Maintaining a proper diet is essential for seniors with diabetes. Learn more about new recommendations from the Endocrine Society.The latest recommendations from the Endocrine Society about the elderly and diabetes are unexpected, to say the least: lower blood sugar is not always best. And for individuals who’ve been maintaining a routine of finger pricks, insulin injections, and careful track of food intake, this alteration could be a bit hard to swallow.
Referred to as de-intensification, geriatricians are now commonly taking the strategy with the elderly that the advantages to be achieved by striving for rigid blood sugar control aren’t outweighing the health risks inherent with aging and illness. When A1c and glucose levels are held at minimal levels in the elderly, for instance, it might possibly result in an increased occurrence of hypoglycemia and also kidney failure.
With as many as one in three seniors currently identified as having diabetes, these new recommendations are positioned to have an astounding impact on the treatment and management of the disease for the elderly, requiring a change in mindset for all.
And not unexpectedly, many older diabetics are reluctant to welcome this change. In one patient’s statement to Dr. Pei Chen, a geriatrician in the geriatric clinic at the University of California, San Francisco, “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. You don’t need to tell me what to do. I can handle it.”
The newest guidelines recommend an increase in A1c from 7 to 7.5% for the elderly who are in good health; and up to 8 – 8.5% for all with dementia, multiple chronic illnesses, or poor health. It’s crucial to note, however, that suggestions are highly personalized according to a range of factors, and that at no time should high blood sugar levels be dismissed in the elderly.
Home Sweet Home In-Home Care can help senior loved ones abide by doctors’ recommendations to control diabetes and a variety of other conditions with professional, customized, in-home care services for seniors. Just a few of the various ways we are able to assist include:
- Grocery shopping to guarantee the senior has lots of healthy food options readily available
- Meal planning and prep in adherence to any recommended dietary plans
- Transportation and accompaniment to medical appointments, tests, and procedures
- Motivation to engage in physician-recommended work out programs
- Medicine reminders to ensure prescriptions are taken at the proper time as well as in the proper dose
- And so much more!
Contact us at (269) 373-5444 (Kalamazoo, MI), (269) 763-5350 (Paw Paw, MI), (269) 849-9252 (St. Joseph, MI), or (269) 963-9888 (Battle Creek, MI) to inquire about our top-rated home care assistance in Michigan, and to schedule an in-home assessment.