December 31, 2001
Daily Care, Type 2
Question from Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA:
My 75 year old dad has had type 2 diabetes for about 20 years and has recently been diagnosed with a failing heart. He is on oxygen at night to help his heart keep his lungs pumped free of fluid that seems to build up. He has also recently been waking up in the morning with extremely low blood sugar (32-40 mg/dl [1.8-2.2 mmol/L]) even though his doctor had him cut back on his medication, and he has juice before bed, etc. Any suggestions?
Answer:
He may need little medicine or none at all in the night. I don’t know if he’s on insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agents that lowers blood glucose. They may need to be stopped or dramatically changed. Please have him contact his physician again.
LD