I have a diabetic friend that is dehydrated due to illness...?!
Question: I have a diabetic friend that is somewhat dehydrated due to a recent bout of illness; my friend is about 50. I'm not too worried about my friend right now because she keeps her diabetes (Type 1) under control, and she has been drinking lots of fluids; however, my friend is so busy that she is unable to take much time to rest.
I'm just mainly wanting to know how I can help if she loses control of her dehydration.
I don't know if this is relevant, but her leg was jerking severely earlier.
Please provide a source for your answers, if possible.
Answers: I have a diabetic friend that is somewhat dehydrated due to a recent bout of illness; my friend is about 50. I'm not too worried about my friend right now because she keeps her diabetes (Type 1) under control, and she has been drinking lots of fluids; however, my friend is so busy that she is unable to take much time to rest.
I'm just mainly wanting to know how I can help if she loses control of her dehydration.
I don't know if this is relevant, but her leg was jerking severely earlier.
Please provide a source for your answers, if possible.
When a diabetic becomes dehydrated, they are at risk of developing serious complications including ketoacidosis, heart attack, stroke, and more. Please tell her to get to emergency and get her dehydration treated. She may not take it seriously, but she needs to!
I was advised that dehydration is extremely dangerous for any diabetic and that it should always be treated in hospital because it can VERY quickly turn into a life threatening situation.
Even if she drinks a lot of water, her body may not be able to normalize on its own because her electrolytes may be unbalanced, which can cause heart failure.
Please get her to emergency asap. The muscle spasms you are describing could be an early sign that this is already happening, or it could even be a form of seizure. She could go into a coma suddenly. If she refuses to go, please watch her closely and call an ambulance if you see any sign of her condition worsening.
Dehydration in diabetics is often the results of high blood sugar, which can be brought about by lack of good control through diet, exercise and insulin. It can also be caused by infections, such as the illness you mentioned, and also by vomiting and diahrea.
If you take her to emergency and they say she's alright, then no harm is done, but if you don't take her and she goes into a coma or seizures, or has heart failure, what then? Please get her to a hospital so they can check her level of dehydration and treat it, and check her electrolytes, and make sure she is not at risk.
http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/results...
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/...
Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic syndrome is a serious condition in which the blood sugar level gets very high. The body tries to get rid of the excess blood sugar by eliminating it in the urine. This increases the amount of urine significantly and often leads to dehydration so severe that it can cause seizures, coma, even death. This syndrome typically occurs in people with type 2 diabetes who are not controlling their blood sugar levels or have become dehydrated or have stress, injury, stroke, or medications like steroids.
You need to see a doctor and get a glucose tolerance test. That is a high fasting blood sugar and needs investigating...
People with Type 1 diabetes often find that their blood glucose numbers are more difficult to control when they are ill, and especially if they become dehydrated. Resting is not usually an issue - drinking enough fluids, doing frequent blood tests, eating and taking insulin are what is most important.
The best thing to do to help is to become informed about diabetes, particular the danger signs and treatment for both low and high blood sugar. If a diabetics sugars go wildly one way or the other one of the side effects can be that they are unable to identify or treat the problem themselves. This would be only in extremely low or extremely high numbers, which doesn't usually happen, but it would be nice to know. Check the American Diabetes Association website for more info.