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Taking Insulin For Diabetes. Any Alternative To Keep Blood Sugar Low?
Question: My mother had a diebtic level of about 500 Mg/dl last week. Doctor recommended an insulin dose of 40 per day (not sure about the unit). 30 in the morning and 10 in the night. How can we reduce the risk factor and make sure to keep the blood sugar down? Can we at any time stop taking insulin?
Dear XXXXXXX
Your mothers sugar 500 mg/dl is very high. There are few things we would like to know first :
1.Since how long is your mother having diabetes ?
2. Is she taking any other medications other than Insulin ?
3. What is the name of the insulin she is taking ? (a two times a day insulin is generally something like a mixtard etc)
4. What is her HbA1c ? (glycosylated hemoglobin) - this is a test which tells us about your mother's diabetes control over a period of 3 months . Ideally it should be less than 7.0. If this test is not done by your doctor I would advice you get it done
5. Is your mother overweight or obese ?
Generally after some point of time many patients with diabetes do require insulin. However we generally try with oral medications first and if it fails we switch over to insulin. Some patients who have a good control and are taking proper diet and lifestyle measures , they can go off insulin , it can happen in some cases.
Before we go ahead with your mothers diabetes management, we need you to get the following tests done. If they are already done, I would advice you to send us the reports.
1. HbA1c (as discusssed above)
2. Thyroid function test
3. Lipid profile
4. Fundus examination (eye test) by opthalmologist
5. urine microalbumin (albumin/creat ratio)
Also I would advice you to get a glucometer and strips (they are relatively cheap nowadays range from anywhere between Rs. 1500- 3000). Please do the following blood sugar tests atleast 3 times a week for 4 weeks
1. Fasting blood sugar (before breakfast)
2. 2 hr post lunch
3. before dinner
4. At bed time
Please send the data of this and we would help you with the insulin dosage and other medications. Much of diabetes care nowadays can be done online.
Please follow the advice as mentioned above and send me the reports when they are generated.
With Warm regards
Dr. Om Lakhani, MD, PDCC (Diabetes)
Consultant Diabetologist
Your mothers sugar 500 mg/dl is very high. There are few things we would like to know first :
1.Since how long is your mother having diabetes ?
2. Is she taking any other medications other than Insulin ?
3. What is the name of the insulin she is taking ? (a two times a day insulin is generally something like a mixtard etc)
4. What is her HbA1c ? (glycosylated hemoglobin) - this is a test which tells us about your mother's diabetes control over a period of 3 months . Ideally it should be less than 7.0. If this test is not done by your doctor I would advice you get it done
5. Is your mother overweight or obese ?
Generally after some point of time many patients with diabetes do require insulin. However we generally try with oral medications first and if it fails we switch over to insulin. Some patients who have a good control and are taking proper diet and lifestyle measures , they can go off insulin , it can happen in some cases.
Before we go ahead with your mothers diabetes management, we need you to get the following tests done. If they are already done, I would advice you to send us the reports.
1. HbA1c (as discusssed above)
2. Thyroid function test
3. Lipid profile
4. Fundus examination (eye test) by opthalmologist
5. urine microalbumin (albumin/creat ratio)
Also I would advice you to get a glucometer and strips (they are relatively cheap nowadays range from anywhere between Rs. 1500- 3000). Please do the following blood sugar tests atleast 3 times a week for 4 weeks
1. Fasting blood sugar (before breakfast)
2. 2 hr post lunch
3. before dinner
4. At bed time
Please send the data of this and we would help you with the insulin dosage and other medications. Much of diabetes care nowadays can be done online.
Please follow the advice as mentioned above and send me the reports when they are generated.
With Warm regards
Dr. Om Lakhani, MD, PDCC (Diabetes)
Consultant Diabetologist
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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