Hi. I’m a newbie. Thought I’d join your group as boyfriend has just been diagnosed type 1. He was rushed into hospital Tuesday with DKA and level of 33. He’s all sorted now and coming home today although I’m tempted to push him off the North Pier at Blackpool with the stress he’s giving me. He also has a decompensated liver. Does anyone have any advice with having to contend with the two problems?
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Stressed out!!!
- Thread starter GeeGee
- Start date
- Status
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello @GeeGee and welcome to the forum.
Sorry to hear that you are having such a stressful time. It will be very difficult but I am sure your boyfriend will need all the support you feel able to give him.
His medical team are the best people that can give him advice on what he can best do to look after himself in this complex situation. There may be other members that will be along later that may have some related experiences.
It is important that you look after yourself though and try to reduce your anxiety. Are there other family of friends that you can talk to and share the situation with?
Sorry to hear that you are having such a stressful time. It will be very difficult but I am sure your boyfriend will need all the support you feel able to give him.
His medical team are the best people that can give him advice on what he can best do to look after himself in this complex situation. There may be other members that will be along later that may have some related experiences.
It is important that you look after yourself though and try to reduce your anxiety. Are there other family of friends that you can talk to and share the situation with?
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi GeeGee and welcome from me too.
Not sure about pushing him off Blackpool pier but if you and he are able, going for a daily walk together is something which can be very beneficial for diabetes and enjoyable, particularly in this lovely weather, so that would be a good habit to develop and can certainly help with stress, so might do you both good.
Afraid I have no experience of Decompensated Liver other than the info I got from googling, which wasn't that helpful. I would assume if his liver is damaged then he may be more prone to hypos (which are a risk for all of us Type 1s) so another suggestion would be to ensure that you have a ready supply of hypo treatments with you at all times. Hypos are when your Blood Glucose levels drop too low and you need to eat or drink something sugary like Dextrose tablets or full sugar coke or orange juice to bring your levels back up. Learning how to recognise a hypo and how to treat it is quite an important part of having diabetes or caring for someone with diabetes. Quite often it can affect the ability of the person suffering it to think straight and treat it appropriately, so having a partner/carer who can recognise the symptoms and prompt them to check their Blood Glucose levels and take something to treat it or give them the treatment, can be a great support. Therefore keeping a packet of jelly babies or Dextrose tablets in your handbag or pocket for emergency use and ensuring that there are little stashes of them in various rooms in the house, particularly by the bed is useful. Too many people get up in the night having a hypo and have to wander down stairs when their brain and coordination is foggy, to get something to treat it... which can be a recipe for a nasty accident.
I am very conscious that all this may sound a bit scary, but if you are prepared then you can hopefully prevent any mishaps and I may be wrong and his damaged liver may not make him anymore prone to hypos than the rest of us, but even so, hypos are a part of having Type 1 diabetes even with the best control, because so many variables affect Blood Glucose levels, so planning for that and knowing what to do has to be helpful even if you only need that knowledge once in a blue moon.
We are here to answer any questions you have and support you in any way we can.
Good luck.
Not sure about pushing him off Blackpool pier but if you and he are able, going for a daily walk together is something which can be very beneficial for diabetes and enjoyable, particularly in this lovely weather, so that would be a good habit to develop and can certainly help with stress, so might do you both good.
Afraid I have no experience of Decompensated Liver other than the info I got from googling, which wasn't that helpful. I would assume if his liver is damaged then he may be more prone to hypos (which are a risk for all of us Type 1s) so another suggestion would be to ensure that you have a ready supply of hypo treatments with you at all times. Hypos are when your Blood Glucose levels drop too low and you need to eat or drink something sugary like Dextrose tablets or full sugar coke or orange juice to bring your levels back up. Learning how to recognise a hypo and how to treat it is quite an important part of having diabetes or caring for someone with diabetes. Quite often it can affect the ability of the person suffering it to think straight and treat it appropriately, so having a partner/carer who can recognise the symptoms and prompt them to check their Blood Glucose levels and take something to treat it or give them the treatment, can be a great support. Therefore keeping a packet of jelly babies or Dextrose tablets in your handbag or pocket for emergency use and ensuring that there are little stashes of them in various rooms in the house, particularly by the bed is useful. Too many people get up in the night having a hypo and have to wander down stairs when their brain and coordination is foggy, to get something to treat it... which can be a recipe for a nasty accident.
I am very conscious that all this may sound a bit scary, but if you are prepared then you can hopefully prevent any mishaps and I may be wrong and his damaged liver may not make him anymore prone to hypos than the rest of us, but even so, hypos are a part of having Type 1 diabetes even with the best control, because so many variables affect Blood Glucose levels, so planning for that and knowing what to do has to be helpful even if you only need that knowledge once in a blue moon.
