August 23, 2000
Hyperglycemia and DKA
Question from :
From, USA:
My friend’s daughter is 14 years old and has had diabetes since age seven. For the past year, she has been in DKA and in the hospital almost every two weeks to monthly. Her sugars are running 400-500’s mg/dl (22.2-27.8 mmol/L) and ketones are moderate to large. Her insulin dose keeps going up. When her sugars are up, she gets regular insulin hourly. Her sugars will not come down, until the evening and then they are 200’s mg/dl (11.1 mmol/L). Ketones are never negative, worse in the morning. We are hoping that you could help us with some ideas. She has been under the care of a University Hospital and is now under the care of a diabetes specialist without any progress. She complains of tiredness and weakness.
Answer:
It sounds like she needs a lot of support from her diabetes team members. The teenage years are a difficult period and a time when your friend will probably need a lot of support from you as well as the team.
Remember, it is very hard to come to terms with diabetes when a kid hits the teenage years, and this can make control very difficult. Often only by supporting your friend through this difficult time can she be able to pull through.
d I am sure the diabetes team are considering how they might help, but it may be worth talking things over with them.
JS
