People Find Themselves In An Awkward Position In These "Am I The Jerk?" Stories

"My mom is diabetic, but she only seems to care about her diabetes when it is convenient, and she doesn’t seem to be well educated. Her neglecting to follow a diabetic diet has led to her being on two different insulins, and her pharmacist says they’re very high doses for the once-a-day, and then she takes a short-acting one at meal times.

She has a monitor in her arm because she claims she can’t remember to check her blood sugar. We live together because of her disabilities making it difficult for her to live alone.

My friend got me chocolate for Valentine’s Day and I’ve been busy with work so I haven’t had a chance to sit and eat it.

I wanted to enjoy it, not squeeze it in before I go to bed when I’m exhausted.

I was in the kitchen the other day and noticed the bag was open. I asked my mom about it, and she said she had an episode of low blood sugar where it was in the 50s, and that was the only thing she could eat.

We have orange juice in the fridge, cans of soda, Rice Krispies treats, fruit snacks, etc. I pointed this out when she said that and she said it was too early in the morning for her to think clearly, it was approx 2 am when she ate it.

Today, I packed my chocolate into my lunchbox and took it to work with me, so I could be sure I would get to eat at least some of it.

My mom texted me upset that she went to get the candy and it wasn’t there.

I told her it was my candy and she had plenty of options if her blood sugar drops. She called me selfish. I don’t think I’m being a jerk because the candy was a gift, and I wanted it. She thinks I am being unfair by not sharing especially knowing she has low blood sugar issues."

Another User Comments:

"NTJ - it was your chocolate, not hers. Diabetes is a very cruel disease. It doesn't care what part of your body it attacks. My spouse is an insulin-dependent diabetic, and he's having all kinds of issues that would have never happened had he paid closer attention to his sugar (A1C levels) in his younger days.

His hearing is going. His eyesight is terrible. He's already had to have 1 cornea transplant which requires drops daily to keep it from rejecting. The neuropathy in his hands and feet is really bad, and it's affecting his balance, so he has falls that scare me. He now has a pacemaker.

Your mom is in for a world of problems and high cost of diabetic medications if she doesn't pay more attention to the disease. Make sure her A1C level is under 7 and the carbs and sugars aren't a part of her life that will raise her blood sugar.

There is a time in the lifecycle of diabetes where the insulin just doesn't do the job. They just added Ozempic to his medication routine, and it's getting the A1C down where it should be. As someone who cooks and shops for food, there are things I just don't buy anymore, and it's really helping, but in the end, she has to make the choice." ptazdba

Another User Comments:

"NTJ. As a pre-diabetic with blood sugar issues (that are luckily managed without insulin or monitoring, though I have other disabilities I need caretakers for) I pre-emptively plan for low sugar and keep sweets on me at all times. It was very rude of her to use something that was a gift to you, and the fact that she even asked for it after you took it away with plenty of other sugary food shows that she wasn't just fumbling around in the dark and ate the first sugary thing she grabbed; it was because she wanted chocolate, and is willing to take a gift from one of your friends.

Do you think that having a list of the high-sugar foods in the house on a whiteboard or notepad would be helpful to her if she has a low-blood-sugar attack again? Maybe not since like I said, it seems like she just wanted the chocolate, but worth mentioning in case it would help. I hope she at least replaces them." ExpressFruit4351

Another User Comments:

"Okay so type 1 diabetic here. You’re NTJ. I don’t think she is the jerk for eating it in the first place because honestly at 2 am sometimes when your blood sugar is that low you don’t think things through at all and especially that late you’re just literally so ready to go back to bed that you don’t always make the best decisions.

That being said, for low blood sugar in general chocolate is not the best choice. The fat in it makes it take longer for the body to absorb. If she’s truly in a hypoglycemic moment, foods like juice, gummies, hard candies, or glucose gel/tabs are much better at getting her up quickly. I have chocolate at home as I like it and like everyone occasionally want some but I never use it as a treatment for a low." snowwwwy22