Anyone here know about diabetes?

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

One of the people Vicki is acting as "medical advocate" for is diabetic. He is our neighbor's 41 yer old son and comes over to help clean the house now and then. We first realized something was wrong when one day we noticed his feet and ankles were purple. We asked him what was up and he was so confused it was alarming. "I think I need to eat. No, I think I need a shot." The guy is living with diabetes and he doesn't know what the symptoms mean?
Anyway, he has not taken care of himself properly for a long time. Until Vic kicked his ass he hadn't seen a diabetes doc in a couple of years.
She got him an appointment and took him to a new doctor. Now he has this thing stuck in his arm that sends a signal to his smart phone. The signal also comes to Vic's smart phone and it has an alarm that goes off when A's glucose gets too high or low.
The alarm goes off 3 or 4 times a day. Is that normal? Is damage done by diabetes reversable? I'm afraid the guy is never going to stop declining.

On another note, A has been having seizures for a long time. He assumed it was epilepsy and has done nothing about it. Vic dragged him to a neurologist - got MRIs and MRAs and it turns out he has had multiple strokes and the seizures are most likely caused by a different brain anomaly - not epilepsy. The tests are ongoing, but it doesn't look good. One of the possibilities has a life expectancy of 7 years.

Sometimes I wonder if suicide by self neglect is a thing.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Yes it is a thing

That young man has a dire future. I know plenty about diabetes

masraum · 05:28 AM

I think that things would improve if he made a big change, but I don't think he's going to make a change based on what you've said.

I feel like the folks that get themselves into this situation are told to make a change, but they have to WANT to make a change. It's like an addict whether it's drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, whatever. If an addict doesn't want to change, you can't force them to. This guy has to decide to make a change for himself. No one can make the change for him. I suspect Toby is absolutely correct.

jcommin · jcommin's Garage

I never knew much about it until one of my son's got married to a girl who has had diabetes since she was 8. She has insulin in her refrigerator that takes up most of a shelf. She is a very picky eater and watches what she eats. She is a mom of two and in both pregnancies, she carefully monitored her insulin intake. Both deliveries were planned as I learned the infant's weight can increase rapidly. Nothing to take lightly.

jhynesrockmtn · 08-27-2023, 05:49 AM

I have had type 1 diabetes for about 6 1/2 years. I fall into a rare group that is late onset type 1. They used to call Type 1 juvenile diabetes, as the average age on onset is something like 12 years old.

I take insulin daily and monitor my blood sugar through a continuous glucose monitor similar to what you described. If your neighbors son has nerve and blood vessel damage from unmanaged high blood sugars, it is not reversible. This is how diabetics go blind and lose their feet, among other lovely outcomes. Sounds like he has a pretty bleak future ahead of him.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Sounds like he has a pretty bleak future ahead of him.

I'm afraid you're right. It's looking like the brain thing is going to be worse than the diabetes. We'll see.

He is responding pretty well to the "mothering" Vicki is giving him. The others she advocates for just depend on her to manage appointments and prescriptions. A wants her to be in the office with the doctors and listen to what they say and to help him get his story right. She has caught him minimizing symptoms a couple of times. The neurologist thinks she's his mother.

But it is wearing on her (us). The alerts always mean a phone call, either incoming ("I got it, I'm OK") or outgoing ("Get your ass to the kitchen and eat something"). We have come to love the guy. He's over here almost every day and he is a joy to be around.

We don't really need to be handling another loss.

jhynesrockmtn · 08-27-2023, 06:15 AM

I assume he is a Type 1 diabetic? Has he had this for a long time? Low blood sugars can cause seizures. When mine gets below 60 the world starts to get real fuzzy and my brain slows way down. It's a very odd feeling.

Sounds like your wife is an angel. Good on both of you for helping this person out. Hopefully taking better care of himself will stabilize him some and he'll feel better.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

I assume he is a Type 1 diabetic? Has he had this for a long time? Low blood sugars can cause seizures. When mine gets below 60 the world starts to get real fuzzy and my brain slows way down. It's a very odd feeling.

I don't know the answers to your questions. I do know that he has gone temporarily blind a couple of times in the past year. Vic got an alert yesterday that his glucose was 50. He was sound asleep and didn't hear the alarm. She called and called and finally woke him up. We were getting ready to go over there.
In that scenario, if no one had woken him and made him eat, would his blood level keep going down until he just passed away?

asphaltgambler · 08-27-2023, 06:36 AM

I know saying this is easy, but doing it is the hard part. Your wife has a come to Jesus meeting with him. Instead of scolding him, she should shame question him about his behavior. What do I mean by this? In a calm voice she asks why does he neglect his health? What drives you to not want to be healthy? Why would an intelligent, capable mature man not want to live normal, productive life?

