hypo doesn't mean that you've lost your hypo awareness...

As it might be that your argument started to brew as your BG started to drop, so your hypo awareness were being masked or mistaken for something else... You do need to speak to your team, as they can help you to understand and decided whether this is a indicator of losing hypo awareness or just a one off thing...

I suspect that your wife yes is shocked but because this behaviour isn't you, will understand and won't hold it against you and your relationship... She probably request you take a BG or even sling your meter at you next time a argument seems to be brewing...

Many years ago, my husband tried to break my arm, as I tried to get hypostop into his mouth... He was mortified and felt ashamed of his behaviour... Yes I was taken aback and shocked as he's never verbally aggressive towards me, so being physical aggressive was hell of a shock... It actually hit him very hard and took him a long time to come to terms with it was just one of those things...
 
Hi JC

My Cousins Dad is also T1 and I have been told that in the past when he had hypos he would go ballistic and be violent. So it does sound as though others do experience this. Try not to beat yourself up about it as it is obviously something out of your control!

Lucy.
 
Thanks for all of the replies...I think checking my levels if we ever start arguing is a good idea.

A few people mentioned speaking to my 'team' but seriously I don't have a team. I have my annual review and my eye tests and that's it. I saw a dietician once after I was diagnosed who told me stuff I already knew but other than that I have no contact with anyone else and certainly do not have a 'team'!

Should I have one?
 
Yes you should really have a team..

A team could be hospital based, surgery based or a combination of both..

You may visits should be with a diabetic nurse, who should review your diabetes at least every 6 months, more frequently if you are experiencing any problems and you should be able to contact at any time, and if necessary request a appointment with.. This can be surgery or hospital based.

Consultant wise, Now is a difficult one really, as it's possible for a well control diabetic to be dealt with just at their surgery, and GP referring them to hospital on needs bases.. But you should also have the option of opting for a consultant, how often you see them will again be based on control... If control is good and not problematic then once a year is fine as long as the DSN's are doing at least a 6 month checkup/review..

My husband doesn't see a consultant, he purely dealt via the surgery, but control is good, no complications so his 6 months visits are sufficient at the moment.. But options are there if anything changes.

I actually under both the hospital and my surgery, my surgery nurse does a 6 monthly review, My hospital team, I see about every 14 months... But anyone from my consultant, pump nurses and surgery DSN are only a phone call away, if I feel that I need help..

So I think, you need to phone up your docs, if you are under them only, then ask to see the surgery nurse more frequently, if you'll not ask to be seen by the DSN and have her/him included in your care.. If you are only under their care, ask to be referred to the hospital team..
 
Hi,

All I have is my annual review which is done at the local hospital. My last one was this month and they had a computer problem which meant none of my results were available.

My actual review after being told about the system probme was as follows:-

"Are you still eating well?" - "Yes"
"Are you still working out?" - "Yes"
"Have you got any concerns?" - "No".
"Well you can ring your GP for your blood results if you like but I imagine things are the same as this time last year, so we'll see you in 12 months".

That is no exaggeration either. I then rang my GP and was told that my HbA1c is now 7.6% so has increased quite a bit (which I expected after 2 stag weekends and a wedding over the previous few months) and that my cholesterol was too high. I was told there is nothing to discuss right now but they may want me to take statins when I hit 40?

That was it.

JC
 
joelcam said:
My actual review after being told about the system probme was as follows:-

"Are you still eating well?" - "Yes"
"Are you still working out?" - "Yes"
"Have you got any concerns?" - "No".
"Well you can ring your GP for your blood results if you like but I imagine things are the same as this time last year, so we'll see you in 12 months".
Click to expand...


Joel, it's now obvious you do have concerns after what you have posted here as well as the increase in Hba1c/cholesterol, ring the hospital and speak with the diabetes clinic and tell them you want to be seen by the Consultant or DSN.
 
Now I've picked myself up off the floor.... I'm that shocked!

Do you know what I'd do, would be several things..

Firstly I would hit the internet, check out the website of other hospitals in my area to see what they offer diabetic wise, you have to be careful to a certain extent, as if your local hospital is like mine, classed as a 'cottage' hospital the outpatient clinic's are from the main hospital...

If you can locate another hospital that you willing to attend, then take the information to your GP and asked to be referred to that clinic..

If your GP won't play ball, inform him of your right to chose,also take with you the NICE guidelines about diabetic care, and why you think both the present clinic is failing, as well as your GP..

If they still won't play ball, I would seriously consider changing GP's either within in your surgery or go to another surgery...

Sadly it's looks like you've going to have to dig heels in and battle to get the access to the care you should be and are entitle to have..
 
I can relate - although i've never been physically violent, I have sometimes felt like I am about to snap when I have a hypo, and haveon occassions said some really horrible things to my parents and made them quite upset. At the end of the day, we can't help how we feel when we are low/high. It's hormones and like has already been said adrenaline - if you go low often, the only thing I can suggest is maybe knowing baxk your insulin levels? Often the reason low warning signs go are if you have more frequent hypos - I know this is the case with me.

Hope everything is going ok :)

Sophie
 
Methinks as the blood sugar is low, the brain cells fat (70%) starts converting into sugar to sustain its metabolism, giving rise to "unnatural" behaviour.
 
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