I'm worried about my diabetic boyfriend :(?!
Question: My boyfriend has had diabetes for 5 years (he is 24) and he wears an insulin pump 24/7. When he was younger, he was epileptic, but hasn't had a seizure in over 15 years. A month ago, he fell out of the shower and i found him having a seizure on the floor. The night before, he ate dinner around 7, had his pump on all night, and then slept in until 11 the next morning. He had also been drinking the night before (I'm not sure how much...I think some vodka). Is it possible that these factors could have caused a low blood sugar/dehydration and maybe caused him to pass out or siezure? But what is odd is that after the seizure, his blood sugar was up to 91 in the ambulance...which isn't necessarily low (this was maybe 10 minutes after the seizure). I'm afraid that his drinking is causing more and more health problems (he also has asthma). He has had cat scans/mri/eeg and all the tests were normal. Any advice on talking to him about this? And what do you think about the seizure?
Answers: My boyfriend has had diabetes for 5 years (he is 24) and he wears an insulin pump 24/7. When he was younger, he was epileptic, but hasn't had a seizure in over 15 years. A month ago, he fell out of the shower and i found him having a seizure on the floor. The night before, he ate dinner around 7, had his pump on all night, and then slept in until 11 the next morning. He had also been drinking the night before (I'm not sure how much...I think some vodka). Is it possible that these factors could have caused a low blood sugar/dehydration and maybe caused him to pass out or siezure? But what is odd is that after the seizure, his blood sugar was up to 91 in the ambulance...which isn't necessarily low (this was maybe 10 minutes after the seizure). I'm afraid that his drinking is causing more and more health problems (he also has asthma). He has had cat scans/mri/eeg and all the tests were normal. Any advice on talking to him about this? And what do you think about the seizure?
You are absolutely correct! The fact that he had been drinking the night before and got dehydrated/hypoglycemic is likely why he had a seizure the following morning. Remember, hypoglycemia and hypoglycemic events _often_ look exactly like seizures with shaking, loss of bowel/bladder, etc. So - why the blood sugar of 91? That is exactly what I expect. Say his blood sugar was actually in the 30s at the time he passed out/had a seizure - the actual seizure activity is a stress event on the body which causes a surge of glucagon breakdown and your blood sugar to rise. It is your body's way to fight the hypoglycemia. When a healthy non-diabetic has a seizure, I would expect their blood sugar to be in the 200-300 range afterward from a similar stress event. All in all, your boyfriend needs to learn from this experience and drink in moderation, say hydrated, and be safe... Good luck!
Just tell him how much you love him and how you never want anything bad to happen to him and how his drinking could lead to something bad. He'll understand.
as for the seizure, i don't know that it is directly related to his diabetes, but it could be.
as for the diabetes, if he has a pump it is pretty controlled if used properly. as for the alcohol..BAD BAD BAD! it of course isn't the greatest for anybody, but in diabetics it makes the sugars go crazy. a glass of wine or one beer or one shot isn't the end of the world, as long as he is in control to begin with and knows how much meds to give himself. now going nuts and drinking till drunkeness isn't good it becomes much harder to control the sugar levels at that point.
Drinking alcohol with diabetes is a very bad combination!! He should get medical help to stop this!Tell him he is going to kill himself if he continues and inform his friends of his condition and what is happening. If they are any friends at all they will help him!!