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?

@QuickNC789

It turns out his paternal granddad had Type 2, I don’t know if it’s hereditary?

I have gone down and said something along the lines of @LookItsMeAgain’s suggestions and that if he had concerns about my health I’d expect him to raise them.

He has gone all quiet with me said that I should have just dropped it when he said ‘no,’ but I didn’t, I ‘kept going on about it.’ He is ‘hanging on by a thread at work’ and he ‘doesn’t have the space to deal with this now.’

So frankly I don’t really know what else I can do. I think my actions would stand up pretty well in a coroners court but thanks for the insensitivity @alexdgr8

I think the way forward now is to change what I can, i.e. stop buying the chocolate etc, on the basis that if it’s not in the house he can’t eat it, encourage him to get back into exercise (he stopped about six months ago once work started getting stressful for him), try to support him to resolve his work issues and then when he finally gets into a better headspace, revisit this. Hopefully soon.

You have all been brilliant today, thank you

If your DP already has diabetes, stopping buying choclate is hardly going to reverse it.

He needs treatment.

Do you not understand the seriousness of this?

He needs a blood test for his sugar levels now. The ranges are on the leaflets if you buy it online from Amazon called Acucheck - (or from a pharmacy) he needs a set of sharps and a gauge which measures the glucose.

If they are high (over 5 first thing before breaksfast ot 7 after a meal) he needs to see his GP or if they are very high, he needs to go to A&E.

Also, if he drives or does any manual work, he could collapse into a coma. There is also the risk longer term to his eyesight and kidneys if it's not treated.

@SaturdayRocks the point also remains that you cannot force medical intervention on someone that is completely in their right mind.

@QuickNC789

It turns out his paternal granddad had Type 2, I don’t know if it’s hereditary?

I have gone down and said something along the lines of @LookItsMeAgain’s suggestions and that if he had concerns about my health I’d expect him to raise them.

He has gone all quiet with me said that I should have just dropped it when he said ‘no,’ but I didn’t, I ‘kept going on about it.’ He is ‘hanging on by a thread at work’ and he ‘doesn’t have the space to deal with this now.’

So frankly I don’t really know what else I can do. I think my actions would stand up pretty well in a coroners court but thanks for the insensitivity @alexdgr8

I think the way forward now is to change what I can, i.e. stop buying the chocolate etc, on the basis that if it’s not in the house he can’t eat it, encourage him to get back into exercise (he stopped about six months ago once work started getting stressful for him), try to support him to resolve his work issues and then when he finally gets into a better headspace, revisit this. Hopefully soon.

You have all been brilliant today, thank you

I think this is more serious than just making sure he can't eat chocolate! I get that he's worried ( and obviously in denial) but he's being a total arse and extremely selfish to boot. If he doesn't get himself checked out pronto it's not just his job that could be hanging by a thread!

You say he works for the NHS, does he work in a hospital?

Not many perks of nhs work, but usually if staff pitch up at a&e (or ask a colleague if he works in a clinical area) they will see you.

[quote TheGoodEnoughWife]@SaturdayRocks the point also remains that you cannot force medical intervention on someone that is completely in their right mind. [/quote]
He’s not though. And if he’s faced with concrete evidence that there’s something wrong he will have to face it.

Don't just revisit it, diabetes won't just hang on while he gets a grip.

You could buy some urine test strips and check his urine. Not as good as a finger prick but should show sugar.

@TatianaBis

OP with respect you’re really not getting this. This is not something that can be fixed with diet and exercise. If he is developing diabetes he will have to see a doctor sooner rather than later as otherwise he will keel over at some point.

You haven’t said whether he is feeling constantly thirsty and peeing a lot. But if he is both these and he has pear drop breath then you could be looking at ketoacidosis which is life threatening if untreated.

Order some urine test sticks from Amazon Prime tonight, they will test for ketones and glucose in the urine.

First thing tomorrow go out and buy a £10 glucose monitor from a local pharmacy and test his blood glucose.

Some men are very very stupid about their health. Unfortunately you need to be firm.

He’s not constantly thirsty and he’s not peeing a lot.

Of course I get how serious this is. I’ve been on the edge of tears for the last two hours.

Please tell me how to physically manhandle him to the GP or to do one of these tests. He is saying, loud and clear, “no.”

I can continue to bring it up, I can encourage, I can do as much as I can but I can’t make a mid 40s man do something against his will.

What a bizarre thread. He may have T2DM with dangerously high BMs and you’re going on about a ruined evening because you had something nice planned. Wow.

But surely even if she can't force treatment on another adult, chances of her being able to nag her husband into it are high - if she insists.

She apologises to him and thanks us for the good faith effort, but if she actually keeps nagging right now for the next few hours, I firmly believe the overwhelming majority of spouses could be nagged into seeking medical care.

Which he needs. Now.

@NatriumChloride

What a bizarre thread. He may have T2DM with dangerously high BMs and you’re going on about a ruined evening because you had something nice planned. Wow.

