My bf and I have been together almost five years, he was diagnosed T1 at age 24 (about 3 years ago). Generally he manages his health well, but handles stress and daily life with cigarettes, he has been smoking since high school so I understand it’s a tough thing to stop. In the past he has tried to quit, which sent his blood sugar sky high for several day. Does anyone have any tips or experience in this area?
stopping smoking doesn’t raise blood sugar directly.
anxiety and munchies as a result of not smoking does raise blood sugar. you can completely fix this issue with exercise and insulin.
there is no magic, just stop. if he’s depressed he should try to talk to a therapist. I smoked for almost 18 years because I was depressed. I’d throw them out the window in a fit of anger, then find myself headed to the quickie mart at 1AM for more. on-and-off-and on for years. when I had enough I stopped. first I had to admit that underneath I wanted to die, then I had to face the absurdity of it, then I had to stop. sure it’s hard to stop.
@os1 , Marie, if it turns out he aims to hurt himself… what will you do?
Hi Marie,
I just joined this site today in hopes of finding another in a similar situation. Been with my bf for 12 years now. He was dx with T1 at 18, we are both in our late 20s now. He also deals with his stress with cigarettes and whiskey (my guess is to keep himself from snacking)
It really upsets me but I can’t physically stop him. He is not very open with his emotions but recently broke down about his depression. Especially since we are starting to look at the long term (marriage, kids, saving for retirement) he feels so hopeless. And then I feel helpless. If you ever want to chat let me know 
Hi Gillian,
I havent had a lot of luck in finding people in our situation on this site so it is very good to hear from you!
Cigarettes and whiskey must be a classic combo. Still going strong on both of those over here. After about 2 years of depression talks I think my SO is finally ready to try therapy, though he’ll have to get insurance first (currently using Walmart over the counter insulin…).
Has any of this taken a toll financially for you two? For us it is sometimes an added stresser.
I definitely can relate to the future being hard to look at. We are 26 and 28 and have started talking about marriage and kids and it’s painful knowing a lot of times it ends in “but what if I don’t make it past 50”. I wish we could just be excited like most people our age.
Wishing you all the best, thanks for reaching out.
Marie,
Girl, I was reading this forum this morning alone in my office and started to cry. It is so hard to hear your partner be afraid to be fully committed to you because they are afraid of their life expectancy being shorter.
Thankfully he is insured but the amount he pays a month is insane. And he feels even worse when the insurance company fights you every step of the way.
I am glad your boyfriend wants to start therapy, I hope it works out. I have been trying to find a local support group, or might start my own. As much as I can be a shoulder to cry on he needs to talk with other T1s
How did his come about? My boyfriends happened after a stomache virus went haywire and attacked his pancreas.
A support group is a great idea! Its crazy how little there is besides online places like this. That is really similar, his started after a crazy upper respiratory infection. It lasted over a week and they put him on Tamaflu and then a few weeks later he was diagnosed. At first they told him he was t2, did no tests, so he was without insulin for over a month. It’s kind of amazing he made it honestly.
Recently he also developed Celiacs so we’re on the GF train now. Depression came back with it, so there’s been vodka and cider in our house ever since. Plus some major work stress/ changes. Constant liquor store trips can’t be helping our budget either. We just moved states and we’re financially strained as is. I’m not really sure how to help, especially when he’s so angry about it all. I want to be supportive but I feel like I’m constantly in a line of fire for hearing about how effed up everything is. (Traffic, movies, people, whatever’s around). I don’t know if you have any experience with this but it’s certainly overwhelming.