My mom's blood sugar level is high in her recent blood test. Please suggest treatment options.

Question

Hello doctor,

As of today, my mother's fasting blood sugar levels had come up 123.2 mg/dl, and HbA1c is 6.5%. Average blood glucose is 140 mg/dl. In the blood test taken before three months, her fasting blood sugar was at 118 mg/dl, whereas HbA1c was 6.1%. She did not take any medicines but was under diet restriction. Before that, her blood sugar levels were not significantly high as of the above two.

She is 49 years old and taking Telpres CT 40/6.25 for high BP for the past few years.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I had a look at the report (attachment removed to protect patient identity). Her blood sugar levels are on the higher side (fasting, average levels). And her HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) is exactly at 6.5 %, which is the cut-off point for diagnosing diabetes. I could also see the increasing trend of HbA1c for the past three months. I wanted a few answers to suggest appropriately.

Did she have any symptoms? How is her appetite (increased or decreased)? How is her waterworks (urine) habits, is it increased or decreased? Does she wake up at night to urinate? If yes, how many times? Is there a change in her weight? If yes, how much and over how many days?

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

It looks like she has diabetes. Though not typical symptoms, her average blood glucose levels and HbA1c levels define it. We need to evaluate further with comprehensive blood and urine check-up. Let us do them six weeks from now. In the meantime, let her start tablet Glycomet 500 mg (Metformin) one in the morning, 15 minutes before breakfast. Once we have full blood and urine reports, let us review the medications. Let her continue her BP medicine (hoping her BP is in control). Also, she has to exercise or walk briskly for at least 20 minutes daily. Reduce the daily consumption of sugar to half of what she is taking now.

She has a frozen shoulder, common in people with high blood sugar levels (assuming she has no other ailments or trauma to the shoulder). It requires supervised shoulder exercises. Please visit a physiotherapist who will guide you further.