My mum is in a care home she is type 2 and when I went yesterday morning she was feeling shaky I took her bloods for her and it was 3.4 the senior care assistant says that's normal even though she was having g symptoms and proceeded to shove a Mars bar in her hand!! I was under the impression anything under 4 is a hypo??
Hypos
- Thread starter Juju13
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Tourdediabetise
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I agree, (care assistant needs educating) Marsbars! Are not a good thing either, unless that is all availible at the time. And anything below 4.0 is a hypo and should be treated as soon as possible. Try Jelly Babies or Gluco Tabs.
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- Type of diabetes
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Hi @Juju13 ,
If had the same thing years ago with my elderly T2 dad. He'd eaten breakfast an hour earlier & a nurse popped round, checked his blood & it was in the same range... (Mid 3.) My mum (his full time carer.) had a disagreed that the reading was "fine".
So mum rang me at work then put the nurse on.. She tried to blag the same false positive with me..
Yep, I put her straight...
What medication is your mum prescribed for her diabetes?
pleinster
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Just wondering if your mum's diet includes enough carbohydrates. Lots of Type 2s (myself included) keep our blood sugars down by eating very few carbs as they effectively become sugar in the blood. If the carbs drop too low while on Gliclazide in particular, hypos are likely. While we all differ in relation to hypos (some feeling fine on a reading of 3.8 while other are shaky with 4.5), i would agree that generally a 4mmols reading is pretty much hypo territory. A Mars bar isn't actually the most evil thing at the time if there's nothing else sugary to hand. I keep a packet of wine gums fairly handy...but jelly babies are often recommended. Luckily, I haven't had a hypo since I came off Gliclazide nearly two years ago...but if my level hits the low 4s, I pounce on it as an excuse for a couple of gums! Maybe a wee bag of jelly babies in a drawer is a good idea..or even a wee sucky sweetie or two would be good. If your mum tends to get these feelings at a certain time, maybe she should eat a little something (particularly if it is before breakfast is served) but I would make sure the staff dealing with her are aware. My wife is an agency nurse who works in such places, and she tells me she is surprised at how little emphasis there is on blood sugar levels and on regular testing. I'd stress your concern, see if your mum can have her level tested at "dodgy" times on a regular basis just to reassure you both.
I think that you cannot let this go. I would think about having a conversation with the manager. Find out just what they consider the normal range to be. And then go from there. I know that the place where my mum lives (extra care housing) does not consider t2d anything to worry about . My mum is diet controlled and when I talked to them about it , they were quite sure that t2 was nothing to worry about!
Perhaps the staff in this place are the same? And most of them have very little training and oftenwhat they have is inadequate. Not thier fault, just the way it works.
Good luck with it all.
Perhaps the staff in this place are the same? And most of them have very little training and oftenwhat they have is inadequate. Not thier fault, just the way it works.
Good luck with it all.
pleinster
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- Type of diabetes
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- ignorance
I would agree about not letting it go @Juju13 ...be as pro-active as you can and make demand of the staff. There is quite difference between what is called a care home and what is called a residential home. My wife has worked in both...and clearly, standards vary right left and centre (to be fair, as you'd expect in most "industries"). My understanding, however, is that in care homes there has to be a nurse on duty and not just "carers" (however senior) as is apparently acceptable in residential homes...and that they must comply with the Care Commission's regulations and advice (not that they always do) as well as the law. Therefore, I would, to an extent, disagree with @Kentoldlady1 that it's "not their fault" as nurses should know better and should have plan in place by other medical staff (particularly GPs)...of course if it is not nurses or properly trained staff then the managers/owners should be addressing it - bottom line..it's sloppy all round all over the UK. If there are nurses who would say they don't know about it...why not ? Is my wife some kind of super nurse then? Shhh...I'm actually sure she is. One large issue is that there are not enough nurses directly employed by these places and so they rely on agency nurses who don't get to see the patients regularly enough to ensure good practice. It staggers me that there are seldom any manager son site in 90% of these places ! There is such a sting as duty of care ! I would totally accept what @Kentoldlady1 says about people in extra care housing and other areas not having a clue about the risk associated with Type 2 diabetes and with high or indeed low blood sugar levels. It's disgraceful that people (ie. owners) we pay to care for our more frail loved ones are not ensuring that a diabetic's blood sugar levels are not monitored to some decent effect and that staff know next to nothing about Type 2 diabetes. Frankly, many of these owners are simply far more interested in the money than the client's welfare (beyond what reflects on them as a company)..and why should we be surprised with that..its how the country is these days not just care homes. I also, however, appreciate that we rely on them and that it doesn't always help to rock the boat to roughly..but do please stress your desire for/the need for you mother's blood sugar to be regarded as important in her day-to-day care. We pay these people (ie. the companies); they arr not doing it out of kindness...demand it if necessary from a manager or go beyond that if it is needed. In my opinion, the Care Commission needs to get its finger out big time ! I hope it all goes as smoothly as possible and you gets things done in a way that suits you and your mum. How hard can it be for them to do ??
I have spoke to the manager about having their staff trained. Nursing homes have nurses residential dont. I work in a residential home and we have basic training but still its training on how to spot and treat, I was fuming today because mum says she tells the carers that she feels funny and shaky etc and they say perhaps your just tired which led me to go onto speaking to the manager, I have since took some dextrose tablets in for her for her as I don't want them giving her mars bars and they have been told by the district nurse just to check her bloods once in a morning and that's it I'm still not happy about that and I'm making an appointment at doctors to see what he recommends
