NEW...wife wants to help hubby

Hi.
I am new to this forum...I sort of went blindly and found this one and decided to join.
I am a concerned wife...my husband is diabetic (Type 1) and I am not convinced that he's doing all he can to take care of himself. He's quite sensitive and gets upset when I try and talk to him about it. Basically I am trying to understand why he goes "hypo" on almost a regular basis.
I would like some info/guidance on how to help him manage his insulin and diet to avoid this type of situation. Is it normal? Or is it because he doesn't have a good control on his insulin intake? This almost always happens in the middle of the night.
I think it's detrimental to his health and would like to be able to come up with solutions for him.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi Feistyisa and welcome.

I am a type 1 (although not well controlled, but that is for a number of reasons, not a lack of trying!)
In terms of your husband getting upset when you talk to him, of course, it would help you (and maybe even him) if he would talk to you. That said, if he goes to see his nurse/dr on a regular it might be that he feels like everyone is getting at him about his control, he might just like being with you and not needing to talk about his diabetes? I often feel like all I do is worry about sugar, food, insulin. I like to just sit with my partner and not have to 'think' for a while.

If he is going low in the night (every night) that would indicate that he is taking too much insulin before he goes to bed. Does he do multipule injections or is he on a pump? If he does an injection each evening (insulin glargine probably) then he should talk to his nurse about droping this dose by 2-4 units. If he is on a pump then he needs to talk to them about reducing his basal rates, as he would need to have less over the course of the night.

It can be complicated, there are loads of reasons why ppl go hypo. It might be exercise, type & amount of food eaten. Time he ate. Or he could be trying to correct dawn phenomenon (which is where you end up with a high reading in the mornings because the bg levels are going up in the night.) and over compensating.

To be honest there are so many different things it can be that unless he was to tell you what is going on you won't be able to help. It would be harsh to say that he doesn't have good control. Although you shouldn't be having hypos, it at least shows that he is taking his insulin, so I would say it looks like he is at least trying!

Try not to worry too much.
B

feistyisa wrote:Hi.
I am new to this forum...I sort of went blindly and found this one and decided to join.
I am a concerned wife...my husband is diabetic (Type 1) and I am not convinced that he's doing all he can to take care of himself. He's quite sensitive and gets upset when I try and talk to him about it. Basically I am trying to understand why he goes "hypo" on almost a regular basis.
I would like some info/guidance on how to help him manage his insulin and diet to avoid this type of situation. Is it normal? Or is it because he doesn't have a good control on his insulin intake? This almost always happens in the middle of the night.
I think it's detrimental to his health and would like to be able to come up with solutions for him.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I am also new. Does your husband have a snack before goiing to bed? I've been told you should have one...