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February 27, 2005

Behavior, Hyperglycemia and DKA

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Question from Arizona, USA:

My 8 year old son was diagnosed one year ago with type 1 diabetes. He is on Lantus and NovoLog. I’ve read all the information about behavior and low blood sugar and I understand how his behavior is affected by a low blood sugar. However, my problem seems to be with high blood sugar readings. He tends to get very “hyper” when his sugar is high and sometimes angry and aggressive. Once his blood sugar is back in control, his behavior improves. Nothing I have read points to hyperactivity or aggressive behavior with high blood sugar. Why is this happening? Can you suggest any books that might be helpful?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Blood sugars can affect mood and behavior, and mood can also effect blood sugars. The reason it is happening is probably because when your son’s blood sugar is high, he may not feel as well, so he may become more irritable, which then affects his behavior. Unfortunately, I do not know of any books that address these issues. Have you discussed this with his health care team? Do they have any strategies for trying to control his high blood sugars more of the time? One idea is to consider talking to your health care team about an insulin pump, which may help with blood sugar control. If you can bring his blood sugars down more, you should see a change in his mood. You may also want to consider talking to a counselor as well (psychologist or social worker) if this continues. His diabetes health care team may be able to give you the name of a counselor that is knowledgeable about diabetes issues.

DB

[Editor’s comment: You may want to look at our Product page where you can find books which may have information to help you.

BH]