DH has sweet smelling breath, and bedroom smells

[QuickNC789]

I noticed last night when I got home from work that DH’s breath smells very sweet. I also noticed it again this morning when he kissed me before going to work.

This morning our bedroom smells exactly like when you’ve been drinking the night before and wake up and you can smell the alcohol in the room.

I’ve read before that a pear drops smell could be a sign of diabetes. BUT he doesn’t have any other symptoms. In fact, over the last six months he’s been putting weight on as he’s had a really stressful time at work, gave up exercising and has been eating a load of chocolate and biscuits etc.

So I would definitely say he hasn’t got low blood sugar!

Can anyone think of what it might be instead please?

[Jenala]

OP, you haven't ruined his weekend. Zoom out a bit here. You are his wife and presumably love him, so when you noticed several symptoms that could point to a potentially life threatening condition, you mentioned it to him. Would it be better to quietly ignore it? Would you be glad if he slipped into a coma because it is diabetes and you'd never said anything? No. He is being massively unreasonable to respond to you in that way and it's crap (a learned response?) that you have actually taken that on and feel guilty. You have nothing to feel bad about.

His response suggests to me either he knows something is wrong, his health anxiety is kicking in and he has turned on your as a defense. Or is he usually a massive arsehole?

Anyway, if he won't go to a walk in centre tomorrow or I know Lloyd's pharmacy will somtimes do a fasting skin prick test, will he at least let you buy a glucose test kit? Best to do it fasted in the morning I think, though another poster may correct me.

[Joeblack066]

@nevertrustaherdofcows

You could nip to a chemist and buy a test kit. They tend to be about £20 and come with 10 test strips, a meter, and instructions. Then you would have some basic data to take to the GP. Or you could just ring the surgery and book him in for a blood test asap.

Is he weeing more? Tired and lethargic?

This is a great idea.

[justasking111]

You can pick up a sample bottle from GP, fill it, run it to docs. they will test and call you back within a short space of time. They will want this sorted fast. I had to send in a sample with thrush two hours later phone rang, come in now. Ummm... it turned out I had just rinsed out a jam jar so trez embarrassing, but they acted quickly

[SunshineCake]

Please don't feel shit. But get tough though I hate that makes it sound your responsibility. It isn't.

[Rainbows89]

If his blood sugar is high it’s not surprising that he is grumpy though.

Good luck OP.

I’m diabetic and it does suck but it’s much better to know.

I would get a kit from the Lloyds pharmacy and do some finger prick tests at home. If it’s high it might prompt him to action.

[justasking111]

Type 2 is a kick up the arse and can be reversed tell him that.

[Rainbows89]

You don’t need to do the finger prick tests fasted.

If his blood sugar is high enough for the sweet breath then it will show up high enough to be sure.

[Jenala]

Do you have an argos locally?

www.argos.co.uk/product/8377656?clickSR=slp:term:blood%20sugar%20monitor:1:23:1

[Ninkanink]

@Rainbows89

If his blood sugar is high it’s not surprising that he is grumpy though.

Good luck OP.

I’m diabetic and it does suck but it’s much better to know.

I would get a kit from the Lloyds pharmacy and do some finger prick tests at home. If it’s high it might prompt him to action.

Yes that’s true. The worse his blood glucose levels, the more his hormones will be out of kilter and he will feel grumpy, moody, exhausted and likely anxious/depressed as well.

[LindaEllen]

@Konga

Diabetes is high blood sugar.

Wrong.

Diabetes is where your body cannot regulate your blood sugar on its own.

Let's not post things with words in bold unless we're completely sure .....

[frazzledquaver]

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about what kind of diabetes it is, if it is actually diabetes. Adults can get type one diabetes (often comes on a bit more slowly). 50% of people diagnosed with type one are over 30 and it can appear at any age. It's autoimmune so not lifestyle related.

Ketones are more characteristic of type one although they can occur in type two. In either situation, it's pretty much an emergency if it's at the point where they can be smelt on breath.

