You will notice that I seldom use words
in all caps. I don't like to shout which is what many interpret
words in capital letters to mean. There are many times I find
something important and I attempt to say so and hope people see it
the same way.
The situation that is happening
currently with a fellow person with diabetes has several of us very
concerned about his health and well-being in his management of
diabetes. The woman is still in the hospital and the doctors are
very concerned about her recovery. Brenda and Sue are looking after
the children and are very happy with the progress they are making in
educating the two and answering their questions.
Barry and Ben did take Allen with them
the last time they met with the fellow and Allen did make a lot of
progress. They were then able to meet his wife and convinced him
to tell his wife that he had type 2 diabetes and was taking insulin.
She asked many questions which Allen did answer and Allen did cover
both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and what she should be watchful
for and actions she should take.
The fellow was not aware of either and
had many questions also. Barry and Allen both addressed the issues
and then asked about the food they were consuming. The fellow was
not aware of carb counting and was wondering why he was gaining
weight. He was only about twenty pounds over his ideal weight
according to the calculation Allen used from the Health Central website. The wife asked Allen to bookmark the site so they could use
it later.
Ben said he was happy to see that both
used the computer and he asked them how often they used it. He said
his wife used it the most, but that he did use it. Allen and Barry
both suggested quite a bit of reading and the wife said she wanted
all that they could give them. Allen gave them his email address and
she sent him an email so he could send this onto the rest of them and
they could all send them websites to read.
Next, they talked about food and asked
for a sample meal. The wife listed that evening's meal she was
planning and Allen laid out the approximate number of carbs they
would be consuming. When he completed this, he asked how many units
of insulin he would be using. He said he would test about two hours
after eating and inject insulin based on the reading he received. He
did this with every meal and then again at bedtime. When asked what
the ratio to the reading was, he could not answer that, but guessed
is was about one unit to every four for readings over 100. He said
that if the blood glucose reading was 240 mg/dl he would subtract 100
and divide this by 4. So, 140 divided by 4 would be 35.
When asked what his latest A1c was, he
did not know and he did not know what that was. In addition, he
received no lab reports from the doctor. His wife asked if these were
important. All three agreed that they were and he should chart them
on a spreadsheet or a database. Barry told them to figure out the
date of his diagnosis and any other dates when he may have been
tested. Then go the doctor's office and complete a form to receive
them.
Then Ben thought to ask them what other
medications he was taking. Because they could not answer, Allen
asked them to pull the a list together and include any dietary
supplements he was taking. He said the dietary supplements were
natural and not needed. Allen said if you want some help, you will
provide what you take. Ben said that some dietary supplements can
create problems with some prescribed medications.
Allen opened up this link and showed
them the conflicts for vitamin-B12. While they were not serious
conflicts, this surprised both of them and the wife asked him to
bookmark this. Allen said we will send you more links like this and
tell you why they are important.
Ben then asked about other family
members, and they said they had two older children that were both
married and visited occasionally. This meant they what they were
told was not as important, but Barry did say that they may wish to
tell them because of genetics and their need to watch their health.
The wife said the son was more overweight than her husband was and
Allen said it would be wise to talk to them.
Because it was mealtime, they said they
would talk more another day and left. Allen said there was a lot to
discuss to help the fellow.
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