HELP! - Borderline Type II Diabetes or Possible Misdiagnosis?

[Miss_Amy_2009]

My 81 yr. old Dad was diagnosed with "borderline" Type II Diabetes about a year ago...Now, his new family doctor says that he doesn't need to bother with checking his glucose or sugar in his diet?  
There is NO CURE for diabetes, so is this a possible misdiagnosis that doctor's cannot admit? or something else?
Please share your thoughts with me...I'm confused and I'm not getting any answers elsewhere...

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

I reckon best approach would be to continue being vigilant with diet and monitor blood sugar from time to time to make sure things are still stable.

Much better safe than sorry, regardless of what your doctor says.  

Maybe he thinks things are not severe enough to warrant putting an old man on a diet and making him monitor blood sugar.

Really it's your and your Dad's call on how you manage this.  Doctors are not the be all and end all and their word is not God.  Follow your instinct on what you should be doing (which I suspect is sticking to a reasonable diet, and monitoring)....  We have to be proactive about our health and this is part of it.

Some people are told to follow a strict diet and they don't, with consequences.  On the ohter hand being told he no longer needs to follow a diet doesn't really make sense.

Continue to work with your Dad to make sure he follows a healthy and adequate diet.  Remind him it's as important to eat regularly and enough as it is to choose wisely what he does  eat.  Maybe you can help him come up with some basic meals that he can prepare and enjoys...  and have healthy snacks available for him.

Best wishes to you and your Dad.

[Miss_Amy_2009]

Thank you for responding. I appreciate the insight. It helps....Going to pursue an explanation...

Thanks again.

Amy :)

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

what you've told us about his blood sugar levels this is not  misdiagnosis.

Best wishes

S

[Miss_Amy_2009]

I agree. :) Thanks for responding...

Does anyone have any opinions about a possible misdiagnosis being a reason?

[WaveRider]

It puzzles me as to why your/father's doctor doesn't explain his reasoning behind ignoring diabetes control with your father. Whether you like him or not, doctors should always provide a reasonable answer to a patients question. When you leave his office, you should leave with a satisfactory answer with no doubts in your mind. When in doubt call the doctor's office and ask for a full explanation. If none is given go seek a second medical opinion.

Lastly, I wasn't aware of an age limit when it comes to controlling and managing ones diabetes.

[Miss_Amy_2009]

Thank you for your post... :)  

I agree with you about the management of diabetes being important at any age.. (I would think that since elderly people have so many other ailments..that it would be even more important to be on top of the diabetes to keep things less complicated (to avoid the confusion between complications and aging from occurring...which you mentioned in your post..

Now that my Dad's getting more independent, he's in now the one that is control of his own diet... not eating balanced meals as much...but still keeps his diabetes in mind....by using moderation....since his meals aren't balanced, I worry that he's eating less....

I"m not sure if my Dad's doctor is being careless...By our experience with him (he's my Doctor too) I wouldn't think so...we both like him very much and have never had a bad experience with him ....which is why I am here...asking if this is common...to find out if there may be another reason for him to tell us not to worry about the sugar....

Thank you for your feeback...I really appreciate the insight it has given me! :)

[Super_sally888]

Hi,

Managing diabetes is important whatever hte age.  Remember borderline diabetes (though bs of up to 150 < 160 with good diet etc is probably not so borderline) can progress to full blown unmanageable.

I would think the reason your Dad's blood sugar is considered good is becuase of the hard work you have been putting in with his diet etc.

Maybe you don't need to test BS so frequently (though regular testing still important), and combined with at least continuing with the diet that obviously works would be the way to go.

Complications of diabetes can happen at any age.  Complications of diabetes may be confused with "aging".  In my opinion it would be important to keep monitoring and following diet etc.  These are not things which are so restrictive or negatively impacting on quality of life.  

In older people it's even more important to keep everything working well as possible, because little things can tip the balance from decent to poor health.

Your doctor maybe thinks its not relevant at his age?!  If this is really the doctor's attitude, a new Dr is called for.  People can live well and healthily to their 90s and 100s and that's not by ignoring any health issues, it's by dealing with them head on.

Best wishes to you and your father.  He is a lucky Man!

[Miss_Amy_2009]

Thank your for your compliment on my caregiving..I appreciate it.

