Diabetes Advice For The Elderly: Relax

Diabetes is now a household name. It is the most common ailment traced in elderly people. Being known as “the silent killer”, this disease has managed to create a threat to the entire World. The elderly generation are genuinely worried about this disease as it can affect them anytime. But, the truth is, if you follow certain lifestyle patterns, you will surely be able to cope up with the disease. This blog is dedicated to the elderly people who are anxious about diabetes.

According to Dr. Medha Munshi, director of the geriatrics program at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, the olderly people have the right to worry about diabetes. But, she asks them to relax a little. Sometimes quality of life is more important to cure diabetes. Treatments and their risks and benefits play out differently in the elderly population, she noted in a recent interview. Diabetes is rarely the only ailment affecting people in their 70s and 80s. Most must cope up with several chronic conditions, along with their associated medications. That, of course, makes keeping blood sugar at reasonable levels a complicated business. But, you must remember, treating diabetes too aggressively can make seniors more prone to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. This condition can be more dangerous for frail older people with multiple conditions than high blood glucose readings. “If it goes too low, it can aggravate existing medical conditions like heart disease and cognitive disability,” Dr. Munshi said.  Depending on which medication is prescribed, “it can make people dizzy, so it increases the risk of falls and fractures.” A 40-year-old who falls will probably get up uninjured, she said, while “an 80-year old can be harmed by the treatment of disease itself.”The serious complications of diabetes commonly develop over decades. Another reason to treat diabetes differently in older people is that they may find it increasingly difficult to manage the daily monitoring, medications and dietary requirements. “No other disease requires as much self-care,” Dr. Munshi said. There are some complications that can make diabetes routine more challenging, like, cognitive impairment affects decision-making and memory, depression makes patients less able to handle self-care, worsening eyesight that makes it harder to use glucometers or syringes. “If we give patients complex regimens, they won't be successful” and will make errors, Dr.Munshi said. However, if some old patients are alone at home and forget to take midday medications,then, a medical team may devise a different schedule or prescribe a combined insulin dose in the morning, using a longer-acting formulation. But the good news is that the olderly people generally did a better job at meeting their target glucose levels than younger groups.

To give diabetes a blow, exercise is crucial, but older patients have more trouble getting outside or to gyms and that may fear falls. “They think they have to walk fast for 30 minutes,”  Dr. Munshi said. She urges them to start by walking inside their houses for five minutes before each meal. Geriatric medicine involves compromises and balance. It may not be the best way to treat diabetes, but it's the best way to treat the patient. According to Dr. Munshi if the olderly people have some ill-advised snacks, then, let them have it. She is fairly tolerant of these. She said of her elderly patients “It's just not one disease they're dealing with. It's life.”