[Lee73]

Hello,

(Sidenote: maybe there should be a subforum for caregivers [they are not always parents] of diabetics somewhere on this forum. Just a thought.)

Ok, it's been a while. I have been juggling being in two places at pretty much the same time. I live in NYC but spend half the week in Massachusetts helping to take care of my dad. It hasn't been pretty and I just need to vent a bit, I apologize in advance.
He needs help with everything....he can no longer walk and needs help getting out of chairs/wheelchair etc. He needs help going to the bathroom and taking baths etc. He needs help getting out of bed in the morning. Recently I have had a cash course in administering insulin (he was in and out of conciousness after a particularly rough dialysis session and couldn't do it himself) and I have also had to test his BGs on these occasions. He has a wound on his foot (at the heel) that is not healing and he is having that checked today. It has really been nothing short of full on chaos. I can't tell you how emotionally draining it is to watch my father deteriorate. I have formerly tried to stay upbeat about all of this, but lately I don't feel so upbeat.

Ok, well, enough venting for now.

A practical question:

Recently, when I administered dad's insulin I just did what I had seen him do before....hoping it was right (I know this is terrible, but he was unconsious and I was alone). At any rate it worked. I knew the units he needed to take (say ten) and pulled the syringe back to ten units, then pushed it back down (this get's rid of air bubbles, right?), then I drew ten units of insulin into the syringe and administered it. Feedback? Tips? Advice, anyone?

[HeatherP]

Hi Lee, I'm so sorry to hear that your father isn't doing well. Hopefully his condition will improve.

On injecting insulin,

1.You want to draw air into the syringe equal to the amount of insulin you'll be drawing out.

2. After injecting the air into the vial of insulin draw out some insulin then push it back in, which helps to get rid of bubbles and then draw out the correct dose. (okay to do this a couple of times if you need to in order to get rid of bubbles)

3. Insert needle into the skin (after prepping w/ alcohol) and draw back on plunger to ck for blood (don't know how necessary this is - insulin pens and such don't do this, but I was taught the old-fashioned way, lol) if no blood push plunger down thus injecting the insulin. I count to 5 before I withdraw the needle.

Best wishes,
Heather

[Lee73]

Hi Heather,

Thank you. I did just what you said....but I was working on panic, adrenaline, stress etc. so had many doubts and was thinking that even if I had done it correctly I wasn't sure if I could duplicate the process just because it all kind of happened so fast. Dad used to be on the pump, but these days he forgets to take his insulin...he may go back on the pump, but we're not sure. In the mean time we do it the old fashioned way (lol). Most of the time he can do it himself (when reminded), it is only after dialysis that he is too out of it and needs help.

Thanks again.

Lee

[JasonSmithMT]

If you like visuals the BD site has some fairly good info on how to inject insulin. See How to Inject Insulin

Jason

[gettingby]

Lee,
I'm so sorry that all of this is happening to you. Feel free to vent anytime, we all do it.
My grandmother had Parkinson's disease so I know what it's like to have to help someone do everyday things. It's hard to watch someone you love deteriorate right before your eyes.
Does your dad have insurance or Medicare?? The reason I ask is that you may be able to get some daily help for him and ease the burden some.
Like I said earlier, vent anytime. It's actually healthy for you.

PS You are doing a GREAT job. Hang in there.

[Lee73]

Jason,

Thanks for the link. The demo was great! I plan on showing it to my family.

Gettingby,

I am sorry to hear about your Grandmother. Yes, it is really awful to see the health, mind and body of someone you love dearly detiorate. Is your Grandmother living at home? What sort of care does she require?

My parents have insurance and currently, three days a week visiting nurses come to help us care for our Dad (they help with bathing etc.). The problem is this: my parent's insurance hinges on my Mom working full time. She could quit her job and apply for medicare or medicaid, but my Mom seems to be in a little bit of denial about just how much care my Dad needs. So, she continues to work....so my sister's and I pick up the slack. He absolutely can't be alone..unless he is sleeping. So, we make sure that one of us is there when my Mom isn't (which is quite often). We have tried talking with my mom, but....she just get's defensive. It is almost as if my Mom was convinced he'd be better...you know up and walking and fine....but he is not and the likelihood is that he will not get better, but worse and she just doesn't seem to be dealing with it...which leaves us to deal with a lot of the day to day stuff.

