Did Type 2 Diabetes Have Anything to Do With Taking My Father Away?

By Jan Chait Dad and my little brother were watching John Wayne movies one day last week when Dad gave a big sigh and, as quietly as that, passed over to a world where he could once again walk through his beloved woods, read the books he liked, and hold cogent conversations. His Type 2 diabetes hadn't been playing nice with him lately. Did that have anything to do with his death? Was it his age? He was 89, but my family tends to be long-lived: His mother was 96. The fact that he had normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which can affect gait, continence, and memory? How about the carotid arteries in his neck, which were narrowed to the extent that doctors feared attempting to open them? Maybe a combination of all of those? Whatever. A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail from my little brother, with whom Dad lived, saying he may have had a small TIA, or transient ischemic attack (also called a ministroke). And, oh, by the way, Dad had a teeny little bit of thrush (oral candidiasis, which is a yeast infection in the mouth), and his blood glucose was 388 mg/dl and wouldn't come down. Not to worry, "they" told Bro to give Dad another 5 milligrams of glipizide (brand name Glucotrol) to bring his glucose down. Didja ever just wanna bang your head on the desk and whimper? Just to make sure I had an inkling of what I was talking about, I called a CDE friend before contacting my brother to tell him that high blood glucose can cause a stroke and, furthermore, high BGs can cause thrush...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs