Hello new today

[Adele martin]

Hi everyone it's not actually me that has been told they are diabetic it's my husband , I'm at a loss and i really don't mean to sound selfish . He got diagnosed in January with T1 out of the blue went to the doctors for tests as he lost a lot of weight 5 stone over 6 week period , he has since been told he is unsettled not sure what that means anyways he has metformin insulin and two other sets of tablets . I have to get him to check his glucose levels several times a day but they never have been steady they can bounce from 17 up to 34 in an hour i suppose I'm just after helpful advice as we don't seem to be getting it from anywhere . He is 39 eats a relatively healthy diet active (most of the time) my biggest concern is the amount he has started drinking since he found out almost every night ,and again i don't want to sound selfish but (this may sound silly) but I'm just scared i suppose as I don't know what to do to help him .
Sorry for rambling on .
Thanks adele x

 

[trophywench]

Do you mean alcohol Adele? cos of itself, that won't help stabilise anyone's BG readings. Have you asked him why he suddenly needs to drink every night? - although if it's eg one glass of wine a night it's not actually excessive as long as your body is used to it.

If you think it is excessive though - have you tried asking him why he feels the need to do it? Could he be scared too - and trying to hide being scared?

 

[Adele martin]

Hi Jenny yes alcohol he has always enjoyed a drink once a week but at the minute it's roughly 8 pints 5 nights a week . I have spoken to him at great length a few times and he is scared and worried about the future i only assume it is natural to be scare scared of the unknown as he has always been a healthy man . We do have our first appointment next week with regards to his diet and what he can and cannot eat . I'm hoping this helps x

 

[Ralph-YK]

He got diagnosed in January with T1 out of the blue went to the doctors for tests as he lost a lot of weight 5 stone over 6 week period

he has metformin insulin and two other sets of tablets .

I gather that type 1s are not prescribed metformin. Many of us T2 are, including myself (2 tablets a day).
Can you tell us how often he injects insulin, and what sort? How well is he coping with injecting himself?

 

[Ralph-YK]

As diabetic we have to manage carbs. As an insulin user, your husband will need to balance what he eats with the insulin he takes. Has he kept a food diary along with a record of his levels? You may see a pattern.

 

[Jeandp]

Hi Adele and welcome. Your husband is lucky to have you wanting to help him and you don't sound selfish at all. You are bound to be scared, diabetes is a serious condition but it can be managed. I am confused why your husband is on metformin if he is Type 1, some Type 2's are prescribed insulin along with metformin. His levels are high, the increased alcohol will not be helping, but it is good that he is testing, hopefully he will soon learn which foods (and drinks) spike his levels and avoid them.
You are in the right place, we are a friendly lot here. Good luck x

 

[Spireite72]

Hi Welcome to the forum I’m pretty new to diabetes and it scared the life out of me at diagnosis I know how much it’s affected my partner and family so it’s perfectly expected you will be scared and definitely isn’t selfish to want to care and do the best by your husband.you will get lots of support and advice the people on here have really looked after me. As for the drinking I guess everyone will react differently to this kind of news I hope he can come to terms with it soon and get on the right track to managing his condition soon.

 

[Carolg]

Hi Adele. Ask lots of questions here Will you go with him to his appointment or will he go alone? I know I always take paper and pen and write down my questions and answers, not because I am doddery but because I know I want to make sure I have it right in my head. My family also ask me lots of questions after. It’s new for you both, and everyone copes in different ways. It’s good that he has your support.

 

[Adele martin]

Thank you all for your replies . The medication he is currently on are metformin twice a day insulin 3 times s day 14mg in morning and twice at 10 mg atrovastin twice a day and also gliclazide once a day . I haven't been able to get to all of his appointments as we have a 3&8 year old girls but I will be at his next ones for his lipids which have gone down and his diet nurse any appointment i can get to i will as I like these first hand . The insulin he has is humulin the doctor he last saw at the gp told us he assumes he is type 1 but as his readings for everything are all over the place its hard for them to make their mind up which is frustrating . The last appointment at his diabetic nurse we were told that they were amazed how he was still standing up right with all his reading everyone they see with those readings are normally flat out and admitted to hospital but as he was functioning normal they have him an extra shot of fast acting insulin and he came home .I'm sure once i get more knowledge it will be easier but until then you may be hearing from me a lot xx

 

[Spireite72]

Thank you all for your replies . The medication he is currently on are metformin twice a day insulin 3 times s day 14mg in morning and twice at 10 mg atrovastin twice a day and also gliclazide once a day . I haven't been able to get to all of his appointments as we have a 3&8 year old girls but I will be at his next ones for his lipids which have gone down and his diet nurse any appointment i can get to i will as I like these first hand . The insulin he has is humulin the doctor he last saw at the gp told us he assumes he is type 1 but as his readings for everything are all over the place its hard for them to make their mind up which is frustrating . The last appointment at his diabetic nurse we were told that they were amazed how he was still standing up right with all his reading everyone they see with those readings are normally flat out and admitted to hospital but as he was functioning normal they have him an extra shot of fast acting insulin and he came home .I'm sure once i get more knowledge it will be easier but until then you may be hearing from me a lot xx

Ask as much as you need. There will always be someone around that will try and help.

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi Adele, not much to add to the advice already given except to say please come here whenever you need, to ask questions or have a rant! You sound very caring, and I'm sure that with a bit more knowledge you'll be able to help your husband and things won't seem so scary.

Take care of yourself too and of your little girls. All the best to you xx

 

[Grannylorraine]

Hi Adele - welcome to the forum. No advice as I am type 2, but you will get lots of support on here.

 

[Ralph-YK]

It's a lot to take and it's all confusing. You'll get it sorted.

The medication he is currently on are metformin twice a day insulin 3 times s day 14mg in morning and twice at 10 mg atrovastin twice a day and also gliclazide once a day .

Insulin can work for both T1 and T2.

gp told us he assumes he is type 1

The metformin (and gliclazide I think) covers for your husband possibly being T2.
There's tests & various things (I don't know the details) that should help them confirm T1.
Either way, he's on something that will help.
Atrovastin is for colestarel. Apparently it's common to prescribe this to diabetics.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

The rapid weight loss suggests type 1, but it sounds as though they are covering all possiblities with the meds they've given your husband, Adele. Do you know if they've done blood tests to confirm type 1? - if not it's worth asking to get these done. And has he been referred to a hospital diabetes team (not just dietician, but a consultant and diabetes specialist nurse)? - again, if not, he should ask for a referral because if it is type 1 or if the GP is not sure, he should really be seen by a specialist.

A lot of GPs won't realise how common type 1 is in adults - they may be dithering about his diagnosis because they think only children are normally diagnosed with type 1, but recent research shows that about 40%, if I remember rightly, of newly diagnosed type 1s are adults. This forum certainly bears that out - I was diagnosed aged 44 and a lot of others here were diagnosed with type 1 in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Is he drinking because of the stress of the diagnosis, or is it just that he is incredibly thirsty? I would expect him to be really thirsty with such high levels, so it may be a combination. When I was diagnosed I found some things tasted strange, including water, so I was drinking cold fruit teas to try to take the taste of the water away (I don't drink alcohol, but I can see that if I did I might have been tempted to drink that instead if it tasted better).