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Friend needs help now!!

3867 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Shanny, 
F
My friend is a type 1 diabetic. She takes the shots to lower her BG levels. She is in the hospital right now and I am concerned. Her levels have gone up to about 600. The doctor says that she might go into a coma. In the past she had a stroke.

I believe the problem is her diet. Since I am a Type 2, is the diet different for a Type 1? Please help me out. I do not want her to die.

We live in a small town where we get absolutely no help from the doctors. There are no nutritionists or a CDE. Apparently her doctor is giving her no help. I know her and her husband. Her husband would make sure she got the proper diet and testing supplies. When should she test?

Ruth
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fiesta said:
My friend is a type 1 diabetic. She takes the shots to lower her BG levels. She is in the hospital right now and I am concerned. Her levels have gone up to about 600. The doctor says that she might go into a coma. In the past she had a stroke.
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It would seem to me that one of two things are happening here. No one gets a 600 mg/dL reading without falling off the wagon. Type 1s that even edge up beyond 200 quickly find out what's wrong and tighten their regimen up. To let it get to 600 mg/dL...needs some close scrutiny.

Second, to get to 600 mg/dL, either she's not taking her basal and bolus insulins correctly...or the insulins are crap, compromised, out of date, or possibly useless. There is no way to test the insulins...so I suggest after she gets out of the hospital that all insulin be replaced...to rule that out as a factor if it's not her diet.

fiesta said:
I believe the problem is her diet. Since I am a Type 2, is the diet different for a Type 1? Please help me out. I do not want her to die.
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For a Type 1, diet is very important because of the intense affect it has on blood sugars. They not only need to have their basal insulin dialed in...but must know, absolutely, how to cover their meals with a bolus injection. A Type 1 getting a reading of 600 mg/dL and landing in the hospital...I'm going to have to assume they either have no knowledge of how to test before and after meals...or whatever doctor prescribed her insulin amounts doesn't know WTF they're doing. Or both!

I'm curious as to what information she'll come home with from the hospital doctors in regards to this setback.

fiesta said:
We live in a small town where we get absolutely no help from the doctors. There are no nutritionists or a CDE. Apparently her doctor is giving her no help. I know her and her husband. Her husband would make sure she got the proper diet and testing supplies. When should she test?
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Doctors, in my opinion, are a waste of time other than being used to write a script and order labs. If her doctor isn't a help...get another doctor. If she lives in some podunk town where doctors are at a premium then go to another town. What's important here, above all else, is results.

When should she test? I suggest that she take a fasting blood glucose test in the morning when she rises. That will give her a ball park figure of how her basal insulin is working. Test before a meal and adjust the bolus insulin accordingly to the amount of carbohydrates in her meal. That ratio, the amount of insulin units per carbohydrate she should already have figured out. Since she's in the hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis...I'm a little suspect to how that's being handled.

As well as diabetes message boards and forums there's a glut of information on the internet about how to get this thing under control. But information is just that...information. Without practical application all the information there is...does nothing.
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Adjitater
Diet is not the most important thing in being a type 1. It is much more important to know how many carbs are in everything you eat and to make sure that you cover them withe insulin you take. A restricted dieat lower in carbs does make this easier and makes the mistacks much easier to fix. But food in of itself is not the problem. How old is your freind and how long has she had type 1
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F
My friend is in her 70's. I just found out that she has diabetes. I do not know how long she has had diabetes or when she found out. I believe she found out only recently. We are good friends and I would have been told when she was first told that she has diabetes. After her stroke, her husband told me that they did not know what caused it.

She had a stroke about a year ago. This time they thought she was going into a coma. They are going to send her home when they get her BG down to 250. That is way to high.

I know that when I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2, it was just to rule it out. I do not know how long I had it before then. At that time, I had excellent doctors. The only thing I was taught was how to use a meter. I do not know if she knows how to use a meter. I was not told anything about diet. I learned everything on the internet. I have my diabetes under control.

The next time I am afraid that she will die. All because the doctor did not do a simple blood test.

Everyone should be tested for diabetes each year.