We are here to answer any questions you have and support you in any way we can.
Good luck.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
welcome to the forum @GeeGee
What a caring person you are to have joined here to be able to support your boyfriend.
The first thing is to take a breath. this is a stressful and worrying time fir you both, and you will need time to adapt and adjust. Quite possibly you will even grieve a little in a way.
The good news is that while serious, type 1 diabetes is a condition that can be managed well, and which doesnt have to stop you doing anything. There are new treatments, technologies and gadgets which make effective blood glucose management more possible than ever.
Which insulins has he been put on?
One of the tricky things for you both, after the initial show has worn off may turn out to be the ongoing grind of it, the constant need to bear it in mind and find little workarounds, plus the way that it ebbs and flows and needs ongoing adjusting and tweaking - consequently it can be quite tricky to provide support sensitively, while not feeling like you are ‘nagging’ or whatever.
This ‘etiquette‘ card has some helpful pointers of ways of approaching things: http://behavioraldiabetes.org/xwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BDIAdultEtiquetteCard.pdf
You might also find Ragnar Hanas’s book a very useful overview. Dont worry about the title - its just as helpful no matter when you are diagnosed!
Keep in touch and keep asking questions 🙂
What a caring person you are to have joined here to be able to support your boyfriend.
The first thing is to take a breath. this is a stressful and worrying time fir you both, and you will need time to adapt and adjust. Quite possibly you will even grieve a little in a way.
The good news is that while serious, type 1 diabetes is a condition that can be managed well, and which doesnt have to stop you doing anything. There are new treatments, technologies and gadgets which make effective blood glucose management more possible than ever.
Which insulins has he been put on?
One of the tricky things for you both, after the initial show has worn off may turn out to be the ongoing grind of it, the constant need to bear it in mind and find little workarounds, plus the way that it ebbs and flows and needs ongoing adjusting and tweaking - consequently it can be quite tricky to provide support sensitively, while not feeling like you are ‘nagging’ or whatever.
This ‘etiquette‘ card has some helpful pointers of ways of approaching things: http://behavioraldiabetes.org/xwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BDIAdultEtiquetteCard.pdf
You might also find Ragnar Hanas’s book a very useful overview. Dont worry about the title - its just as helpful no matter when you are diagnosed!
Keep in touch and keep asking questions 🙂
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Just to add my welcome and please don't shove him off the North Pier. If you have to shove him off a pier then go to South Pier because there he will at least get a view of the Big One on the way down.
Your boyfriend will have to work things out for himself and having somebody around who is also learning to watch his back will be very helpful in him getting to a new normal as quickly as possible. No need to stress about it, but if it gets too much then look on yourself as a carer and seek help from the carer support system. If nothing else it will give you somebody to talk to and explore ideas with.
In the end, I am sure you will both cope.
Your boyfriend will have to work things out for himself and having somebody around who is also learning to watch his back will be very helpful in him getting to a new normal as quickly as possible. No need to stress about it, but if it gets too much then look on yourself as a carer and seek help from the carer support system. If nothing else it will give you somebody to talk to and explore ideas with.
In the end, I am sure you will both cope.
Serendipity0411
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Just realised this is an old thread and the OP hasn't been here for 2 years, but as it's been bumped up - I'm not sure that link is working properly so here is the same thing on another site in case anyone else might find it helpful: https://www.hoag.org/documents/Etiquette-Card.pdf
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome @Serendipity0411 🙂 Are you having issues using the forum? Did you want to start your own thread?
I’m presuming you’re stressed too?
To start your own thread, click below:
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/general-messageboard.2/
Then click on the blue Post Thread button on the right. It will open a ‘box’ for you. Type in your thread title in the appropriate space, then type your message in the text box and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the blue Start Thread button.
I’m presuming you’re stressed too?
To start your own thread, click below:
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/general-messageboard.2/
Then click on the blue Post Thread button on the right. It will open a ‘box’ for you. Type in your thread title in the appropriate space, then type your message in the text box and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the blue Start Thread button.
Last edited:
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Thank’s @TheClockworkDodo
The work seems to function OK for me this morning. Perhaps it was just being a bit temperamental?
The work seems to function OK for me this morning. Perhaps it was just being a bit temperamental?
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
It opens OK for me, but after a minute it disappears and is replaced by a jigsaw piece with a sad face (a keyboard one, not a real one) - not sure what is going on, may be something to do with settings on my computer.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It’s a PDF rather than a web page - perhaps your web browser doesn’t have the ability to interpret/display them?
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The one I posted is a pdf too, Mike, so not that. I asked R (who works in computing) and he thinks it's probably a cache problem.
- Status