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My dad is 84 and was just diagnosed with type II diabetes. He is in a memory care. His NP put him on metformin. His fasting glucose is 120 and his A1C is 6.3.
He loves to eat so we agreed to giving him Metformin so we don’t have to change his diet. The metformin is giving him a lot of diarrhea. He was also prescribed immodium to take when the diarrhea occurs. He’s in bed today because of the diarrhea.
I messaged his NP to discuss alternative medicine, but has anyone else had something similar and decided not to treat? His numbers are still pretty low, and I’m worried about the constant diarrhea being a quality of life issue (and possibly a skin irritant even with diaper cream). He’s in the next to last stage of Alzheimer’s- wheelchair bound and incontinence but still talks a fair amount.

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Those side effects are terrible. Type 2 diabetes can be reversed or helped by eating a low carb diet. Reducing the carbs and sugar will lower that A1C number dramatically.

The other alternative is he is 84 with dementia. Let him enjoy his life and food and don't worry about his type 2 diabetes.

My two options are far better than his staying stuck in bed because of his diarhea.
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I am a geriatric provider myself

With his dementia and relatively low Hg A 1 C, he doesnt need to be treated for the Diabetes
The target A1 C for older adults, specially nursing home and dementia u it residents is as high as 8 or even 9 %

pls discuss this with his NP and ask her to d/ c the metformin

giving Imodium for metformin induced diarrhea is ridiculous prescribing cascade
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Courage726 May 2023
Thank you! We stopped the metformin.
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My mother always said she loved to eat "like a dirty hog". Her words, not mine. She dieted her whole life but pushed food on others to watch their enjoyment of it that she prevented herself from experiencing. After she went into AL, she started eating desserts and gaining weight. After she had to segue into Memory Care when her dementia got worse, I'd BRING her bags of chocolate and junk foods weekly. If her blood sugar spiked, who cared? Her one enjoyment in LIFE that was left was food. Far be it for me or her PCP to say she should be on another diet to extend her pitiful quality of life, or that she should take meds to cause diarrhea! I did nothing whatsoever to extend her life and instead prayed for God to have mercy and take her sooner rather than later. She died 1 month 2 days past her 95th birthday.

The facility your dad is in is run by idiots for making a med mistake of that magnitude. I'd take him off Metformin completely and bring him a bag of chocolate truffles. But that's me. Let him leave this earth with a smile on his face in the last phase of AD, cruel as it is, and enjoy himself a bit. No PT, no nothin. Nobody's fixing this.

Best of luck to you.
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Courage726 May 2023
We did take him off. He’s on a no concentrated sugar diet, so sugar free dessert, but I will still bring him some occasional treats. He loves fried chicken and I bring him some once or twice a month.
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Is there really even a point in monitoring diabetes in a person with such late stage Alzheimer’s? Besides selling more Metformin I mean? It kind of seems cruel to me but idk.
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MeDolly Apr 2023
I agree, my father had diabetes for at least 30 years, (runs in his side of the family, men only), later in life they pushed and pushed him to go the injection route, I was totally against it.

He finally gave in at age 82, he hated doing it, it made him a nervous wreck.

He died at age 84, after he started the injections, his body just broke down, I feel that the injections had something to do with it. He was just too old for this change.
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My personal opinion. Say no to metformin or any meds for diabetes at this point. Don't understand why he's on metformin at 6.3??
Quality of life isn't continual diarrhea.
Thanks for being Dad's advocate !🥰
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Since the med is giving him the runs, I would discontinue it ASAP. If it were my mom (she's 80), I would not give her meds that made her life even more horrible than it already is with mid level dementia. I would also not try to control her eating to keep her numbers low because she would hate it. I would consider getting a hospice evaluation or at least palliative care as that can shift the way he is treated.
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Courage726 Apr 2023
He’s got palliative care now. I messaged them today for their advice too.
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Personally I would not treat diabetes when in memory care unless the blood sugars were high enough to cause coma! Diarrhea and dementia is miserable for everyone. These drugs are harsh {retired health care professional speaking}. Perhaps start hospice to stop the meds. Ps look at research an a1c of 7 is very acceptable for the elderly!
Good Luck.
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Courage726 May 2023
We stopped the metformin. Thank you! Hopefully The diarrhea stops soon when it is out of his system
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120 fasting and 6.3 A1c why is he on any drugs? I question this decision, makes no sense to me.

Why add to his misery? What is NP trying to accomplish he has Alzheimer's and other medical issues, there is no way I would agree to this.
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I have mixed feelings about treating. given the advancement of the Alzheimer's and the problems he is having.
And it might be that he may actually be better monitored and cared for in Skilled Nursing rather than Memory Care for the very reasons that I mentioned in my comment to "Chris101" below.
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Courage726 May 2023
Thanks! I’m looking for a SNF
now
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Is this a recent diagnosis for your dad?

Is there any way you could find an endocrinologist to have a telehealth appointment with you and dad to discuss his blood sugar numbers and his current medication? I'm sure the NP is doing what the recommended treatment says to do, but it might be in your dad's case for his general overall health, age and life expectancy his numbers pre-metFormin were fine. An endocrinologist would have a better idea about treatment options for your dad's condition.

The older someone gets, the more dangerous hypoglycemia becomes, which, I'm sure, is why metFormin has been prescribed, because it rarely causes dangerously low blood sugar levels. The down side is the digestive issues it can cause. Maybe dad doesn't need to be on such a high dosage in order to keep his levels in acceptable territory.

Good luck!
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Courage726 Apr 2023
I’ll see if I can find one, thanks for this idea!
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