People do die of diabetic ketoacidosis so you are right to pursue this to rule it out.

[Clydesider]

Do you have Amazon Prime?
There are loads of kits on there, like this. And, if they are the same as my husband's then the normal range is between 4 and 7.

www.amazon.co.uk/sinocare-Diabetes-Codefree-Separated-Diabetics/dp/B081DSFG74/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&psc=1&crid=21G70IPGCSQ4H&keywords=diabetes%20test%20kit&sprefix=diabetes%2Caps%2C340&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQjEyOU5WWENXQ1U0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTI2NzU5M1ZCTUIyNDk1MEZBWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODM4MDc4MlhaSjhPT1RXNUQ2RiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU%3D&qid=1620413247&sr=8-2-spons&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[me4real]

You did nothing wrong @QuickNC789 . If he responded like that it's irritating and down to his mental health issues which he needs to also raise when he speaks to his GP.

If he doesn't do anything about it then he's a twat.

It'll probably be ok and just one of those things, but still needs to be checked out if someone is a mature adult.

[DogsSausages]

A test kit won't diagnose diabetes, it will only tell him what his glucose level is at the time he records it, his levels could fluctuate throughout the day and night, what will he do if he has a high reading or a just above normal reading, will he agree to speaking to a doctor or 111 or is he just going to ignore you all weekend. If he smells like ketones then he needs a ketone check and a full blood test done as it can affect many things.

[nevertrustaherdofcows]

Ask the pharmacist for advice on which kit they are unlikely to have a large range.

[QuickNC789]

I’ve called Lloyds. They can only do an in-store check in office hours Mon-Fri. The pharmacist said A&E would be unlikely to do anything without a referral from the GP so recommended I try to get him to the GPs for a blood test.

But he wouldn’t dream of missing time off work for a blood test as his is so overloaded and stressed.

He is indeed moody, anxious, exhausted, stressed and I have been wondering about depressed too @Ninkanink

Well, I don’t know how to repair this now! We had planned a really nice evening and to be fair I went in there and ruined it despite knowing what the reaction would be. 😐

[10YellowTulips]

Having untreated diabetes will ruin his weekend a lot more. And some of the stress he feels may be due to his body not being a 100%

Don't feel guilty, he is acting like a big baby and not doing whats best for him.

You will have to work on him and persuade him to ring 111 as its too late for GP now. He needs proper blood tests to work out out what is going wrong, I wouldn't waste time with the pharmacy test. If the pharmacy test is positive you still have to see a GP and if its negative you still need to get the smell investigated.

Good luck

[ElderMillennial]

OP I don't have any advice but I'm sorry you are dealing with this. It sounds stressful.

[Thunderdonkey]

Are you sure he is not drinking in secret, as that would also explain all the symptoms, and his reaction?

[Blacktothepink]

You didn’t ruin it, he’s being a knob. I’m type 1 diabetic and ended up in intensive care when I was first diagnosed, DKA is a killer!

[hellywelly3]

The only people he’s irreplaceable to is you and his family. Absolutely no point risking his health for work they will have his position advertised before his funeral. He needs to give his head a shake

[waitingforthenextseason]

He's being a fool. This is potentially quite serious, and as someone who works for the NHS, surely he would advise someone to seek medical advice if they were experiencing the same symptoms.

[QuickNC789]

@Thunderdonkey

Are you sure he is not drinking in secret, as that would also explain all the symptoms, and his reaction?

One million percent he is not drinking in secret. We are together all the time apart from work.

[Devlesko]

You haven't ruined anything, he's acting like a baby.
Tell him get it sorted or he's on his own.
You can't live like this blaming yourself for his moods.
Anyone decent would want to get it sorted for the sake of themselves and their family.

[Alternista]

If he IS hyperglycaemic that can cause irritability.
Sorry OP. I think your best bet is to try and get some urine strips ASAP and see what they show- they might give him enough of a nudge to go get help; if needed.