Type one diabetes control??

[KyleHeninger]

My uncle who lives with us has type 1 diabetes. I am concerned about him and am wondering how serious his management issues are.

He apparently had his A1C readings come in around 7.3. He often checks his BS and I have seen readings as high as 400. Somedays he is spot on and others its gets very high and low (typically he takes care of it right when he notices a problem)

Hes had diabetes almost 27 years. All is regular blood tests were normal, as well as eye exam, etc. What should I be doing to help him?

What does the future hold for him at this current level? Should he consider a pump?

 

[TheBigNewt]

An A1C of 7.3 is pretty good I'd say, and if he's been like that for most of the 27 yrs he's had it I'd say he has it under pretty good control. We all have an occasional high reading. One thing you might discreetly ask him is how often he gets low. And what (if anything) does he do to prevent getting low at night while asleep. And ask him if he keeps a glucagon kit around and have him show you where it's kept and how to use it. I'm not sure what you can do to help him day to day but in the event you find him low and unable to help himself the glucagon kit could come in really handy. How old is he?

 

[KyleHeninger]

An A1C of 7.3 is pretty good I'd say, and if he's been like that for most of the 27 yrs he's had it I'd say he has it under pretty good control. We all have an occasional high reading. One thing you might discreetly ask him is how often he gets low. And what (if anything) does he do to prevent getting low at night while asleep. And ask him if he keeps a glucagon kit around and have him show you where it's kept and how to use it. I'm not sure what you can do to help him day to day but in the event you find him low and unable to help himself the glucagon kit could come in really handy. How old is he?

Thanks for your reply. We've also noticed that he sometimes becomes confused about certain things. Not all the time but on a few occasions recently. Just about timing of things and certain details of situations. Do you think this has to do with sudden high/low periods? He is 51

 

[Chandradev819]

We've also noticed that he sometimes becomes confused about certain things

Yes if BS will go below the normal range.

 

[Juicyj]

Thanks for your reply. We've also noticed that he sometimes becomes confused about certain things. Not all the time but on a few occasions recently. Just about timing of things and certain details of situations. Do you think this has to do with sudden high/low periods? He is 51

Confusion is more closely linked to going hypo, maybe when he becomes confused encourage him to test his glucose levels ? Best advice for any diabetic on insulin is to be aware of when they go too low, from the outside they may appear pale, disorientated, speech will be affected, possibly sweating/shaking, best treatment is glucose in any form, so can of pop such as coke, apple/orange juice, glucose gel or dextrose tablets or sweets such as jelly babies, not chocolate though as the fat delays the glucose absorption.

 

[KyleHeninger]

Confusion is more closely linked to going hypo, maybe when he becomes confused encourage him to test his glucose levels ? Best advice for any diabetic on insulin is to be aware of when they go too low, from the outside they may appear pale, disorientated, speech will be affected, possibly sweating/shaking, best treatment is glucose in any form, so can of pop such as coke, apple/orange juice, glucose gel or dextrose tablets or sweets such as jelly babies, not chocolate though as the fat delays the glucose absorption.

Is there any chance this could be due to prolonged BS control issues and he has early on set memory problems? I am a bit of a worrier and just wanted to see if anyone could offer any insight from past experiences. He's only had his Dexcom for 2 years so we really don't know how well he controlled it previously. His memory issues don't seem significant, however at times he has said things that I question about recent events

Thank you

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @KyleHeninger It's very difficult to say if there is a connection or not, there's so many factors that can affect memory, aside from diabetes including age, dementia, hormone imbalance, vitamin deficiency etc etc it's very much down to a GP to make any connection with this, try and encourage him to see someone and get this checked over as there may be underlying factor that could require further investigation, it's easy to point the finger at diabetes when another factor could be at play.