What does a hyper feel like?

Happybunny86 said:

I am the partner of a diabetic and I just wanted to talk about what a hyper feels like. He quite often has mood swings that I attribute to diabetes but he doesn't want to admit are diabetes related.
Recently after drinking and a meal he had a huge mood swing. His eye appear strange perhaps dialated. He talks very quickly, a lot of what he is saying is irrational or doesn't make sense and it's very hard to talk him down from these moods.

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Hi @Happybunny86 here is something I wrote some years ago:
. Many times my wife Helen has asked me to do a test because my speech has slowed down, not necessarily perceptibly to others. I might insist that I don’t need to. Difficulty in making choices or decisions is also a giveaway. Visibly the face takes on a deathly pallor because what little glucose there is has been distributed to the brain and heart. Vague staring is common, as is slurred speech. The problem is that these are all recognisable symptoms in a drunk. Similar to a drunk, a diabetic can become violent when accosted. This is because the brain translates well-intended actions into attack. When faced with a semi-conscious person it is unwise to offer questions or statements which require reasoning or choice. Do not say “Do you think you ought to have some sugar?” The sheer effort of making a judgement is enough to cause unpredictable reactions. In my 40s I burst into tears (a rare occurrence) when in a hypoglycaemic condition, simply because I was expected to make rational responses. Instead you should say something like “You need sugar, here is some.” Personally I hate sugar, and as I have said, solid glucose. They leave an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth. If I were to go to the famous Desert Island, I would take something savoury, preferably involving bacon. I once said to a Catholic Headmaster: “If there’s no bacon in Heaven, then I ain’t going there. I probably won’t anyway” I have apparently punched well-meaning people who have tried to administer sweet tea. I am not, however, aware that Lucozade has resulted in violence.

In later years my wife would often just say "You're low" and it was enough to at least make me want to prove her wrong by having to test. On other occasions she would say "I bet you £50 your'e low" Never having earned enough to risk being wrong, I would give in! I admire ALL diabetic carers. You are of great value to him, as is shown by taking the trouble to consult this forum. All the best

Happybunny86 said:

I know his sugar was high as he has a reader on his arm and I am able to check. It had been between 15 and 16 all day. Then he drank in the evening and shot up to 26. He is insistent this is not diabetes related and it's personality that causes him to have these moods swings but I just can't believe that. Not that someone can become so unreachable purely through their personalitu

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Certainly high readings used to make me want to hide away from people (even great friends) and make me unusually short tempered. The trouble is that our bodies are a finely tuned balance of chemistry and electricity. Either can affect our "normal" wellbeing, and this is one of the aspects of diabetes that most people are unaware of. Here is an extreme example of my own experience:
In the summer of 1985, I started to experience frighteningly prolonged bouts of diarrhoea and even more alarmingly, an uncontrollable temper which was fuelled by an apparent adrenaline rush. Having a ten month old daughter in the house would not be compatible. One July morning I went to work and Phil Power, the Traffic Manager, made a slight criticism. I replied in a fast but quiet bass tone which rapidly rose to a high pitched scream as I smashed my fist down on the desk. “I think you had better go outside to calm down” said Phil with a slight element of surprise on his face. Very wise man. Outside I stood against the wall shaking with a mixture of shame and of fright brought on by my lack of control. I went to see Dr Ruth Lister, a well-known GP who was our family doctor in Bury St Edmunds. She thought that my autonomic system might have packed up - a futuristic view at the time. The autonomic system is the brain sending messages to each bodily component to ensure that it works at the due time. Dr Lister referred me to the West Suffolk Hospital for a five day observation. This included a Barium enema.
Not long into my stay the diarrhoea had abated and I later realised that this was due to the precision of the Hospital regime. I still had to undergo the enema on the fifth day. I was taken along to meet “Hosepipe Woman” and lay down on a bed. The effect of having one’s intestines inflated so that they are fully opened is one of life’s unspoken discomforts. Having squirted the Barium in and taken X-rays, they duly dispatched me to the nearest lavatory to “make myself comfortable”. While I was seated on the throne with my head in my hands in a state of considerable dejection, the door suddenly burst open. Standing in front of me was a female orderly with a tray, who announced “Your coffee Sir.” It was like the famous moment in The Pink Panther Strikes Again when Herbert Lom is seated at the organ and has just been given laughing gas by Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in the guise of a dentist. Herbert Lom produced a brilliant example of a man laughing while creased up in pain. In my somewhat unexalted position there was a remarkable similarity. I assured the orderly that this was the finest hotel service in Eastern England. I was given an incontinence pad and discharged. The walk into Bury St Edmunds took me just over half an hour and I tried to cheer myself up by looking in my favourite shops, which included Scott’s Second-hand Bookshop in St John’s Street. Eventually I reached W.H.Smith’s, which at that time occupied a narrow premises on the east side of Buttermarket. While looking at the relatively small magazine rack, whom should I bump into but “Hosepipe Woman”?! Mustering up superhuman courage I said “Hello”, but this elicited a blank expression. Clearly she didn’t recognise that face.