My mother's type 1 diabetes question

[alishia328]

My mother has been diabetic since she was little. It has gotten a lot worse the last few years. She hasn't been taking her insulin when she is supposed to. She can go weeks without taking it because it has made her lose a lot of weight since she stopped (123 lbs.) She recently starting having a lot of problems with her legs and her back. They have done MRI's on her and found nothing. She doesn't tell her doc that she doesn't take it anymore, but she tells him about all of the severe pain where it's going numb and hurts all of the time so he gave her some pain pills. Which makes her so loopy she can't walk. Does anyone know if her not taking her insulin has anything to do with her lower back and legs causing so much pain? We are trying to figure something out so we can explain to her how important it is to take it.

Thanks
Alishia

[Scratch]

I'm surprised her doctor hasn't thought to check on how well is she controlling her condition, since lack of control is implicated in so many complications.

Maybe you ought to see about telling her doctor that she's not taking her insulin.

Of course I'm also thinking she needs a better doctor anyhow.

[princesslinda]

Welcome Alishia! Your mom is lucky to have such a caring daughter. I'm T2, so I can't speak from any personal experience, but I would think that some of her pain could be caused by neuropathy, which can often resolve with better blood sugar control. I think i'd be even more concerned over what her quitting her insulin for periods of time would be doing to her kidneys and her eyes.

I know when my blood sugar levels were quite high, I couldn't think clearly...it may be that your mom has that going on as well. Hopefully you and the rest of your family can impression upon her the importance of keeping her blood sugars at the best level possible, so she'll feel better and have less risk of complications later on.

All the best,
Linda

[alishia328]

She does have neuropathy. Her doctor thinks that she is taking all of her medicines because when she knows shes going to the doc she will take it for a few days then quit after. She is actually my mother in law (like a mom though) so if I say anything it always comes back as if I'm starting something. I've have spoke with my husband about calling her doctor and he said he's going to. But now she is saying she is switching docs to find out whats wrong, even after 3 hospitals have done MRI's and scans and all kinds of tests and found nothing. On top of everything else she eats so many sweets all day long and the only food she eats is from McD's. I have tried to talk to her with no success. Her kids have tried to but nothing. Her eyes are also getting really bad too. They have determined she is legally blind without her glasses. I have found a few sites that have information about diabulimia so I'm going to send it on.

Thanks so much
Alishia

[princesslinda]

You should see who she has listed on her HIPPA form as an emergency contact or someone the office can speak with on her behalf and have that person call the doctor and speak with him about all that is going on, though I suspect this won't help, but he'll at least know he is dealing with a very non-compliant patient.

Bottom line, her health decisions, though they affect all of you, are HER decisions and if she choses not to take care of herself, unfortunately there's not much you can do for her. I understand where you're coming from, I went through the same type things with my mother (though she was a T2). It's very hard to watch someone not take care of themselves and be powerless to stop it.

I'm truly sorry you find yourself in this situation. If you think it would help, mention the forum to her and have her take a look at some of the posts.

[catgalla]

Unfortunately, Princesslinda is right about it being her decision even though I'm sure you just want to shake her and say "WAKE UP!!!" I'm surprised though that when she goes to the doctor and takes her insulin for just a few days that her a1c doesn't come back high. Do you know if they're testing that? That would tell him right there that something's wrong. She can't fool that.

My ex sister in law is the same way. She never took care of her diabetes and had a triple by pass. Now her kidneys are failing and she has bad neuropathy but she still doesn't take care of herself. I don't understand how they do it but some people would rather let the bad stuff happen than to prevent it. Good luck and keep us posted. :o