anyone know anything about Diabetes?

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This is not for me..it is for a friend of mine who is also on the spectrum...He has symptoms of AS, bi-polar, um...schitzoaffective stuff ect....I have brought him up before.
His moods fluctuate so much..he can be fine one minute and then the next minute totally explode. He is very vocal...but not physically violent...he has been placed on medication, but has not been taking it..I am pretty sure...

ANYWHOo...to make a long story short. Lately I have started to suspect that the cause of his more severe mood swings might be Diabetes. He is especially explosive when he is hungry...Yesterday morning he woke up the whole house by yelling and slamming doors...and then had somethig to eat and he was fine...(more or less)

He agrees that there seems to be some sort of blood sugar thing happening with him...
He is on SSI and Medicare so he might be covered for treatment of this stuff...
but this means waiting lists and paperwork and it might take him long time to get treatment...

In the mean time, can anyone tell me if there are any sort of quick-fix ..natural solutions...aside from feeding him....or what kinds of food to feed him when he is around and has these seemingly blood sugar related episodes?

I am trying to do research about Diabetes...just wonder if anyone on the board had any insight to offer about being on the spectrum....AND having Diabetes

no advice about the spectrum and diabetes, but try orange juice and peanut butter (not together...ew!) Even those little peanut butter filled crackers are something. I used to work healthcare, and when our diabetic patients were having a little trouble because their sugar was too low, orange juice and peanut butter were excellent fixes. NO CANDY! That will cause a sharp spike, followed by a sharp drop into a deeper low than was there in the first place.

What you are describing, also, puts me in mind of hypoglycemia, rather than hyperglycemia (diabetes). It could be that his blood sugar tends to run low, rather than high. Have him go into a dr. and ask to have a glucose tolerance test run. It involves having his sugar checked, drinking a horrible glucose mixture, and checking his blood sugar at intervals. If the dr. has other tests in mind, the request will spur the right questions to figure out just what is going on with your friend.

In the meantime, OJ, peanut butter. Peanut butter is better.

The best thing you can do is have your friend evaluated by medical doctor to determine if he really does have Diabetes...It is
not very wise to have people attempt to diagnose his problem here. Diabetes or Hypoglycemia is nothing to take lightly.

Yeah..I know..
His mental condition sorta makes it difficult for him to get timely care..All i can do is repeatedly encourage him to go to see a doctor..and that means waiting lists..I just wanted to see if I could get some insight in the mean time.
I will try the orange juice.
I gave him trail mix the other morning and that seemed to do really well for him.

I've said this before on the forum, I'm not a Doctor, but I've played one many times.... and I've been a diabetic for over 10 years.

And I assume you're talking about Type II diabetes, since this is an intermittent problem and an adult. Is he obese? That's the number one problem causing Type II, followed by family history. If he is either very overweight, or carries his extra weight 'in the belly" it could be blood sugar. Low blood sugar CAN cause anger and aggression, it's usually accompanied by other symptoms, and hunger isn't necessarily one of them. Usually by the time your blood sugar gets so low that the aggression comes out, you have other symptoms, primarily shaking, tremors, almost feeling like your body is kind of buzzing. The ONLY way to tell if blood sugar is the problem would be use a glucose meter at the time he's having the problem. If the reading is under 80, you may have something there... With the other conditions you describe, it's sound more reasonable to think it's rapid cycling mood disorders, manic episodes often are displayed as rage, and if it's rapid cycling he could come down quickly. Does he have any of the symptoms of diabetes? Frequent thirst? Frequent urination? Any tingling in the extremities? If you even suspect diabetes, get screened. You have to control the blood sugar levels throughout the day to prevent organ damage. Also look into blood pressure. If his bp is spiking high for some reason he could feel angry, and not even have a cause to be that way.

Proteins build up blood sugar at a more stable level. Carbohydrates (sugars) can spike the blood sugar way up, then crash it. Watch high glycemic load foods, breads, potatos and rice, etc. Since he's male, check the American Diabetes Assoc. website and get a list of "Carb choices". Have him limit himself to no more than 5 carb's per meal and one carb as a snack at bedtime, to keep blood sugar level overnight.

Thank you...that was a very helpful response. He is overweight....he does carry the weight in his belly....he does go through rapid cycle mood swings.....He does seem to experience tremors...(in his movement it is very obvious)...He does have frequent thirst...I don't know about tingling in extremities...I will have to ask him.

His mom is diabetic. It has only just occurred to him (within the past few days) that he might possibly be diabetic...and the condition is exacerbating his congentially shakey mental condtion..