This is how you deal with people, who for whatever reason, refuse to take care of themselves. Absolutely for sure, there is something in their past that is the driving force behind that. If you asked them point blank why, most if they were completely honest, could not put it into words themselves. If they are unwilling to discuss this crucial component driving their behavior, then it's on them and your wife can walk away in peace.

cantdrv55 · 08-27-2023, 06:49 AM

I’m type 2 and wear a monitoring patch (CGM) on my arm. Life isn’t fair. I exercise quite a bit but do indulge like most people. There are plenty of folks walking around without diabetes who are bigger but I’m the one living with this insidious disease. I have four brothers and I’m more active than they are but I have it and they don’t. Maybe it’s just a matter of time for them. Some of The medical advice I’ve been given about how to mitigate high glucose events are rubbish.

Instrument 41 · 08-27-2023, 06:57 AM

Type 1 for 34 years. What questions do you have?

Instrument 41 · 08-27-2023, 06:59 AM

Diabetic Coma is different for all diabetics. Some can pass away nd other may not. It depends on the rate of drop and how long the levels have been down

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I know saying this is easy, but doing it is the hard part. Your wife has a come to Jesus meeting with him. Instead of scolding him, she should shame question him about his behavior. What do I mean by this? In a calm voice she asks why does he neglect his health? What drives you to not want to be healthy? Why would an intelligent, capable mature man not want to live normal, productive life?

LOL. Scolding him is just how they get along. Constant teasing. She is a wise woman. I'm sure she is getting to the same questions you both know need to be answered. She's doing it in her own devious way. She'll have him singing like a canary and he'll never know what got to him.

id10t · 08-27-2023, 07:01 AM

Doing my best to avoid experience with the beetus

But unmanaged/poorly managed is a surefire way to spend your last months/years dealing with extreme medical issues based on what I saw working in acute care

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Instrument 41

Diabetic Coma is different for all diabetics. Some can pass away nd other may not. It depends on the rate of drop and how long the levels have been down

Thanks. This is all new to me. What's the difference treatment wise between type 1 and type 2? The excavator who dug the footer for our barn said he had Type 1 all his life. His dad died from it at 30. He said he didn't expect to live past 35.

jhynesrockmtn · 08-27-2023, 07:19 AM

https://www.healthline.com/health/difference-between-type-1-and-type-2-diabetes

porsche tech · 08-27-2023, 07:31 AM

Didn’t read every post completely but I have a friend who has had diabetes since he was young, has the monitor, claims he should already be dead, He’s my age 76) and his blood sugar would oscillate up and down drastically (eat sugar, take insulin, over and over). He went on the Keto (?) diet and it totally stabilized his blood sugar. Other than that, I don’t know anything about diabetes…Hope that is helpful.

asphaltgambler · 08-27-2023, 07:46 AM

I danced close to Type II for a long time. I was slightly overweight but as many do, ate, drank and generally did whatever I wanted until @4 years ago I was 'pre-diabetic' with A1C @6.7 the highest it had ever been. I had just turned 60. That was the breaking point. I had to leave some stuff behind, focus on living healthy. It's been a long road, but I'm down to an average 185lbs and feel and look better than I have in 30 years. You only are gifted with 1 body, 1 shot at life.

jhynesrockmtn · 08-27-2023, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

I danced close to Type II for a long time. I was slightly overweight but as many do, ate, drank and generally did whatever I wanted until @4 years ago I was 'pre-diabetic' with A1C @6.7 the highest it had ever been. I had just turned 60. That was the breaking point. I had to leave some stuff behind, focus on living healthy. It's been a long road, but I'm down to an average 185lbs and feel and look better than I have in 30 years. You only are gifted with 1 body, 1 shot at life.

Nice, well done!

jhynesrockmtn · 08-27-2023, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche tech

Didn’t read every post completely but I have a friend who has had diabetes since he was young, has the monitor, claims he should already be dead, He’s my age 76) and his blood sugar would oscillate up and down drastically (eat sugar, take insulin, over and over). He went on the Keto (?) diet and it totally stabilized his blood sugar. Other than that, I don’t know anything about diabetes…Hope that is helpful.

Nothing cures Type 1 or eliminates the need for insulin therapy. A good diet and exercise can reduce insulin needs and blood sugar fluctuations for a type 1. A good diet and exercise can reverse Type 2 as asphaltgambler did.