April 25, 2006
Other
Question from St. Petersburg, Florida, USA:
My 21 year old son was diagnosed at age five. He has had three major seizures in the past five years. The seizures are violent and dangerous. He suffered a separated and fractured shoulder and torn rotator cuff as a result of the last one. Surgery was required and he is recuperating. Another seizure required handcuffs and three ambulance attendants to control him. The nurses in the hospital Emergency Room treated him as if he were a drug addict and refused to believe that a seizure could have this affect on a person. Are these type of seizures typical of diabetics? Besides the usual care and control of blood sugar and monitoring of his pump, what else can we do to keep these frightening events from happening?
Answer:
It sounds like his blood sugar control is not good enough if he continues to have seizures. Frequent glucose monitoring and reporting, higher target blood sugars, and aggressive avoidance of lows all help to prevent serious lows. If he is on a pump, he needs to have frequent contact with his diabetes team. Alcohol will cause hypoglycemia in patients taking insulin. Exercise has to be anticipated and adjustments made to prevent lows. It is a comprehensive plan to avoid lows. There are no specific types of seizures unique to people with diabetes. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures are the norm. It is an example of the brain requiring glucose and not having enough present to work normally.
JTL
