Diabetes pushing the Mrs to breaking point!

[Mat Wilde]

Hi all, new to this group.
Have been type 1 for around 20 years now.

Main point of this is ; I'm driving the other half mad.
If I'm low I'm argumentative, if I'm high I'm argumentative!
I'm sure you can all appreciate that.

Recently got a MiaoMiao to attach to my libre, which is working great, but not helping her perception!

Is it just me that has mood swings when hyper / hypo?

 

[helli]

Hi @Mat Wilde
Nope, you are not alone in finding that your BG affects your moods.
I too have a Miaomiao on my Libre and find it great for keeping a closer eye on my levels and allowing me to tweak my insulin before it becomes too high or too low. Many people set up alarms to give them time to do an extra bolus or take a dextrose.
It is tempting to managing your diabetes by just making these tweaks but you also have other tools available to you such as carb counting and checking your basal and bolus doses are correct so you don't go high or low in the first place. Basal testing with a Libre/Miaomiao is so much easier than frequent finger pricks.
If you need assistance with your doses, your diabetes team should be able to help, especially when you share your Libre output.

Some people with Type 1 find the easiest way to avoid the BG rollercoaster is to eat a low carb diet. Is this something you have considered? I have read non-diabetics use it to lose weight. It's not for me but perhaps finding something like this that you and your wife can do together can improve your relationship too.

 

[MrDaibetes]

Hi and firstly welcome to the forum.
I get mood swings when I am high/low can be frustrating at times because sometimes I don't remember my mood thankfully I am not high/low much anymore, because I have the technology to manage my diabetes the best I can.

I don't know if you use an insulin pump, but have you thought about looking into one?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Mat Wilde

Sorry to hear BG fluctuations are messing with your mood.

Is this something you recognise in yourself? Or something you are being told you are doing that you aren‘t really aware of?

How frustrating are you finding your diabetes at the moment? How ‘random‘ does it seem to be? How content do you feel generally?

I have found over the years that high or erratic BG certainly seems to increase feelings of low mood and irritation, while the perfectionist in me sometimes struggles with the constant need to retweak and ‘fix’ doses, ratios, and correction factors for meals which were working absoutely fine a week or two previously.

Have you been on an education course like DAFNE or a local equivalent? These are available online during covid if you think your strategies and skills could do with a brush-up?

 

[Jan ch]

I have seen this from the partners point of view and it is distressing and exhausting. I hope your partner is supporting you but please be aware this is hard for them too.

 

[trophywench]

Well FWIW I'd say the best thing is to iron out unexpected highs and lows and agree that most of the questions asked are simply to try and discover what you've tried so far, to try and avoid sudden happenings.

How much do you involve her in what you actually do diabetes wise, though? OK it's more important to me or you to just deal with it than to state
Oooer my BG test result is 2.8 / 12.4 hence I am going to consume X grams of fast acting carb immediately/inject Y units of fast acting insulin pdq to try and get it up/down asap

BUT there's nothing to stop you saying Eeek and the result immediately then tell her what you're doing/ have just done whilst you're doing it, if you are in a different room just tell her when you're in the same room again.

You would not be asking her to sort it - you should know how to that yourself - so, do you?

 

[Ljc]

Oh yes , I too can get moody when high or low.

I have got my careres hat in now, I live with and look after my elderly dad and in the not to distant past I was full time caring for my mum who had severe dementia.
Now I know your wife is not your carer ! but sometime it’s harder for others because of the worry and in the case of moodiness, we’ll I am sure you can guess.

Only a couple of hrs ago I told my dad off for not telling me about a problem he had that needs a doc. His reply was, well I didn’t want to worry you . as you can imagine I wanted to call him all the silly sids under the sun, I love him really.

When you can both talk calmly, try explaining to your wife about how your BG levels affect your moods. And I think Jenny’s suggestions about saying EEK then explaining what you a e going to do to sort out your BGs is a good idea.