icon-nav-help
Need Help

Submit your question to our team of health care professionals.

icon-nav-current-questions
Current Question

See what's on the mind of the community right now.

icon-conf-speakers-at-a-glance
Meet the Team

Learn more about our world-renowned team.

icon-nav-archives
CWD Answers Archives

Review the entire archive according to the date it was posted.

CWD_Answers_Icon
March 29, 2008

Behavior, Type 2

advertisement
Question from Rocky Hill, Connecticut, USA:

My husband has been told that he has had pre-diabetes since December 2007. The doctor suspected this condition was existing for six to eight months before diagnosis. He has a family history of diabetes. From around the same time, I have been seeing very high mood swings and higher levels of anger, and associated them with increased stress levels at work. Though on some previous occasions, even though there are higher stress levels at work, he never had these issues and when doctor has told him about the pre-diabetes condition, I started seeing the few links between his diet and his mood swings. It is really hard for me to manage the diet to perfection every day. Before discussing the same with the doctor I would like to know whether my thoughts are on right track. Does he need further diabetes management? Moreover, he is mildly alcoholic and it is affecting his behavior. I know these are a lot of questions, but I need to know a few answers so that I can discuss this with his doctor. For now, he is taking half a tablet of metformin twice a day.

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

First, the severe mood swings and anger he experiences need to be correlated with blood sugar measurements. If a person is has been designated as having pre-diabetes, the thought is that the glucose elevations are not as high or as bad as a person with diabetes. My first impression is that the glucose swings have to be bad to have the kind of impact you are indicating. I would first question whether he truly has diabetes or not. Has he had an oral glucose tolerance test? This would measure his response to a glucose load, not just his fasting glucose.

I don’t think you can operate thinking you have to have the perfect diet. That does not fit with the model for diabetes care. I would suggest that your husband be instructed to review his food menus with a dietitian and see if he is doing okay. He should also be exercising and moderating his alcohol intake. Excessive alcohol intake, by itself, can also cause anger.

JTL