What long-term health problems might a person have who attempted suicide using insulin?

Question

My brother-in-law tried to kill himself by injecting himself repeatedly in the stomach with insulin.

He's out of the coma, and the CT scan shows no signs of brain damage.

However, he seems to be more weak and ill than while he was actually committing suicide.

We're worried he might have given himself long-term or permanent health problems ... could he have induced diabetes in himself, for example? Is he more likely to develop diabetes later in life because of this?

He's 41.

Answer 1

Your BIL was very lucky, and it appears as though he escaped out of the woods physically unharmed.

Severe hypoglycemia from intentional insulin overdose can and does lead to severe brain damage, coma, and death.

There is no reason (based on current knowledge) why he would be at a higher risk for diabetes based on his suicide attempt. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, and Type 2 is caused by insulin resistance. I suppose in theory, his body could develop insulin resistance as protection against severe repeated hypoglycemia. But that is just a theory, and it is highly unlikely just one episode would do that.

Shortly after such an episode ,his liver's store of glucagon may be depleted, so he may be more prone to LOW blood sugar for awhile.

But if he's walking, talking, etc. he's otherwise doing well.

That does not mean he has NO problems, however. He needs to see a psychiatrist to figure WHY he is suicidal and HOW he got ahold of the insulin if he is not a diabetic himself.

It is "normal" to feel weak and ill after a massive hypoglycemic attack. His brain and body was starved of glucose, and his body responded with stress hormones leading to a severe state of stress response in the body. He is going to feel drained, it is normal.

While he seems OK, only time will tell if he has any subtle brain damage that may affect learning, behavior, and memory in the future.

Please investigate this matter further. Suicide is a serious issue..and it is clear here that he fully intended to die.

Answer 2

To start off, he is not likely to develop diabetes later in life. Diabetes results from either not producing enough insulin or the body has a hard time using the insulin it produces. Neither of these problems would result from an overabundance of insulin. He may be more sensitive later on in life when it comes to having hypoglycemia, which is a state where the body has a low bloodsugar. It is impossible to tell with the information given, but there may be a small chance or neuropathy developing in some isolated parts of his body. This is very rare, as neuropathy is generally linked more to prolonged high bloodsugars than low ones. Since this has only occurred once, then there is probably not much to worry about. As long as the CT scans came back well, then there is no brain damage, and he will be fine. As a general rule, things of this nature do not have much more than a psychological effect on the person as long as the incident happened only once instead of being repeated many times. I hope your brother-in-law feels okay now.