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new husband with type 1

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Posted 9/14/2012 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
My new husband has had Type 1 since childhood.  Since we got married less than 3 weeks ago, he has had 4 early morning hypogacemic episodes.  crying, yelling, angry, the whole bit.  I had to call the paramedics one time.  He NEVER tests his blood, and says he knows more about diabetis than the paramedics, he won't allow me to go with him to his Dr., or talk to his Dr., and won't teach me to take his blood.  He will never talk about it either.  What do I do?

Barbie from  Lindstrom

Posted 9/14/2012 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry and I'm sure you are afraid for him. First, you need to know that if and when he does have a hypoglycemic episode he needs to have something to bring his blood sugar back up. Does he have any glucose gel or something to bring it back up? What does he do when this happens?

I don't know how you can change his mind about your helping him except having a heart to heart talk. Now that he has a wife (you!), he has someone who will worry about him. Can you reason with him? Suppose you were the one having these episodes - wouldn't he worry about you? There is real danger in having low blood sugar like that as you both know. He must know that you're really scared for him.

Are there other family members who might be able to reach him? I hope other members have some advice for you. I wish I could help more!
Posted 9/14/2012 7:52 PM (GMT 0)
He has no other family, but I think I will bring it up that if it were me that you would want to help and also talk to the Dr.  I am glad that you mentioned that.  He is very stubborn as you can see and he needs to grow up and know that I will be there for him and he can't keep pushing me away when it comes to his health.  thank you
Posted 9/15/2012 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
Other things could be going on, too, Barbie.  He may be dealing with a type of depression or have some kinds of unresolved issues.  He might be putting a shield around himself as a protection against being hurt, a defense mechanism.  He may not want to appear weak to you.  Easier to say all this but harder to tell you what to do though.  The only thing that came to me was a "what if?" and to reverse the situation and hopefully make him see this more clearly.  It would be helpful to talk to his doctor but I'm not sure going behind your husband's back is a good idea either.  Good luck. 
Posted 9/15/2012 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Wow Barbie are you married to me, sounds like the same situation my wife was in, being stubborn is standard, we all think nothing is happening and we can handle it ourselves, then we get frustrated when the simplest task doesn't work, just make sure you have orange juice and/or flavored glucose tablets on hand, you might want to start looking into a Insulin pump for him, I think that would be the best thing for him, as I said we sound like the same person, patience is the only thing I can recommend, at least he is going to the doctor, is it his family doctor or Endocrinologist he is seeing.

I know I am all over the map on this, but it sounds so much like me
Posted 9/18/2012 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
I've had some hypoglycemic episodes in my early years. You probably know all this, but let me just write it down. You need some sugar or glucose in gel kind of form - chocolate, honey, syrup, etc. Try to get that into the mouth, inside of the lips or on the gums (without putting your fingers between the teeth). Not much benefit in using force. Sugary cola would help quickly, but it does not work when laying down or he's not responsive enough. Persuasion might work, try to gently get him to realize he's low. But I have never been in a situation like that exactly. When your blood glucose is low, you can't really think straight. It's like your brain is not getting enough oxygen to think and it's likely everyone acts differently in that kind of condition.

These days when I'm about to get hypos, I first have problems in vision, then weak feeling, and when I break a sudden cold sweat so that my t-shirt is all drenched, I know I'm in trouble. This is much earlier than a real episode would break out and I can deal with it with the help of some glucose tablets or chocolate. Not nice when it happens in the middle of a meeting at work though... I've never had an episode while actually being awake though. It was always after having too much insulin in the morning with too little to eat. I would inject, take some light snack and go right back to sleep - bad. By noon I was in an insulin shock.
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