I know YANAD (unless you are) but I can’t get a clear answer on the web here at work. I am also a little panicked.
My 67 year old mom got into some kind of car wreck a couple of days ago- Thursday I think. I talked to her yesterday and she said she was having a hard time getting her blood sugar down, it was in the 300s. She says this is from stress. It doesn’t help that my %$#@! father is calling her up to yell at her about stuff she has nothing to do with (she has since told him to eff-off). Anyway, she said she has been trying to eat well and control it like that (she doesn’t take insulin shots) but I talked to her today and she said it was like 460, probably due to stress.
That sounds bad! She says she will call her doctor tomorrow… should I join in the dysfunctional family feud and try to get her to call now, or is 460 not bad enough that another day shouldn’t matter?
I am a doctor and I treat many diabetics, in addition to being one myself. Ideally she should seek treatment within 24 hours at most, if her sugar is 460. If she has a family doctor, she should call now (or his answering service) to find out what the doc wants her to do. Not knowing her other history, I can’t say definitively that it’s not ok to wait until tomorrow.
But in truth, she’s probably been running as high as 400 or 500 for months or longer. Sooner sooner medical attention is better, but she is probably not going to become ketotic with sugars in those ranges. Ketosis can be acutely fatal, but generally occurs only if the blood sugar is over 600.
Meanwhile, drink lots of fluids, but avoid all fluids with calories (soda, juice especially). Avoid carbohydrates. And talk to the doc or get to see one soon.
I don’t know that insulin is necessary at this point, barb. Depends on if she’s already on oral agents, and which ones. 460 is high, yes, but not that high. A combo of metformin and glipizide could be all that’s needed to achieve something near normal ranges pretty quick.
Thanks- I feel better. She says she’s been taking it easy and drinking a lot of water, and just checked and it was down to 260. She promised that she will call the doc first thing in the morning.
I didn’t ask her what her readings were before, but she made it sound like they were normal before, then just have been really high since this accident. I know she checks it regularly.