Sorry, this turned into another vent...but, that is the situation, it is a bit complicated. Thanks for listening...

Lee

[gettingby]

Lee,
I'm so sorry about your situation. My grandmother has passed on now (1989) but we did have to put her into a nursing home eventually. She got to the point where she would get out of bed at night and wander around. She lived with my aunt and stayed with us on weekends. My aunt awoke one night to find her sitting in a chair in the yard. . She did ok in the nursing home but she got pneumonia and died from that.
It sounds to me like your mother is in denial about the seriousness of your Dad's condition. Maybe you or your sisters could speak with his doctor about the situation and have him/her approach your mother about it. It's harder on every one involved for her to continue to deny the fact that he may get worse, not better. I'm not trying to bring you down but that's the reality of it all. Yeah, he could get better but IMHO it doesn't seem likely.
Don't worry about venting. Sometimes we all need to do it or your head will explode. Hang in there !!

[KickStart101]

Hi Lee: I'm also sorry to hear that your Dad is in such a condition. I'm
so glad that you and your sisters are a BIG HELP. I know he appreciates
it totally. I am surprised your Mom doesn't know how to give him a shot.
I made sure the guy I married wasn't afraid of Diabetes or needles. He read up on it thoroughly. Luckily, wth my RA later, I found I couldn't reach back anymore to give myself a shot in the butt, so he was more than Happy to cause me pain.
I sure appreciate what you and your Sisters are doing for your Dad although
hard as it is. Can he not get a visiting Nurse or V.O.N. in to visit once a day? My oldest Brother had gangarine in his big toe for a while so the Nurses went daily to change the dressings on his foot and test sugars and give insulin for him. We lived over 200 miles away so we could only make it in once a week, plus my Mom, once a week. My other Brother and Sister live near Toronto,Ont.. way too far. I hope your Dad is feeling better and the
Best To You. God Bless!

[Lee73]

Gettingby,

Please don't apologize for venting! I feel like that is all I have been doing for the past two days here, so absolutely no need to apologize to me about it.

I am sorry about your grandmother. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to care for her and to watch her deteriorate.

My father was actually in a nursing home for just a little over a month for rehabilitation. Well, the rehabilitation did not really work and it was time for him to come home. That is really when all the problems started. My Mom was adamant about having him home and my sisters and I were very worried. We knew it was going to be a lot of work (phsically and emotionally). Mom seemed to think it would be fine. Dad, of course is thrilled to be home (he hated the nursing home, referred to it as prison).

Well, every day it is something new.

Thanks again for sharing and letting ME vent.

Lee

[Lee73]

Hi Kickstart,

Oh yeah...you can't imagine my surprise that after forty years of marriage my Mom did not know how to administer my Dad's insulin. Surprise is actually a nice word for what I was feeling. Did I mention that my sister is also type 1 (so that means her husband and daughter are diabetic and she doesn't know how to give insulin in an emrgency). My head was spinning. The wierd thing is that my Mom has always been big into diabetes education in our family, so it never even crossed my mind that she didn't know how to give my dad his insulin. Her response was: "well, he always did it himself". AGHHHHHHHH

Well, I am glad your hubby is not intimidated by the prospect of causing you pain (LOL). To be fair, my Mom has been good about all of my Dad's care up to this point, she is not dealing well with the heaviness of this situation and I suppose this is a normal reaction to the very real idea of losing her husband. We are trying to be patient.

Yes, we do actually have visiting nurses. They are wonderful. They come three times a week for about an hour or so and help my father with baths and personal hygiene etc. Dad also has a wound on his foot and the dressings need to be changed twice a day, so they help with that and monitor how it is coming along. It is just hard, even with the visiting nurses because he needs so much help with everything. But well, before I go off venting again....

Thanks for the kind words.

Lee