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My mother........

urbanracer

urbanracer

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,227
Location
Worthing, UK.
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being able to eat as many chocolate digestives as I used to.
A few years ago my mother (now 85 yrs old) was diagnosed as a type 2. At the time she was drinking a 330ml bottle of lemon flavour Lucozade every day.

They classified her as diet control only so she cut out the Lucozade and modified her diet. Sometime later she finds herself in a nursing home where they took the view that at her age a few cakes and biscuits was beneficial to her overall happiness and outweighed any potential benefits from a sugar free diet.

Now she eats what she wants, when she wants (but not Lucozade) and her BG's are always around 5 to 7.

Is she really diabetic? Or did she just get this label as a result of the Lucozade habit?
 
The jury is probably out on this - the bodies cells become less effective as we get older and older.

If you were to test any elderly person you would find early signs of damage in most of the major organs.

I agree with the nursing home - let your mum have her cake and eat it! :-)
 
VinnyJames said:
The jury is probably out on this - the bodies cells become less effective as we get older and older.

If you were to test any elderly person you would find early signs of damage in most of the major organs.

I agree with the nursing home - let your mum have her cake and eat it! :)
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or to be cynical:
They can't be @rsed to give her a good diet:wideyed:,
just as long as the fees keep rolling in!:(
 
Thought I was cynical lol!

Realistically, you maximise fees by keeping residents alive for longer.

Or you give them the best quality of life....
 
The supply of residents outstrips supply of places as long as you don't kill them off TOO fast, besides D is ALWAYS progressive, isn't it?
 
NoCrbs4Me said:
Don't they do standard blood tests on her? The results would show if she is or not.
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I don't actually know. I'll try to check this next time at the hospital (that's where she is right now - after having had a fall). I just cannot get over the fact that she stuffs her face with all manner of cakes, biscuits and chocolate and her BG figures seem to be normal.

She keeps asking me for things and I'm always wondering if I should really be supplying so much 'bad' food.
 
FergusCrawford said:
The supply of residents outstrips supply of places as long as you don't kill them off TOO fast, besides D is ALWAYS progressive, isn't it?
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You're right, she is in hopital right now and Social Services are trying to find her a residential place because she doesn't really need full on nursing care any more. I'm told that there are no residential care places available in Worthing at the moment.
 
Good luck with your mum. It must be so hard trying to get the right balance for a parent, it can be a bit of ' between a rock and a hard place' sometimes.
I'm a carer for my elderly dad and I have managed to keep him in his bungalow. He also has carers in every a day, to give meds, dinner at lunch time, make tea, and check he is okay. He's 91 now and he is getting frailer, but I will try my best to keep him there as long as possible, he loves to potter about, make cup's of tea or help himself to a snack. or two, tbh It doesn't matter to me what he eats as long as he eats, but luckily my dad isn't diabetic and has no big medical conditions.

Take care and all the best RRB :)
 
urbanracer said:
A few years ago my mother (now 85 yrs old) was diagnosed as a type 2. At the time she was drinking a 330ml bottle of lemon flavour Lucozade every day.

They classified her as diet control only so she cut out the Lucozade and modified her diet. Sometime later she finds herself in a nursing home where they took the view that at her age a few cakes and biscuits was beneficial to her overall happiness and outweighed any potential benefits from a sugar free diet.

Now she eats what she wants, when she wants (but not Lucozade) and her BG's are always around 5 to 7.

Is she really diabetic? Or did she just get this label as a result of the Lucozade habit?
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Your experience with your mom is very similar to my experience with my eighty year old dad.

He was diagnosed t2 a few years back and he is now at a nursing home because of multiple other health problems including having suffered multiple strokes, which have left him with impaired mobility and mental capacity; particularly speech.

Despite a most unsuitable diet for a diabetic he always tests with normal fasting levels.

To be honest I am not sure I want to deprive him of whatever small pleasure he gets from his food.
 
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Robinredbreast said:
Good luck with your mum. It must be so hard trying to get the right balance for a parent, it can be a bit of ' between a rock and a hard place' sometimes.
I'm a carer for my elderly dad and I have managed to keep him in his bungalow. He also has carers in every a day, to give meds, dinner at lunch time, make tea, and check he is okay. He's 91 now and he is getting frailer, but I will try my best to keep him there as long as possible, he loves to potter about, make cup's of tea or help himself to a snack. or two, tbh It doesn't matter to me what he eats as long as he eats, but luckily my dad isn't diabetic and has no big medical conditions.

Take care and all the best RRB :)
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My mother was put into a nursing home after a mild stroke and a diagnosis of vascular dementia. The docs didn't expect her to get better but something stopped me from selling her bungalow. After 18 months she recovered sufficiently to try a spell at home with carers 4 times a day and hot lunches delivered.
She started off OK but her health seemed to deteriorate quite quickly. The stroke left her weak on the left side so she kept having falls with the ambulance guys being summoned up to 4 times in 1 day. I was getting calls at all hours, and making calls because the b****Y carers hadn't turned up when they were supposed to. This just happened to coincide with a particularly busy period at work and some friends have suggested that if I was on the way to being diabetic, then the stress might have just pushed me over the edge as far actually becoming a T1 is concerned.
She had the latest fall a couple of weeks ago and cut her arm, plus X-rays showed a fractured collar bone. When I saw her in the hopital she told me that her shoulder didn't hurt and she didn't understand why she was wearing a sling - I thought she was just confused but yesterday evening when I go there the sling is gone!
When I ask her what's happened, she tells me that she's had more X-rays and the quacks have decided that her collar bone isn't broken after all. Do you think I could find anyone who could tell me why they're keeping her in there? You can't make this stuff up I tell you.
 
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Hi,

Similar experience to my dad. Only he was cared for at home..
Though was admitted to hospital with a chest infection which cleared up.. Mysteriously, they still wanted to keep him in though there was no apparent reason... Even the ward staff were not sure why..
The series of "mini strokes" could be down to uncontrolled type 2. With my dad it was sugary tea, biscuits, spuds & those fruit cocktails for desert.. I tried the best i could to maintain a some what low carb intake.. It's the old school mindset. Take the meds & carry on regardless..

What I have learned about vascular dementia is its like the ECU on a car that governs engine control? Part of this with vascular dementia in its advanced state is the sugar levels go all over the place.. Up and down to hypoglycaemic levels...
I have a theory from experience why they are keeping your mum in hospital..
Though best done via private message.
 
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