Ok. I hope this is OK to post here...I just really need some re-assurance from people who know. I myself am not diabetic (although I am IR/pre-diabetic...) but my father is. I called my mother this morning before work to talk to something ecompletely un-related and she told me that she almost had to call the ambulance for him this morning...his alarm goes off at 6 a.m. and at 6:30 it was STILL going off and he was STILL in bed. NOT like him at all. So she goes in there to wake him up and he would NOT move. She almost thought he had a stroke - he was sorta acting like it. Moving his arms a bit but extremely "out of it"...so then she realized it was probably his blood sugar - so she grabbed a bottle of pop out of the fridge - she said it had something like 63 grams of sugar in it and forced him to drink it. after he drank it and was able to get up and move around on his own, she had him test his blood sugar and it was at 61!!!!! this was AFTER drinking that bottle of pop!
well, anyways - he was able to get up and start moving around and went ahead and went to work, and called her as soon as he got there.
Here's the thing. My mom is leaving for Florida tomorrow morning to see my brother and his new baby. We - my parents and I - all live in Indiana - but I'm 2.5 hours away from my parent's house. We really don't have anyone I could even call to go check up on him if I can't get ahold of him (he's on strict orders to call her every morning as am I on orders to call HIM every morning...i hate treating him like a child like this, but it's a serious matter...)
Anyways - she thinks the meds he's on, he doesn't need to BE on. (Glucophage & some other blood-sugar lowering pill) and so she took them away and would rather him have a little bit of high blood sugar while she's gone than going into a diabetic coma!
I guess what i'm wondering is have any of you stopped taking your blood sugar lowering meds for a while? Have any of you ever had this happen? I just wanna make sure I don't have to worry about him. I mean, he's still able to take care of himself - it's not like he's THAT old (he's only 60) and still works at the steel mill and is self-sufficiant - but if my mother would have left this morning instead of tomorrow...i just don't wanna think about it.
Anyone have words of advice?
Last edited by Indychick829; 03-31-2008 at 10:35 AM.
With diabetes I don't think one should self-medicate or make the call on whether or not to take or stop medication. Your mom needs to call your dad's doctor!!!!
I'm not diabetic yet...but like you am insulin resistant and prediabetic. I'm currently doing South Beach (if you read the book it's excellant for us) so will see how this affects my weight and fasting-numbers! I'm in my second week of Phase 2 so it's a bit early. Can't wait until May when I see my endocronologist again.
Back to your dad, HE needs to be vigilant with his disease and adhere to what the doctor's say! Diabetes isn't something to fool with---too many other disease/side effects can result from it!!
My advice is that your mother should not be playing doctor. your father's doctor should be called and told of this incident and the doctor will know what meds he should be on. I am not diabetic but my son is.
well, he IS going to the doc this afternoon/tonight for some other reason (sorry that I left that part out...) and i told her to make sure he mentions this (which he'd BETTER) but either way his blood sugar just got waaaaay too low and i know that when people have "side effects" from meds they stop taking them until they go to the doc and make sure.
Since your Father is on oral meds, he is obviously a type II as am I . . . it is very unusual for a Type II to go so low as to reach a coma situation because usually the liver will kick in a dose of glucose to bring up the sugar level before that can happen.
Your Mother may very well be correct that the meds are currently too strong BUT she should definitely call the doctor before making such decisions. Try to call your Father and have him call his doctor right away. In the meantime, since the situation is obviously one for expediency (your Mother is away and your Father is alone) I think your Father should be taking his normal meds today unless he hears differently from the doctor. If he is at work, too high or too low a BGL could prove dangerous in his type of work environment.
He also needs to make sure he checks his BGL before going to bed and I would suggest that if he is much below 180, he should probably have a snack that includes for carbs and protein. He might also be wise to set his clock for about 2am and check his BGL at that time as well.
Just read your post about his doctor's appointment . . . good to hear that.
Last edited by meowee; 03-31-2008 at 10:19 AM.
Reason: Added PS
Based on what my nephew has experienced in the past (he's a Type 1), if he makes sure to eat lean protein at night before he goes to bed, his blood sugar does better during the night/early morning (check that for sure). Also, your father may want to set his alarm for around 2:00 AM or so and check his blood sugar and if it's OK, then go back to sleep...
Since your Father is on oral meds, he is obviously a type II as am I . . . it is very unusual for a Type II to go so low as to reach a coma situation because usually the liver will kick in a dose of glucose to bring up the sugar level before that can happen.
Yes, he is type II. And thank you - i guess that's what i'm looking for - just something that'll re-assure me that something like a diabetic coma isn't a possibility (although, i know it is...but this helps reassure me a bit)....it just scares me because he WILL be alone for a week and a half. again, i know my mother is smart enough not to do anything too drastic - and again, he IS going to the doc for some other appt later today - and i KNOW my mom will MAKE him bring it up to the doc and make sure what he says to do.
And, btw, thank you both for suggesting he eat something with lean protein and carbs before he goes to bed. i will DEFINATELY make sure to suggest that to my father when i talk to him later.
It depends on the meds he is on. If he's type 2, he can go very low because type 2s can be on insulin and oral meds that lower blood sugar. One that comes to mind that he might be on is glipizide. That one can make the sugar go very low. Glucophage (Metformin) is very unlikely to do so. I don't think he should be correcting at 180 at night. He needs to make sure he tests though and he figures out if he should be cutting out some meds but that's really up to his doctor. For the short term, I wouldn't really blame your mother for doing that.
My dad is on insulin and tends to go low mid morning after his breakfast. We schedule an apple snack right during that time to bring his sugar up. If no one is home we make sure that he is called and reminded to eat. It sucks to treat people like that but...
I've read diff things about diabetic comas. Damage depends on how long their blood is low and that there's really not a chance that they'll go into a coma, but also that they can hurt themselves if they go low say while driving or doing something at work.
a little scared...need some re-assurance.
