Eating the Fridge in the Middle of the Night

[helpingbf]

My boyfriend who is in his later 20's was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a few years ago.  For the past few months, he has been having severe problems with waking up in the middle of the night and literally cleaning out the fridge and weight gain.  The doctor seems wholly unconcerned.  He has had him check his blood sugar regulalry but hasn't offered any solutions to his blood sugar ranging from 30 to over 200.  he just keeps telling him to take his 24 hour insulin and the fact acting, which he does religiously.  Does anyone have any resource suggestions on how to eat to keep from waking up in the middle of the night.  Also, I know that weight gain is normal when using insulin but he has put on over 20 lbs in the past 6 months.  Again, the doctor seems to think it is perfectly normal for him to be about 20 pounds overweight.  He has become exceedingly frustrated and depressed over the lack of control he has over his weight and his blood sugar.  Any suggestions on how to curb the eating would be very helpful.

TIA!  

[JDRF-Team-RL]

Hi!!  I'm not a medical professional, just the parent of a kid with diabetes.  Technically there is nothing wrong with eating in the middle of the night as long as he takes appropriate insulin for the carbs he's eating.  Eating in the middle of the night, though, is not the best for your health in general, and that's confirmed by his weight gain.  You don't say how much he exercises.  I would suggest that you offer to be his workout buddy.  You both work out together, be it walks outside to begin with or at a gym or fitness center, and it would certainly help.  Having a workout buddy is a great way for you both to stay motivated.  Being frustrated and depressed is certainly a factor in that eating, so anything you and he can do to change that would be a benefit.  Good luck!

[JDRF-Team-cb]

I would be concerned about getting up in the middle of the night.  His endocronologist should be more concerned as well.  Are you sure your boyfriend is being honest with you about what the dr is saying?  Maybe he just doesn't want to deal with it.  He might need to try a different insulin or maybe the pump.
Before he goes and eats in the middle of the night he should test his blood sugar. My guess is he might be getting up because he is feeling a low blood sugar. Maybe it isn't as high as he thinks it is.  To get a low blood sugar up doesn't take a lot of food or juice.  When you are having a low blood sugar you can be ravenous, so if he just grabbed a snack or juice that was already put in a set portion-like an 8 ounce glass of juice(a juice box) or a few crackers and peanut butter.  He needs to limit what he eats in the night because it can make the next day a difficult one-getting the blood sugar back down and at a normal rate.
Being 20 lbs overweight can happen, but being in a good weight range always makes it easier to handle diabetes.
Maybe he needs to see a dietician and figure a better eating plan.  Dieticians help by taking what you like and incorporating it into your overall plan.  Exercise is important too.  I like to walk-it is not strenouous, but I walk or run 1/2 hour everyday and my blood sugars are in a good range.  If I skip too many days without exercise it really effects my blood sugars.  

[Forum-VOL-SG]

If your boyfriend is gaining weight because his blood sugar is running too low at times, forcing him to eat to stabilize it, he should talk to his doctor about lowering his insulin dose. NO, we do NOT have to gain weight when on insulin. This is absolutely not true. I have bee insulin-dependent since age 12, and am well-controlled, but have not gained an ounce. It is normal to REgain pounds that were lost due to high glucose before diagnosis, but not to gain extra pounds. The balance of food and insulin is something that should be very carefully worked out so that he is taking in just the right amount of calories for his body and taking the right amount of insulin for that particular diet. If his doctor will not work with him to lower the weight, then I personally would probably try to change doctors. Diabetes ideally is a team effort with doctor and patient, and being overweight is not necessary.

[OogleMonster]

It is very difficult to resist eating anything and everything when you go into the kitchen at night with low blood sugar.  I have done it many times in the past.

The best thing to do is to resist the urge to eat everything and just STICK TO A GLASS OF JUICE.  Or at the very least, have a glass of juice FIRST.  Even though all the food (even stuff you normally hate) looks really great when your blood sugar is low, it will not work very quickly and you'll just want to eat more and more until your blood sugar is up.  If it is at all possible for him to do this, he should just drink a glass of juice and go right back to bed, away from temptation.  For me, it helps to think of myself as a baby who wakes up from hunger in the night.  Babies don't want to mess around when they're hungry at night.  They want their bottle, and then they want to go directly back to sleep - they're mostly just enraged that hunger has interrupted their sleep.  I'm the same way when I'm low at night.  I want my juice, and then I want to go back to sleep as soon as possible.

However, supposing he DOES eat everything in the kitchen, he really must keep track of what he's eaten and give himself insulin for it, excluding the amount that was needed to raise his blood sugar to a normal level.

That said, GET A NEW DOCTOR.  There are many bad doctors out there, and it sounds like he needs to change his 24-hour insulin.  I don't know what he's on, but when I took 21 units of Humalin N at night, I'd often go low in the night.  When I lowered it to 19 at night, I stopped going low without having any adverse affects to my blood sugar in the morning.  It might really be as simple as that, but again, it depends on his specific situation.

[T1phil]

Hi. I'm not a med pro but have had type1 for 42 yrs.  I have never had this problem, but I have heard stories about this type of behavior from people taking Ambien or other sleep inducing meds.