I'm Diabetic and have aspergers, ask away

So I should tell him to limit his carb intake....and seriously serioulst encourage him to get screened for dibetes...He could have been experiencing diabetic symptoms for years without knowing about it. He used to go through rapid and extreme weight fluctuations....I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

Then definitely get evaluated for diabetes, even if it's just to rule it out. There are a number of inexpensive oral meds that most "early" Type II diabetics can do quite well on, as long as they follow their diet. That and controlling blood pressure. That's critical for long term health. Good luck. There are a lot of GREAT resources on the web for diabetics, but I'd strongly urge sticking to the "establishment" sites like the Diabetes Association. The other place I'd go is the library. Most public libraries will have the most recent ADA book and cookbook. Controlling carbs and high glycemic foods is the key. That and portion control, which is a constant battle for all of us.

Pls:
This is no condition for opinions.

Blood tests are the only sure fire way to rule in or out these particular conditions. There is also thyroid malfunction (one of my problems). It's not serious. The medication to control it has little to no impact on anything but the thyroid gland, and it is neither an upper or a downer. Having said that, a thyroid imbalance can do horrible things to a person's moods. A serious imbalance can cause behavior aberations you don't want to have to deal with. The test is siimple, the medication (if needed) cheap and non invasive (I've taken it for the last 50 years), and if it's something else, a blood test will catch that too.

good luck

btdt

He basicly needs a physical. I have been talking about it with him.

He needs tested. I'll second the thought of hypoglycemia which can be an indication of diabetes or pre-diabetes sometimes.

...and yes, the drop in blood sugar can bring on some very, very ugly mood swings or a confusion like state, depends alot on the person...I've witnessed both firsthand.

When the pancreas malfunctions and is not regulating the output of insulin your body needs properly...you can have episodes of hypoglycemia where your blood sugar drops extremely low...then later after you eat your numbers can soar.

A blood test can tell...but a glucose tolerance test can also help sometimes spot it better. With a family history he should consider it.

Apparently his diabetic mom has been bugging him about his risk for it for years.

I wonder what figuring out what it is and getting it finally under control will do for him...in addtion to helping his physical health...if it prevents him from having severe yelling erratic outbursts so often, then it's kinda good for everyone...(himself...his friends...his job)

Sometimes he is lucid enough that I can talk to him about his issues without him freaking out...but his rollercoaster over the last several months has been really really sharp...mid-sentence he can go from calm and collected to screaming about how he not crazy....or from screaming bloody murder and slamming doors...to moments later collected and calm...
He seems really receptive to the notion that it might partially be related to blood sugar issues....I am not sure, but I think it might help him not beat himself up so much over having such uncontrollable mood swings....(though most people think he should be taking his Depacote...and he is not taking it)

PLS.

With your last post about mood swings in the middle of a sentence, I'm hearing something entirely different than what you suspect. I won't go into it. I'm not a doctor. I am, however experienced with that particular problem. First, you need to rule out all of the endocrine gland malfunctions (blood tests). I think that anyone qualified who takes a good look at a blood test will come up with some things that might surprise you.

Second, I assume he's AS, so the medication is essential. I don't know if it's the right medication he has now, but that should be switched around and tested (unfortunately, until a doctor finds the right medication, it's a crap shoot....this is not the fault of the medical professionals, it's the fault of the drug companies).

Finally, what I suspect is not that serious, and can be controlled fairly simply, however, it sounds like you're looking for one thing, and your friend might be afflicted with several things, each of them, by themselves, not too serious, but when added up spell trouble.

He needs a physical.
He needs to take his medication.
And if you can't convince him to do both, then be careful around him. I'm sure he would never intentionally hurt you.....but it's not always within his control.....and it's a matter of your safety.

Luck.
Btdt

Yeah..I know he's a mixed bag...mentally..AS, Bi-Polar, Schizoaffective...all of which run in his family....he was first put on anti-psychotics at a very young age....his sister is medicated for it...his mom has issues too...
His physiology has not been exactly "normal"....but I don't think it ever gets addressed even though he is on all these social programs.
Shortly before thanksgiving he was committed for a week and a half and and put on Depacote and (i forget the names of the other meds).....oh yeah...colonopin(sp?)...was one...but of course his physical issues were not addressed...
All he does is give excuses for why he won't take his meds...can't afford them....ran out because is prescription was shorted....There were side-effects he didn't like....he's NOT CRAZY AND SICK of People constantly asking him if he has been taking is Medication......yada yada yada....

He really needs a specialist, but he is on a limited income and SSI (though he says he is getting off it in February)...He has a job...and takes fierce pride in being able to hold a job..but it is a slippery slope...I am kinda concerned about the whole giving up SSI thing...