June 24, 2002
Daily Care
Question from Pakistan:
My mother has a blood sugar problem, and she has reduced her levels by improving her eating habits and exercise. She does not take any medications for diabetes. As she cannot take white sugar, she feels very sick, but when she takes some sugar throughout the day she feels active. Can she take some sugar according to her daily physical routine? If not, then what is the treatment of sickness?
Answer:
If I understand you correctly, your mother feels better throughout the day if she eats sugar. However, she is not on any medication for her diabetes. How much extra food she can take is not clear.
I think you will have to allow her to eat more and see how this affects her sugar. The best way to do this would be to check her blood sugar throughout the day by home glucose monitoring. It is not uncommon to cut back on the diet and find that the decrease in food intake is so severe that it is not realistic. In that case, eating more and using a low dose of medication is a possibility.
JTL
