Hypoglycemic & Outbursts/ Violence?

Question

Last night I was over my friends house and all of the sudden one of her neighbors called frantically and we didn't know what was happening. When we got to the house her neighbor was being choked by her boyfriend. Had no idea what was going on. Then all of the sudden she was like, check his sugar. When he "came out" of whatever he was in he checked it only to find that it was I believe 52. They said that he should be kept at 130 due to his meds. Was this related to his condition or is this being used as an excuss? Me personally, my mother is diabetic and my pap has been for 30yr and never has seen what I saw last night. Please let me know.

Thanks!

Answer 1

My blood sugar dropped so low once that the meter read "lo". During that time, one of my friends told me that I shoved the assistant principal at the school I was attending into a locker.. but literally choking someone I don't know. When my sugar drops, the first way my husband can tell- sure fire sign is if I start getting really hateful. But I have never had any other violent outbursts other than the one my senior year. I wouldn't rule it out, though. Shoving someone isn't even in my personality so you never know. EVERYONE is different... no matter how long they've been a diabetic.. no one is an expert when it comes to other diabetics and their reactions.

Answer 2

52 is a diabetic LOW not a coma as was answered by the other person. A coma usually is a condition of being high. Anyways, has this person been under a great deal of stress, or pressure from work or family? Diabetic lows can be a result of dwelling on problems which will result in absorbing more and more of their energy. Think of it as the gas in a car traveling up a mountain, it will take more gas to rise to the top of the mountain than it will to travel on a flat road. The violence he displayed is not a result of a diabetic condition: however, it may be the reason for his low. The pressure he felt may have caused the reaction and the manner he dealt with it may be violence. I have had diabetes for 40 plus years. I have had lows where I did things that are otherwise very unlike me. To the diabetic person, he is only reacting to the problem at hand. It is a condition where all his other defenses are closing down and he is not aware of his actions. Some have claimed this to be a nervous breakdown type of reaction, where all logic breaks down and the person cannot clearly resolve the problem. This is a state of confusion, a brain staving for energy where it starts to eliminate things that are not necessary for life. I would suggest counseling the violent behavior, figure out what it is that cause his irate behavior, and then try to calm that condition so as not have these kinds of reactions. To answer your question is this a cause or an excuse, it is an excuse. It may have been a contributing factor to the reaction, but violence is a result of will not an action of little or no energy ( a diabetic low). If so his diabetes is so far off the charts that he should be under hospital conditions. Lows shut down reason and logic, yes, but violence, choking someone, is an action that requires reason to resolve a problem. It would sound to me like this person may not have accepted diabetes, or has some other type of problem that needs to be explored further. Seek assstance with, or for him, and/or his family. bottling up these things will only build more pressure and the problem will only fester until the next time which maybe more danerous to him or his family.

Answer 3

As many others who have answered, I too am a diabetic (for 38 years now). Anyway, the one thing that I have found out about people with diabetes and life in general, NO ONE IS THE SAME. I have a hard time with others judging when they don't know how people react to highs or lows. We all react differently. Violence? I don't know. When my blood sugar is low, I know that I can get sooooo stubborn and defiant that my mother once threatened to call the police. Sorry that I can't fully answer this question.

Answer 4

When the sugar level falls rapidly some of the signs and symptoms are irritability, headache, anxiety, fast heart rate, and a lot of sweating. If the blood sugar continues to fall then the brain tissue begins to starve for the needed glucose. Those symptoms are confusion, weakness, blurred vision, seizure, and it can soon lead to a coma. Perhaps your neighbors boyfriend had a really bad case of irritability and anxiety combined with some other disorder. What other medications is he taking? Are there any psychotic medications in his medicine cabinet?

Answer 5

I know people who have had sugar that low and they pass out--if not treated immediately they go into a diabetic coma.

No I have never heard of low sugar causing that reaction. It's totally separate from the diabetes. Now if his sugar is high (like over 400) then I have seen people become combative.

I think he's just abusive.

Answer 6

Those people who are saying that this could not be a result of hypoglycaemia are wrong.

Exrtemely low blood sugar can affect different people in different ways, and it is not unusual for patients to become aggressive, either verbally or physically.

Hypoglycaemia is not 'a lack of energy' as one person said. The brain and nervous system need glucose to function, and once that glucose drops to a certain level they start to malfunction. This can lead to symptoms not unlike that of severe brain injury.

There was indeed a case some years ago where a diabetic killed his wife during a hypoglycaemic attack, and he was found innocent of murder.

Different people are affected in different ways. Clearly your friend's boyfriend needs to be extra vigilant about his condition.

Answer 7

That is just plain crazy...every diabetic around knows that "lows" don't cause this kind or reaction. I know that when I experience a low, I sure don't feel like showing aggression to anyone. I just want the low to go away. Sure sounds like that dude was on something else. Not just low sugar levels.

Answer 8

just like the others who answered, i don't know about every case but i too am hypoglycemic, and i get sick as a dog. i think you neighbors man is a beast and his Prozac may have been low cause if she believes that he is violent due to low sugar she should keep soft mints available at all times.

Answer 9

I'm part Hispanic and I'm Liberal. I think we need to do something to help stop illegal immigration. I don't mind immigration because we all come from immigrants. But I don't think we can support them in our schools and hospitals. There's also a lot of criminals coming into this country. Hispanics becoming the majority doesn't bother me, it's just the illegals that do.

Answer 10

If some one was really hungry and being denied food, IN THE JUNGLE, there might be a reason for that; BUT i also suffer from that and other than slightly spacey and irritable I can still think rationally enough to secure my next meal without killing it [or somebody]