I did ask "not worry about it?" "he can just eat whatever he wants?"..the doc said "yeah"....prompting for an explanation but received none....but I'm having a difficult time understanding why a doctor would tell a diabetic he can pretty much eat whatever he wants and not worry about the diet that he was on previously...that's the part that boggled me...I could understand if he wanted my Dad to continue the diet for control..but he was basically saying just forget about diabetes...

The only thing that I can assume is two-fold:
1. due to his age and late diagnosis of "borderline" diabetes
2. possible misdiagnosis (that would never be admitted)


Your thoughts?? Is this common due to liability and/or old age/late diagnosis???

[WaveRider]

"A few months ago, the Doc said that he didn't have to check his glucose anymore..."

First, your dad is lucky to have a daughter like your who cares so much about his well being. And, thanks for enlightening us on your father's prior condition along with his current levels. That provided a much better picture than your first post.  I'm going to put my neck on the line by assuming his doc is saying your post operative care, the nutritional diet you're providing your father is the best one can hope for at his age. To me an 81 yo male with an A1c of 6.1% is healthy. Others may come along and differ, but this is just my non-medical opinion.

"I was just wondering if this is common or not... "
The jury is still out on artificial sweeteners and diabetes, and probably will be for years to come. Me? I use Granulated Splenda (Sucralose) as its the closest tasting to sugar yet doesn't affect my glucose levels.

Have you ever asked the doctor to explain his "real" reason for you not to test your father's glucose further?

[Miss_Amy_2009]

Well, now that I've read your posts, I think I should tell you that he was diagnosed a year ago and before he could get his Metformin filled, he was hospitalized for other reasons...found out he had Colon Cancer..and other issues that made it complicated...

He was either in the hospital or in a recovery center before coming home to my care..During his time away, I put my hands on everything I could find in relation to Diabetes to learn more about it...

Once he came home after surgery that removed the cancerous mass...He didn't know how to address his diabetes...and wasn't on any medication for diabetes (Metformin was causing high potassium issues, which was affecting his heart rhythm).

During his post operative recovery time, I gave him insulin shots when needed..and I was in complete control over his diet and meal preparation...when he was strong enough, I showed him how to check his own glucose levels, give himself the insulin shots and told him everything that I had learned about diabetes....I continued preparing his meals for a year...

He was on a sliding scare 2units if over sugar was over 150....

I tried my best to control his sugar through his diet...and when he did go over 150..itw as just slightly and never hit 160....he never needed more than those 2 units.

I took him to the doctor regularly for check up and I demanded that they continue blood tests, etc. for other reasons...

A few months ago, the Doc said that he didn't have to check his glucose anymore...he still remained moderate with sugar intake..

A couple of weeks ago....his test results came back.

A1C = 6.1

(I believe that's a good result)

and he was told not to worry about it anymore...I asked about having more sugar in his diet and still was told "just don't worry about it"...

I was wondering if it was due to his age....and initial "borderline" diagnosis so late in life...etc...

He is still moderate as far as sugar goes...but then again..he's the type of person that was using artificial sweetener for years before he was diagnosed with diabetes...

I was just wondering if this is common or not...

I appreciate all of your feedback...It really helps! Thanks!

[dkknight593]

What was the basis of the first diagnosis?  Maybe his Fasting Plasma glucose test came back negative this time.

If he lived to 81 in relatively good heath obviously he's doing something right.  Maybe the doctor doesn't want to change a good thing?

[WaveRider]

Apologize for the double post. Using a new browser.

[WaveRider]

Ditto Zoelula. And to say "doesn't need to bother with checking" makes it appears as if he/she decided your father at 81 yo was not worth caring for. I feel a second medical opinion is warranted.
Good luck.

[WaveRider]

Ditto Zoelula. And to say "doesn't need to bother with checking" makes it appears as if he/she decided your father at 81 yo was not worth caring for. I feel a second medical opinion is warranted.
Good luck.

[Zoelula]

Many pre-diabetics can control their glucose by making changes in diet and exercise. Is this what your father was told to do? Has he done it? But it is important to see how the numbers are going to decide if it is necessary to add an oral medication. Do you know what your dad's blood glucose is or his A1C? That would be the first thing to know because then you have a baseline to see if it goes up.

His doctor says he "need not bother to check his glucose or watch sugar in his diet??" I would probably get another doctor. He needs more information. If he is pre-diabetic cutting out sugar in his diet is the minimum action he should take. Perhaps his doctor is not worrying about long-term complications at your dad's age. Nonetheless his health is important. I would ask for more information.