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My mum recently diagnosed ... questions!

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SuzieG

New Member
Hi everyone
My mum has recently been diagnosed with T2 diabetes. She was sent to A&E by her GP on Friday with a blood sugar of 32.1. She had +1 ketones in her urine. They seem to have had a bit of trouble getting her levels under control despite insulin sliding scale, insulin boluses and starting her on Metformin. Today she has been discharged with a blood sugar of 20.3, with no way of monitoring of this, with instructions to make an appointment to see her GP. I expressed my discomfort with her being discharged with no way of self monitoring but they insisted "lots of people have this in the community" (blood sugars of 20 + and not self monitoring). They said because her urine is now clear of ketones, she is fine to be discharged. They added another medication which I can't remember the name of ...

She was seen by a dietician and given some leaflets and info regarding diet, but she has been eating all the right things anyway. She is 75, completely with it, but has lots of cardiac problems, and so has been watching what she eats for many years. She was weighed in hospital on Saturday, 10st 2lb, and again yesterday when she weighed 9st 6lb which I find slightly alarming.

Am I panicking for nothing? Is it normal for someone to be discharged with such a high blood sugar? I have ordered a kit for her to self monitor, but it won't arrive for a couple of days. I really don't want her to end up in hospital again as she has come out seemingly 10 years older than she went in! :( She has insisted on going home to her flat where she lives alone (though is only 10 minutes away from me).

Any reassurance would be gratefully received! 🙂
 
Hi SuzieG, welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about your Mum :( Had she had symptoms of diabetes for any length of time prior to this? I think you are right to be alarmed, particularly if the onset of this was very rapid, and in view of her rapid and significant weight loss. I also would not be happy to hear that there are 'lots of people in the community' with levels as high as 20+ - that doesn't mean it's OK! :( I think you need to keep a close eye on her and how she is feeling, especially if she feels sick at all - did she feel poorly when admitted?
 
Just a couple of queries about weight loss. Were the same scales used each time? Was your mother wearing the same clothes / shoes each time? It's possible that she hasn't actually lost any weight. However, if she has lost 10lbs in 1 day, that is a lot.
 
Thank you for your replies.

Northerner - she had a urine infection and was peeing a lot but thought it was due to the infection. She also told me afterwards that she had had a very dry mouth but also thought this was due to the infection. I think she'd had these symptoms for a couple of weeks. She had been a bit wobbly on her feet and generally feeling rough, hence the visit to the GP, but she has a tendency to blame everything on the heart disease which she has had for 20+ years. She is quite a stubborn, independent lady and doesn't like to be told what to do!

Copepod - re the weight loss; good point ... she was weighed on two different wards, so different scales. She would have been in hospital nightie the first time and possibly her own (thin cotton) pyjamas the second time. Not sure about shoes, but the only ones she had with her were not very heavy and would not really account for much weight. 10lb still seems quite a big difference though, even accounting for different scales.

I've just texted her and asked what the other medication was, but they've only given her Metformin and Trimethoprim - an antibiotic for the urine infection. I thought they said they were starting her on another diabetes medication but perhaps they just meant they've increased the Metformin - I'm not sure of the dose but she now has to take it 3 times a day, which seems like a rather rapid increase (according the BNF it should be increased over the course of 3 weeks!).

I think part of my trouble is I have some knowledge of this as I used to be an HDU nurse many moons ago - I'm a bit rusty but remember some things and this is all just not sitting right with me. I am astonished that they'd discharge an old lady with her first presentation of anything like this, with a BM of 20 and no advice except to get an appointment with the GP! I have always been a great defender of the NHS, and couldn't fault A&E at all, but the doctors on the wards don't seem to know their a... from their elbow!

A friend has given me a BM monitoring machine, but no strips - I've now ordered some for delivery tomorrow, so I'll feel better then!!
 
Hi and welcome. Sorry to hear about your frustration and concerns. Hopefully you will get an appointment with the dr quickly.
 
That is quite a rapid increase in metformin, I hope she doesn't suffer from side-effects. Type 2 normally takes a while to develop and the symptoms are usually fairly clear with hindsight, so it would be interesting to know if she has, on reflection, been suffering symptoms for a while and not just the couple of weeks prior to diagnosis. I'd also say that it's unusual for a Type 2 to be diagnosed with such high blood glucose levels, so I hope the GP is able to shed more light on things for you both.
 
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