Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.
Question
My 82 year old mother in-law has type 2 diabetes which she has been controlling for quite a few years with Amaryl. Her fasting blood sugar about 90-98 mg/dL [5-5.5 mmol/L]. She has coffee with milk and an oatmeal cookie for breakfast, and a slice of bread, turkey, and a small orange for around noontime. The problem is her blood sugar at 2:00-4:00 pm is about 60 to 75 mg/dL [3.3-4.2 mmol/L]. I checked her which is working correctly, I verified her levels with another meter also.I called her doctor's office to advise of low afternoon numbers. The doctor said all her blood tests are fine and told my mother in-law that he worries about high numbers, not low. I thought this was a serious matter. Please advise.
Answer
Contrary to what you heard, both people with diabetes and their physicians should worry about low blood sugars as well as high. The concern about lows is the possibility of severe hypoglycemia, which is an even greater risk in the elderly. For example, what if she became confused from low blood sugar, stumbled and fell and fractured a hip — and even worse, that she was alone at the time?Overall, I think you should verify directly with the physician's staff to doublecheck what your mother-in-law might actually have been told. If indeed the physician was correctly quoted, point out that it would be easy to decrease (or eliminate) her dose of Amaryl to prevent lows. If you meet any further resistance, ask for a referral to a diabetes specialist.
