help please for my sister

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mb57

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My sister has been recently admitted to a mental hospital after a stroke left her with dementia she is only 59. she has type 2 diabetes and has been taking medication for schizophrenia for years. they seem to not have a handle on how to treat her diabetes. We have been banned from bringing in any treats and it breaks our hearts to see her so sad that she cannot have a small piece of chocolate. we only visit once a week and want to know will this really do her harm? She very much lives in the here and now and we feel that to have her upset on top of all her other anxieties is unproductive. she forgets how much she eats and eats everything put down to her promptly forgetting she has eaten. I feel this is more of a danger than the odd piece of chocolate. Staff are very aggressive and follow us around to check that we are not sneaking her treats. Can anyone point me to where I can get reliable info that I can print out so that I can help my sister and make her happy even if only for a short time.
thank you
 
Hi mb57. You must be in a right state & I sorry for what you are going through. Please try not to blame nurses etc as they sound as if they are doing the best they can. Diabetes is quite hard to control & I know when I get stuck in hosp my blood sugars increase because I am not as active. I got wrong off the nurse for trying to wear the carpet out once. (walking up & down the corridor) Try & give your sister treats with less carbs etc. The odd bit wont do that much harm. Really good luck 🙂
 
Hi mb57. I am so sorry for all that you and your sister are going through. I am pleased that you found this forum and I think you will soon get some sound advice such as that just given by Hobie. In the meantime it seems you have to abide by what the nurses say. Perhaps some dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa 80-90% would be acceptable to them. Nuts are low carb also but I am not qualified to give advice. My best wishes to you all and I hope you find ways to make your sister happier.
 
Hi mb57, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sor sorry to hear what has happened to your sister, it must be so hard for you and your family. It would seem that diabetes is the least of your sister's problems. Do you know if she is on medication for her diabetes, and what sort of blood sugar levels she has? Do you know much about the diet she is receiving currently? It would be interesting to know what she is being fed as this may be raising her blood sugar levels far more than a small once-a-week treat would do. I would try to find out a typical menu to see how much carbohydrate is in her daily diet - if she is eating a lot of potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals, bread etc. then it would be better in my opinion if these could be reduced in portion and substituted with more diabetes-friendly options e.g. more vegetables, less potato. I know when I was in hospital the food was very carb-heavy. If her levels could be improved generally by an improved diet then there is even less reason to deny her the occasional small treat.

The following document from Diabetes UK states that "there is no need to completely give up your favourite chocolate bar or cream cake, but make sure it is eaten as an occasional treat"

http://www.cddft.nhs.uk/media/97287/understanding diabetes.pdf
 
Hi Mb57
I'm sorry to hear your sister is having such a difficult time. Whilst I'm sure the staff are trying to do the right thing, they clearly are not considering the impact this is having on her family. Could you make an appointment to see either the chief nurse (I think they're calling them matrons again now) or maybe her Doctor to discuss her dietary plan and see how the occasional treat can be incorporated. They should have a treatment/care plan that you can discuss with them and if little food treats are not appropriate (some psychiatric wards don't allow some treats because of the effect on mood) then you can discuss what other options are available. If you explain that it's important to you and the family to know that she has at least the occasional moments of enjoyment they should respond to that I would hope. Good luck.
 
mb57 said:
My sister has been recently admitted to a mental hospital after a stroke left her with dementia she is only 59. she has type 2 diabetes and has been taking medication for schizophrenia for years. they seem to not have a handle on how to treat her diabetes. We have been banned from bringing in any treats and it breaks our hearts to see her so sad that she cannot have a small piece of chocolate. we only visit once a week and want to know will this really do her harm? She very much lives in the here and now and we feel that to have her upset on top of all her other anxieties is unproductive. she forgets how much she eats and eats everything put down to her promptly forgetting she has eaten. I feel this is more of a danger than the odd piece of chocolate. Staff are very aggressive and follow us around to check that we are not sneaking her treats. Can anyone point me to where I can get reliable info that I can print out so that I can help my sister and make her happy even if only for a short time.
thank you
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Hi and welcome. You must be feeling beside yourself given the circumstances.

Sadly psychiatric nurses are only taught the basics about diabetes as are general ones unless they specialise. There is so much stereotyping of diabetes that most people think sugar, chocolate, is the enemy.

Who has been listed as her next of kin? I ask because as your sister is not well enough to be involved in her care plan you could ask to become her advocate to act on her behalf. You need to speak to the Ward Manager to express your concerns and if you have no joy there then ask to speak to her Consultant.
It must be unnerving having the staff following you about. It may be that they have been instructed to keep your sister in their view at all times but if nobody tells you then how do you know. Patient confidentiality is paramount but as your sister is not well enough for anything to be explained to her then ask for her next of kin to be involved.
You could ring Diabetes.org.uk, they have a careline,
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/How_we_help/Talk-to-someone/
and may be able to help more.

It is nice to know that someone is fighting her corner.🙂
 
Hi, as an advocate for your sister you could also ask the staff/ward manager for a referral to the dietician so an appropriate care plan can be devised for her around her T2, food and occasional treats. It may help to ask for a review meeting so all aspects of your sister's care can be discussed with all the professionals involved and her family. Do you know if she is on CPA? (care programme approach), does she have a care co-ordinator as one person you can contact to co-ordinate all her care aspects and profs involved ? There should be regular reviews with family if she is so do ask, sounds like the staff perhaps need to be communicating a bit better. Some psycho-tropic medications can contribute to T2 and make control quite difficult but there can still be compromises made. Good luck 🙂
 
thankyou

Thank you so much for all your helpful replies and suggestions. I have made an appointment with the senior nurse this week and I hope to go over everything you suggested.
once again thank you very much.
Maggie
 
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