Thank you for the info. If anyone else has information that I can pass on to her husband and her, please let me know.
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J
Type 1 and Type 2 are really different diseases. Type 1's have had an auto immune attack on their pancreas which has destroyed their beta cells. They have to replace the lost insulin with injected insulin. Many doctors and CDE's don't do a very good job instructing people how to deal with insulin and the difference in the kinds. A type 1 will need a basal insulin + a fast acting insulin at meals. Some prescribe mixed insulins which may not work as well. When you friend returns home she needs to be educated in what made her bgs so high. She needs to learn how to count carbs and figure out what her insulin ratio is. Everyone will be different. She also needs realistic goals for before and after meal bg readings. Many doctors and CDE's are afraid of lows so they have diabetics eat way too many carbs to avoid lows. There is a way to cut back on carbs and reduce your insulin requirements and reduce highs and lows. I think more Type 2's use low carb diets than Type 1's, but it is a helpful diet to avoid those wicked highs.
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M
same happened to me

fiesta said:
My friend is a type 1 diabetic. She takes the shots to lower her BG levels. She is in the hospital right now and I am concerned. Her levels have gone up to about 600. The doctor says that she might go into a coma. In the past she had a stroke.

I believe the problem is her diet. Since I am a Type 2, is the diet different for a Type 1? Please help me out. I do not want her to die.

We live in a small town where we get absolutely no help from the doctors. There are no nutritionists or a CDE. Apparently her doctor is giving her no help. I know her and her husband. Her husband would make sure she got the proper diet and testing supplies. When should she test?

Ruth
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I have had this happen a few time my BS was 631 and I blacked out and ended up in the hospital come to find out my insulin wasn't working at all, they said because either it had gotten hot or too cold.

Another time was just plain stupidity i had a I dont give a F888 Attitude because everything i was doing (lost 98lbs) and nothing was helping the diabeties

3rd and last time It happened was because I wasn't taking enough insulin when i should have been, wasn't aware i needed to have my levels checked every 3 months to make sure the insulin was enough or not enough. also eating anything and everything i wanted didn't help i assumed since i was taking insulin i could still eat and drink anything and everything after going in and the doc having me meet someone who just lost her leg almost a yr prior was the wake up call i needed and now i am starting from scratch and doing this the right way so i have nothing to worry about
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R
As someone else has said many supposedly clever diabetic doctors really do not have an idea.
So reduce to virtually nill carbs, try purely protein meals, drink copious fat free milk, run at that for 2 days. So a 2 egg omelette with chilli beef peppers, mushrooms and a slice of low fat cheese melted on top, bacon and egg for breakfast and say a fig for a little carb and very high fibre.
If that has not reduced the sugar levels, then nothing will, she may have liver problems as well.
I went in for an operation and the hospital screwed my bloods up for a week because they 1/ insisted on the insulin, and 2/ gave me glucose during the op.
The second op I forbade them to touch the insulin or the glucose, before the op my bloods were 140 and after op were 120 (aprox7 and 6 )
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rinfrance said:
As someone else has said many supposedly clever diabetic doctors really do not have an idea.
So reduce to virtually nill carbs, try purely protein meals, drink copious fat free milk, run at that for 2 days. So a 2 egg omelette with chilli beef peppers, mushrooms and a slice of low fat cheese melted on top, bacon and egg for breakfast and say a fig for a little carb and very high fibre.
If that has not reduced the sugar levels, then nothing will, she may have liver problems as well.
I went in for an operation and the hospital screwed my bloods up for a week because they 1/ insisted on the insulin, and 2/ gave me glucose during the op.
The second op I forbade them to touch the insulin or the glucose, before the op my bloods were 140 and after op were 120 (aprox7 and 6 )
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This makes no since to me as fat free milk has 30 grams of carbs per pint or 16 ounces
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R
Hi, no its not that and yes there are some carbs in the milk, however in the last few weeks it has been realised that the calcium in the milk wraps up fats, especially "wrong ones" erm did I not say only for a few days, and erm I thought I said that you do need some carbs.
Anyway it was for the lady with a measure of 600 i was under the impression of.
If it got attached to something else then apologies. Apparently the person concerned had figures of 600 now that to me means that there is something seriously awry. My worst ever has only been about 300.
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S
The fact remains that cows milk contains lactose in high quantities, and lactose elevates blood sugar. "Copious" amounts of milk is not a good recommendation for a PWD.
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J
Light soy milk, almond milk or light coconut milk are all 1-2 carbs per cup and better options.
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R
Agh well you cannot get those sorts of milk here, however the fat free milk here is also by nature lower in lactose (See also UK TV ads). Incidentally are they all high in calcium. It is the calcium and the way it works apparently on certain fats. In any case we all need a few carbs, one cannot live totally without, and as I said to someone else only for a few days. In anycase the lady's diet must be seriously wrong. If she were to partake chicken broth and so on for a few days only then that also should have effect. (Perhaps it should be cold as there are also potentially carbs,well calories, in the heat!)

