partner of a person with diabetes

[tallulah]

Hi all,

I am not someone with diabetes, but my fiance is a type 1 diabetic. We've been together for years, and he's had the disease the whole time...I want to support him as much as possible and for him, that generally means having almost nothing to do with his diabetes management. He's an adult, and he's been managing this disease for over ten years.

However, I've been finding that his moods have been very intense recently, and I'm really struggling at the minute to understand how to respond to them. Part of it is obviously talking to him about it, but I have found myself really wanting to speak to other people who have the disease, as well as partners of people with it, to discuss what their experiences have been. I can imagine that the disease manifests differently on the emotional front for everyone, but I just...I need to talk to people who understand what my fiance is dealing with, and to people who understand what I'm dealing with, and no one else in my life has any first-hand experience of the disease at all.

Is there a thread or forum for this? Or any secret facebook groups, lol? I'm feeling a bit lost at the minute! Thanks so much.

 

[CathyB]

Hi tallulah, I think it’s great that you are reaching out to help your partner, I am type 2 so don’t feel beat placed to advise as I am aware there are big differences. I’m sure one of the others with type 1 will be along soon to share their wisdom. I just wanted to say hi and thank you for joining us

 

[Radders]

Hi all,

I am not someone with diabetes, but my fiance is a type 1 diabetic. We've been together for years, and he's had the disease the whole time...I want to support him as much as possible and for him, that generally means having almost nothing to do with his diabetes management. He's an adult, and he's been managing this disease for over ten years.

However, I've been finding that his moods have been very intense recently, and I'm really struggling at the minute to understand how to respond to them. Part of it is obviously talking to him about it, but I have found myself really wanting to speak to other people who have the disease, as well as partners of people with it, to discuss what their experiences have been. I can imagine that the disease manifests differently on the emotional front for everyone, but I just...I need to talk to people who understand what my fiance is dealing with, and to people who understand what I'm dealing with, and no one else in my life has any first-hand experience of the disease at all.

Is there a thread or forum for this? Or any secret facebook groups, lol? I'm feeling a bit lost at the minute! Thanks so much.

Hi Tallulah, I think it’s great that you want to support your other half with the emotional impact of his condition.
Is there any reason that you attribute his current moodiness to the Diabetes though?

 

[Titchvic]

Hi,
My husband has had Type 1 since he was 10yrs old, so well before I met him! We've been together for 15years and mostly he has managed his diabetes himself. Having said that, he is also a male of the species and therefore does not think as I would - he would happily go out for a couple of hours with no phone and no glucose and have me worried sick about him! Generally he doesn't get mood changes that are associated with the diabetes - it's usually him just being an idiot!!! 🙂 It's not something he has differently from any other adult male, but I do know that they ask him at his annual diabetes check up about depression - do you feel his diabetes or maybe something else in his life is getting him down? I know at times my husband just says that he feels frustrated by it all because it's relentless and he feels he never gets a day off from it. But it's usually just a short term emotion that passes. It's probably worth having a chat with him when you get a chance to sit down together, just to check he's ok. Just as you would with anyone you were worried about. Good luck x

 

[Bronco Billy]

Hi Tallulah

It’s great that you are so keen to be involved. This forum is a good place to start. Feel free to start a thread if there is anything you want to know. I’ve found a couple of Facebook pages. I’m not a member of either of them, so can’t vouch for how good they are. However, unlike most of the groups seem to be, they are UK based.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/184258345108108/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/188241074587012/