Want advice about my dad's health

[Syfi777]

So my dad has type 2 diabetes. He also suffers with COPD, high blood pressure & obesity. Around 2 months ago he went to the doctors due to issue with breathing and generally his COPD was playing up. They found out he blood sugar was off the charts, I think their devices only went up to 33mmol/L and his was higher than that! So he was in hospital for 3 days and they discharged him even though his levels were still high. (around 28-30mmol/L)

So since he has been home they have now put him on insulin, and he is to inject morning and evening. I feel like he is not getting the treatment he needs, he still is hitting +30mmol/L even though they keep telling him to increase the insulin units. The diabetic nurse was phoning every few days and he even mentioned to her he is feeling dizzy sometimes (it comes and goes) and is constantly thirsty. After telling her this & his readings are still high (+25mmol/L in the morning) she now said to increase insulin every 3 days and she will phone back in two weeks. Perhaps I am wrong in this because I am definitely a hypochondriac & my dad is the complete opposite but does this sound wrong to anyone else? I mean he has been on insulin for over a month now and his levels are still spiking.

 

[kvetiny]

Bless you it's no wonder you are so worried. His treatment doesn't sound that good to me. Is he checking his blood sugars several times a day and making a record of it?

Best things he can do is adopt a low carbohydrate diet and eat much healthier keep testing and recording and make sure he has glucose tablets incase his blood sugars plummet. Keep pestering his team if you remain worried. Sounds like he hasn't reached his therapeutic insulin dose yet. The nurse should be contacting him everyday whilst he is going through this really. Education is key to learning what foods he can eat without making his sugars rise too much. Avoid bread, pasta, potatos rice and even snacks are no good. Limit eating fruit as full of frutose (sugar). I still eat carbs but have seriously reduced them.

 

[KK123]

So my dad has type 2 diabetes. He also suffers with COPD, high blood pressure & obesity. Around 2 months ago he went to the doctors due to issue with breathing and generally his COPD was playing up. They found out he blood sugar was off the charts, I think their devices only went up to 33mmol/L and his was higher than that! So he was in hospital for 3 days and they discharged him even though his levels were still high. (around 28-30mmol/L)

So since he has been home they have now put him on insulin, and he is to inject morning and evening. I feel like he is not getting the treatment he needs, he still is hitting +30mmol/L even though they keep telling him to increase the insulin units. The diabetic nurse was phoning every few days and he even mentioned to her he is feeling dizzy sometimes (it comes and goes) and is constantly thirsty. After telling her this & his readings are still high (+25mmol/L in the morning) she now said to increase insulin every 3 days and she will phone back in two weeks. Perhaps I am wrong in this because I am definitely a hypochondriac & my dad is the complete opposite but does this sound wrong to anyone else? I mean he has been on insulin for over a month now and his levels are still spiking.

Hi there. I am having to make some assumptions here but I'm guessing your Dad is insulin resistant as a type 2 and more and more insulin may well work eventually in so much as it may force the numbers lower, but at the moment if he is producing a lot of his own insulin as well then chances are it is not getting through, exogenous or injected. That is likely to add to his problems. Can you tell us what a typical days food & insulin requirements are at the moment? It could be that he is in a vicious circle, too many carbs in his food, more and more insulin to cope with the carbs, insulin not getting through so his glucose levels remain high and will probably get higher. Is he on a fixed dose of insulin or does he have long acting and short acting? You must be careful with any advice to 'go low carb' immediately because any insulin will also have to be adjusted and he will need to discuss this with his medical team. Generally, taking into account his insulin regime, a lower carb diet will be the way forward and you may be surprised at how effective this is, others will be along soon to tell you of their type 2 experiences. x

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Usual poor NHS advice I'm afraid. Yes you must get him down at least below 20 mmol peak meter readings if you can. As others have said he will be insulin resistant with that excess weight. The insulin will be fighting the fact that his body may already have too much as a T2. He must seriously reduce the carbs in his diet but fats, proteins, veg and non-tropical fruit are fine. There are weekly injectables in the 'Glutide' group e.g. Ozempic that can help with weight reduction and quite a few T2s are on them so discuss with the nurse if relevant. The insulin could be increased with nurse guidance but be careful to check meter readings when reducing the carbs at the same time as insulin resistance should fade as weight goes down.