April 28, 2003
Daily Care, Type 2
Question from Hubert, North Carolina, USA:
My 70 year old sister, who has type 2 diabetes and is visiting me, usually has blood sugars of 160-250 mg/dl [8.9-13.9 mmol/L] two hours after a meal. She is on a diet that her doctor gave her, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. Can diabetes flare up like that in a month? Does the fact that it is so hard to get blood from her finger have anything to do with it?
Answer:
It sounds like your sister really needs the help of a Certified Diabetes Educator to make sure she is using the best blood glucose monitoring equipment for her needs and using it correctly. It should not be that difficult to get a blood sample and a CDE can help figure out what is wrong.
In addition, the CDE can evaluate her meal plan and physical activity and see whether or not she needs to be on medication at this time. You can find a CDE by zip code at 1-800-338-3633 or on the American Association of diabetes Educators website.
JS
