Help!!!

[fetherston]

I have joined this forum in the hope of getting some help and support. My husband has type 2 Diabetes and is on insulin and metformin. He is also on a hefty dose of Prozac and I think that may be contributing to the fact that he just does not eat. he has between 2 and 5 hypos every day, if we just count the ones where his blood sugar is less than three. he eats abolsutely nothing because he says he feels sick all the time - yet he keeps taking the insulin! The GP has given up because he thinks (rightly) Neil does nothing to help himself. The nurse at the clinic does not take telephone calls between visits. No-one is giving me any help or support and yet I have to cope with him every day. I am absolutely at the end of my tether. I am the only wage earner and luckily I work at home but if I do have to leave the house for any reason, he will be sure to have a collapse. What on earth do I do?

 

[falcon123]

Hi, Sorry for asking so many questions but I am after a bit of background. First when was he diagnosed with diabetes? Has he been on both metformin and insulin since the start or? How long has he been on Prozac? About 15 years ago a former girlfriend was put on this and her behaviour became very odd. I will not go into all the personal details but our relationship ended three months later and subsequently she more or less lost contact with her paarents. There were also problems with her son. All of this happened because she was becoming irrational. And the GP should not give up!

 

[am64]

hi welcome to forum...sounds like you are having a very tough time how long has he been diagniosed? it sound to me like his drug combo is probably what makes him feel sick but i am no medical person. the forum will kick in very soon and there are alot of knowledgable people here.
I take sertraline for my depression you will find there is many Diabetics taking anti depressants oh how i hate that word.
Best of luck and this is a great place for Ranting X

 

[fetherston]

Neil was diagnosed about fifteen years ago and for a long time he was just on Metformin but when he gave up drinking (he was an alcoholic) he had huge problems with high blood sugar and was put on to insulin. He is in three Prozac capsules a day. he started on one soon after he stopped drinking (2 and a half years ago) and then later was put up to two and then three. he does not get up in the morning until about 11.30 -12. He then usually has a hyp arond 1.30pm so he goes back to sleep until about 2.30pm then he has another hypo around 5.30pm, eats supper and goes back to bed. He then gets up around 10pm for a couple of hours during which he has Coke and crisps and chocolate - apparently to prevent more hypos when he goes back to bed. he knows perfectly well what he needs to eat and that he should eat regularly but he just doesn't! All help/opinions/ideas are gratefully received.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Fetherston, sorry to hear that Neil is having such a difficult time and not getting the medical and psychological support he needs. From what you say it seems that he has had one 'drug therapy' (alcohol) exchanged for another (prozac) - it doesn't sound as though it is working very well. Would it be possible to try another doctor? It sounds as though he has been more or less given up on by his current one and leaving you to sort out the consequeces.

Do you know what insulin he is on? Is it a slow-acting one like levemir or lantus, plus a fast-acting one like novorapid or humalog with meals? If he's on both slow and fast, he musn't take the fast if he's not going to eat anything. It sounds like he needs to break the cycle in some way so he can get an opportunity to get into a proper care routine. If possible, ask the doctor if he can be referred to a diabetes clinic so he can speak to a Specialist Nurse (DSN) - they can be very helpful and understanding. It might be worth ringing Diabetes UK's careline too to see if they have any suggestions - they are at: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Careline/

Do let us know how things go, I wish you well🙂

 

[falcon123]

Hi Fetherston , apologies that it has taken me a couple of days to get back to you. I wanted to talk to a few friends including a reformed alcoholic. Neil has two problems; he appears to be badly depressed (hence the excessive sleeping) and poorly controlled diabetes. Until the depression is more controlled it will be hard to get Neil to take a proper interest in his diabetes. When coming off alcohol tranquilisers are more frequently prescribed to handle tremors. panic attacks, etc. The dose of Prozac seems quite high and it might not be the most appropriate anti-depressant for him. This does need to be reviewed and if your GP is losing interest you really need to consider changing. The diabetes also seems to be a problem and again I think a review is needed. Has the medication been decided by a specialist or the GP. The nausea might be caused by the metformin or gastroparesis. Gastroparesis is a longer term complication of diabetes but may come on far earlier if it has been poorly controlled. The previous alcohol abuse may also have caused stomach problems.

Overall things have to be reviewed and changes made. So nag your GP, change your GP and/or practice so things start to happen. Otherwise, sadly, the longer term outlook is grim.

Please post if you want advice on anything ? there are hundreds of years of experience here. Best of luck