Question regarding my mum and cataracts

[Traceyhills21]

Hi
I have joined on behalf of my 76 year old mum and hope someone can help us.
Mum was taken into hospital last year with pancreatitis which has now left her with diabetes.
She has many other problems (heart kidneys rheumatoid arthritis etc) and takes many pills including steroids.
Is is taking glipazide and has insulin injection twice a day but still her blood sugar is never below 15 of an evening
and first thing in the morning about 7/10. she is on a low carb or zero carb diet and we are doing everything we can
to get the blood sugar down but nothing seems to work.
Since being diagnosed she has now got very bad cataract in both eyes. She can hardly see a thing at all and is very down.
The hospital have said she cant have the cataracts removed until her blood sugar is controlled and below at least 13.
Has anyone else had these problems and any advice would be great.
Thanks

 

[Jo_the_boat]

Hi Tracey.
Very distressing for your Mum (and you). I'm no medic so if I'm talking bunkum tell me to get lost.
I understand that steroids can cause upset / spikes in blood sugar levels. Is it worth asking the medics if there are alternatives to the steroids, at least temporarily, to enable your Mum's levels to stabilize enough for her to have her eyes treated?

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome to you and your Mum

I am really sorry she has so much to cope with!

@Jo_the_boat makes a good point about the steroids. They can have effects that may be sending your Mum’s blood glucose levels high irrespective of her low carb diet.

You mentioned that she had pancreatitis. Do you know if that has knocked out all insulin production? The reason I ask is that there is a particular form of Diabetes called 3c which can happen as a result of pancreatitis damage. However, not everyone with pancreatitis gets 3c. So you may need to ask your Mums doc to find out more. We have a 3c section of the forum if you want to ask any questions of people who have the condition.

It sounds like your mum’s case is pretty complex and distressing for her. Could you ask for a referral to your local Diabetes clinic? They may well have a better grasp of how all these things interact with each other and be able to give better advice.

Please let us know how you and your mum get on?

Edited because my autocorrect can't tell the difference between effect and affect.