Type 2 Diabetes

totheleft

Would you date someone with Type 2 Diabetes?

My boyfriend has recently been diagnosed. He's only 27. He's got it under control I think.

What's the long term complications? Impotence is my biggest concern.

I would never leave him because of this as I love him regardless.

I just want to know the outlook. Honest answers please.

fashionlover10

My OH has Type 1 so obviously not quite the same but he's had it for 10 years and is 28 now.

I don't see it as a problem at all. I've just learnt to be aware of the signs of a 'hypo' and adapted our diets to cut out a lot of sugar. OH has to inject and test his blood sugars multiple times a day which means loads of trips to Boots picking up prescriptions.

OH does get ill sometimes from having 'hypos' but this is mainly when the Daibetes team that treats him is changing or adjusting his insulin.

ciderwithrosie_2

OH is a type 1 since aged 5, now nearly 50 and no major health problems (including downstairs!!). He wears glasses but then so do the rest of his family.

He keeps fairly fit though as he walks everywhere and does a physical job.

He does have hypos, usually in spates, i.e. he could be fine for weeks then have low blood-sugar for a few days running. As we've been together 26 years I can tell just by looking at him, however, convincing him is another matter!

I always make sure there's lucozade in the house and he carries some in his work bag and we have glucagon injection kits for when he's unconscious. I used to panic when it happened but now it's just a way of life and we do have some funny stories!

P.S. we have 3, very healthy, sons born within 4 years of each other.

Person_one

Impotence is your biggest concern?

Really? Ok.

thefishdude

totheleft wrote: »

Would you date someone with Type 2 Diabetes?

My boyfriend has recently been diagnosed. He's only 27. He's got it under control I think.

What's the long term complications? Impotence is my biggest concern.

I would never leave him because of this as I love him regardless.

I just want to know the outlook. Honest answers please.

are you serious ?? your biggest concern is impotence?

anyway, i have type 2 also, being a diabetic has the potential to be very serious. its has lots of long term possible complications but none are set in stone it just increases the chances of many things. how you look after yourself is the biggest thing some people can control type 2 with diet alone, others take medication and others need insulin. and potentially the disease can progree through these stages and there is nothing you can do. diet is a big thing and so is excersize. the more often you let yoru sugar levels get out of control and by how much the more likely you are to suffer from complications. when your sugar levels get out of control it causes damage to the smallest blood carryingv vessels in the body this is what can lead to many conditions. eyes can be effected so can your extremities especially toes.


you shoudl read up on it

just dont let it over whelm you, i have it but pfft im not bothered i ont let it take over my life its just another part of it.

dandelionclock30

Type 2 diabetes is usually a long term chronic condition and everyone is different with it. My Dad had it and my Grandfather.
You have to stick to the diet and keep your weight down, and the hospital can help if you cant sort yourself out.Some people take drugs like Metformin and theres others.
Theres loads of horrible complications like having limbs amputated, heart disease, eye problems, nerve damage etc. My Dad died at 57 from a heart attack and my Grandad was going to have to have his legs amputated but died before they did the operation.
Saying impotence is your greatest worry, is like saying if your house was burning down, you were worried about your handbag.

Nobody can tell you what your boyfriends outlook is. Its just important that he takes the advise offered to him and attends his appointments etc.

MrSmartprice

My initial thought was that 27 is very young to be diagnosed with Type 2. It is not normally identified until the 50s or later. As Thefishdude says, it is often controlled by diet alone, or by medication such as metformin.

The most important thing is not to neglect the condition, having a controlled diet, regular medical checks, eye tests and chiropody. As others have said, people live reasonably normal lives for decades with type 1, so there is no reason at all someone should not do so with type 2.

peachyprice

FIL has bladder cancer as a result of type 2 diabetes, I'm sure my MIL would rather he were impotent. He also has gout and other complications.

Frith

My ex has type 2 diabetes. He had had it for over 10 years when I met him (he is 43 now).

He refused to tell anyone he had it. He didn't tell me for months. He did not diet, look after himself, check his blood sugar etc. He was given drugs to take to lower his blood sugar but refused to take them. He dug out the blood sugar monitor thing from his bathroom cabinet to show me and the batteries had been in there for so many years they had leaked.

So I can tell you the side effects if you are in complete denial. He had abscesses in his groin area (where your pants elastic would rub) and these either burst leaving a hole, or he had 2 of them drained in hospital. Even when "healed", they left the sort of hole you could put a pencil in.

He had constant thrush and small cuts and grazes did not heal quickly. He refused to look after his feet and continued walking round barefoot including in the garden so I pulled the occasional splinter out, hoping he would not get an infection in his feet.

He was tired all the time and in the evening would fall asleep after tea. And yes, he was impotent on probably more than half the occasions that was tested.

BUT all this was because he refused to take his health seriously. (He had other health problems that he also ignored).

littlerat

If it's well controlled the side effects can be limited. There's various conditions that are more likely but it's by no means a guarantee. Somebody could be diagnosed 2 years or 20 years into a marriage anyway, there's no guarantees. There are risk factors like weight, but a slim, fit, healthy person can still develop it. There's just no way to be sure.

Georgiegirl256

Impotence is your biggest concern? Wow? Coming across abit me me me there. That would be the last thing on my mind if my DH had just got diagnosed with a condition as serious as Diabetes.