May 16, 2002
Behavior
Question from Los Angeles, California, USA:
My 16 year old sister was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes three years ago, and ever since, we always took care of her, but for the past year she hasn’t been taking care of herself. We always try to take care of her, but she never listens, and her blood sugar is very high (200-400 mg/dl [11.1-22.2 mmol/L]) every day. I am one of her older sisters, and she always tells me how she feels. I always help her with her her insulin, and I always tell her she is out of control, but she just doesn’t listen. I just don’t want my sister to be hospitalized. What advice can you give me about my sister? What can I do to help her?
Answer:
I appreciate your concern for your sister. She sounds like she may be depressed and would benefit from seeing a counselor or psychologist in addition to getting excellent care from her diabetes team. Perhaps you could help her to access those resources and even attend with her if that would help her. She also will continue to need the support of a loving family just as I suspect you already provide.
MSB