I think you’re confusing me with my DH hun. He’s the one saying the evening has been ruined!

Just RTFT. Poor you, OP. He sounds like a giant irrational arse.

Or she could nag him and nag him and he could walk out? And be gods knows where for god knows how long?

To people putting pressure on the OP - she gets it. She understands the seriousness.

She’s not the one resisting.

If there’s nothing you can do over the weekend - and it doesn’t seem as if there is - I would call your husband’s GP on Monday and explain the situation. Your concerns, his resistance, and his work situation, which is causing him to refuse to seek treatment. And get their advice.

You’re right, I did misread, I’m sorry. How unbelievably frustrating for you.

@NatriumChloride

What a bizarre thread. He may have T2DM with dangerously high BMs and you’re going on about a ruined evening because you had something nice planned. Wow.

Are you reading the same thread as the rest of us? OP ISN't going on about a ruined night, HE is, and she's the one trying to get him to listen, and do something.

What a supportive, understanding post , here have a

If he’s not peeing and not thirsty and not losing weight - could be an indication this isn’t diabetes. But without a test it’s impossible to say.

I’ve been where you are with a dad with serious symptoms who refused point blank to consider there was anything seriously wrong with him. He’s a doctor too, which added to the difficulty.

However, it’s a situation to be managed. First start off with buying the test kits and persuade him to take them. Don’t take no for an answer and don’t let him bully you. Get the data.

If they at least come back negative it will give you some breathing space.

In my case, I took downs some data, talked to a relevant doctor, made an appointment for my dad, and told him a doctor had said he “may have x and needed to be tested” and he went along. He did have x btw and it saved his life.

Stopping buying chocolate isn't going to fix it if he has type 2.

I hope he isn't actually ill, but if he won't be sensible that's on him.

@SaturdayRocks

To people putting pressure on the OP - she gets it. She understands the seriousness.

She’s not the one resisting.

If there’s nothing you can do over the weekend - and it doesn’t seem as if there is - I would call your husband’s GP on Monday and explain the situation. Your concerns, his resistance, and his work situation, which is causing him to refuse to seek treatment. And get their advice.

Actually this is what I’ve decided to do. He has been on reflux medication for the past couple of years. About two weeks ago his symptoms got a bit worse so they switched to a higher strength tablet. I’m wondering if I can speak to the GP and get them to call him for a medication review (as they only gave him one month’s worth of this higher strength tablet) and maybe see if they will invite him in for a blood test?

It’s either that or work out how to obtain a sample of his urine. 😕 Calling the GP seems more achievable!

Order a kit from Amazon, or pick one up from a pharmacy or Argos tomorrow, to do a fingertip prick test. The results are immediate and will give a better indication as to whether he does have diabetes. I was diagnosed late last year, wasn't peeing loads but was tired (turns out I have sleep apnoea too).

Anyway, results two hours after eating should be less than 7 (ish) anything over 7/8 is probably indicative of diabetes and he will need to contact his gp to get proper blood tests and meds.

It's v important as untreated can cause issues with eyesight, high blood pressure, blood supply to the extremities (have to look after your feet if you're diabetic) etc. It can shorten your lifespan too.

Not the end of the world and sometimes changes to diet can put it into remission (if type 2) but you can't cure it as such - always got to be aware.

Buy the test and ask him just to do one check to put your mind at ease and take it from there. Health anxiety is awful and he probably suspects he has diabetes but having a test confirm it means he'll actually have to do something about it, so I can see why he's kicking up a stink. .

Ultimately he's an adult and you can't force him, but hopefully you may be able to persuade him to cooperate. Good luck

Buy the tests, give them to him, you don’t have to take a sample for him.

If he has health anxiety he may not be able to resist doing the tests.

If the GP surgery is anything like mine, he won’t get an appt for a week and they won’t be able to do a blood test straight away after that.

If he does have high blood sugar, every day his body is being damaged by it.

@NatriumChloride

You’re right, I did misread, I’m sorry. How unbelievably frustrating for you.

No worries

Is this his normal attitude (blaming you for ruining a nice evening when you've not done anything)? Or is it uncharacteristic for him??

I'm wondering if it could be another sign that he's not himself (grump agitated etc can be symptoms but maybe but if he's always like this!)

You need something like this www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08G88Y3WN/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_glt_i_PZ7JDSYRWVRWB5EFM7S4?tag=mumsnetforu03-21
If you order on amazon it will arrive tomorrow.
It takes less than a minute to test. But you do need to persuade him to do it as involves a finger prick. It has 25 strips so if you like you can test yourself a couple of times to check you know what to do... Sometimes if you wait too long etc it doesn't read so get to grips with it then he will only have to do it once.
My ex is type 1 and this is exactly the kind of thing he used to control his diabetes for years until he got better continuous monitoring recently. If the reading is abe 6.5ish it is a cause for concern