• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Advice needed for elderly relative

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Simon Workman

Simon Workman

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I am a type 1 diabetic and have reasonable grasp as to how everything works but my mother in law is iype 2 diabetic in her 70s. Her eyesight is all but gone and she's having a really hard time keeping her bloods under control. I'm hoping some of you folk may be able to advise. The people who are around her are struggling to keep her bloods balanced. They say they can only give her insulin twice a day. This is alien to me as I have insulin with each meal and also a slow release injection. I also sometimes take readjustment injections if required. My understanding was that its vital to keep bloods at a normal level. Even when her bloods are in the high 20s they just let it run and don't inject insulin to reduce the levels which I don't understand. Also typically if her bloods are 10 at bedtime when she gets up in the morning they can be around 20 which to me screams for a need for a slow release injection. Can any if you advise as it seems dangerous to me to allow her to go for large parts of the day with her bloods in the 20s like that. Thanks in advance!
 
It depends what insulin she’s taking. If she’s on two injections a day it could be a mixed insulin so they couldn’t use that for corrections. However, if she’s running high a lot then perhaps her doses need looking at. You’re quite right that the high 20s aren’t good at all.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I will tell them to speak to someone and see if they can maybe change her insulin to find a way of keeping it under control better
 
Poor lady, sounds like she needs to see a dsn and a medication review.
 
Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law @Simon Workman

Sometimes there is a balance to be struck in older people with diabetes between the intensity of treatment, and the relative risk of long term complications, but it doesn’t sound like she is being best served by her current system. Even just properly adjusting and balancing carb intake and mixed insulin doses would make a big difference. Does she have a carb count for each meal and snack?

Mixed insulins often lock the person with diabetes into quite a regular routine which is hard to deviate from and adjust.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top