I shall have to read what I say and put the adjectives first, so I should say that for a few days... as it seems that people read the first bit and then ignore the rest.

Oh by the way, if you are found here in France to have diabetes before you are 18 they call it type 1, certainly here and UK they would not say type 2 at 16. According to the doctors here, many young people are found when they have the army call up medical and they just call it type 1/.
They say that type 2/ is after you are fully developed, so it shows how different countries deal with different things. Many women are also found to be borderline type 1/ when they are pregnant also but get classified as type 2/ as they are over 18-21 so I bet they just categorize for simplicity.
Frankly, I doubt if they could really differentiate.
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S
Age has nothing to do with which type you are. Both France and the UK have blood tests, same as every other country, to identify any antibodies that may be present due to autoimmune damage to the beta cells, and to determine whether the pancreas is producing insulin at all.

In any case, carbohydrate is not an essential nutritive element of the human diet. People can live long, healthy and useful lives by eating only protein and fats. High fiber carbohydrate can be helpful, of course, but it is not essential.

If you think people are ignoring the rest of posts, perhaps it's because you provide no links to any research or studies that substantiate your claims. We are not sheep here - we don't believe everything we're told. If you truly believe these things, then you need to provide attribution for your claims.
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onaughmae
rinfrance said:
Agh well you cannot get those sorts of milk here, however the fat free milk here is also by nature lower in lactose (See also UK TV ads). Incidentally are they all high in calcium. It is the calcium and the way it works apparently on certain fats. In any case we all need a few carbs, one cannot live totally without, and as I said to someone else only for a few days. In anycase the lady's diet must be seriously wrong. If she were to partake chicken broth and so on for a few days only then that also should have effect. (Perhaps it should be cold as there are also potentially carbs,well calories, in the heat!)

I shall have to read what I say and put the adjectives first, so I should say that for a few days... as it seems that people read the first bit and then ignore the rest.

Oh by the way, if you are found here in France to have diabetes before you are 18 they call it type 1, certainly here and UK they would not say type 2 at 16. According to the doctors here, many young people are found when they have the army call up medical and they just call it type 1/.
They say that type 2/ is after you are fully developed, so it shows how different countries deal with different things. Many women are also found to be borderline type 1/ when they are pregnant also but get classified as type 2/ as they are over 18-21 so I bet they just categorize for simplicity.
Frankly, I doubt if they could really differentiate.
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The type of diabetic you are really has nothing to do with age. A person can develop T1 diabetes later in life as well. It is more common, I agree, to develop T1 diabetes as a child and T2 later in life. That is where the confusion for most people come from I would imagine. The difference is actually pretty simple. T2 diabetes has classic insulin-resistance and sometimes (not always) decreased or ceased production of insulin. T1 will have cessation of insulin production characterized by the presence of antibodies that destroy the insulin producing cells. A simple blood test can tell the difference.
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Adjitater
I would like to remind everyone about what the OP wanted and I dont think that a type 1 diabetic is going to benefit at all from the argument about the evils of drugs and perticularry insulin. Since insulin is not a chemical drug your arguement in my opinion is totaly invalid. I would also like to say that it is much more likely that the insulin she is using has gone bad and is just not effective. She is an elderly women and perhaps she just forgot how old it was.
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S
rinfrance said:
Ar but you see . . .
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You may believe whatever you like, but you have been misinformed on many issues. Your posts will be edited if you persist in disseminating erroneous information.
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