Diabetes and Personality Worried with Alcohol

[friends42]

I am afraid for my friend.  He husband used to be an alcoholic and now he is recovered.  He had pancreas problems also.  Now he is a diabetic that only takes pills.  He does not eat well or watch his sugar intake even though my friend tells me his sugar level is fine.  Recently he had been acting very strange.  He kinda spaces out and then he will start talking and get very irrate.  He is very depressed.  Last week he talked about drinking again.  I think he is drinking again and my friend is in denial.  Can someone who had diabetes and not eat well go into a kinda Dr. Jeckyl Dr. Hyde phase?  I really need some advice.  What can I do to help her.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Hello Friends42,
SS gave you an excellent answer in the comment below.  I wish you good luck reaching your friend, but for folks in denial -- only *they* can choose to move forward.  It is very frustrating for those who care about them.

Diabetes can cause mood swings but it should not be used as an excuse for bad choices and behaviors.

[JDRF - Team- SS]

Hello,

You are a good friend to be concerned about your friend's husband, but if she is in denial like you say, you might not be able to do anything.....I hate to say that, but she is the wife, so she is going to have to realize it if there is a problem.

Also, I do not mean this in a rude way, but alcoholics are never "recovered" although I understood what you meant.  He was or is in recovery, but could have gone back to it.  

So, he is a recovering alcoholic and a type 2 diabetic who is also dealing with depression.

My son is living with type 1, so I am not the one who knows how this feels, I do, however, know about alcoholism and depression.  They often go hand in hand.  Even being an alcoholic who is not drinking, but is unhappy, depressed and not being treated for depression (whether it be medication or counseling or both) can cause someone to have severe mood swings.  I know this first hand.  Also, high blood sugar can definitely cause irritability.

I am unfamiliar with type 2 and what the meal plan looks like.  Unless you are seeing his blood sugar results, you do not know if his blood sugar is out of control or not.  

If a recovering alcoholic wants to drink bad enough and does not seek help, I think eventually he or she will.  I think the person has to get to the point where he/she likes him/herself better sober than drunk.  

Your situaion is a very tough one because if you express your concerns to your friend and she is in denial, she might get upset with you.  Sorry I do not have a complete answer for you.  I think you will receive other helpful comments.

Good luck
SS