We have a friend with diabetes, and if it gets out of whack, he does need professional help to get it back in line. Sounds like his insulin regime may need adjusting.

I found this. The target should be around 100.

I’m diabetic and those values would be DANGEROUS for me! And with vomiting, etc? Are you kidding?? Rush him to a doctor. How is he now?

Fasting range is 90–110. Non-fasting should be below 250. Over 400 is stroke territory. Being sick will elevate the levels but the medical staff should be monitoring him. The vomiting could be causing the high levels, or the high levels could be causing the vomiting, at the very minimum he needs an A1C test.

Dude, I work in a diabetic unit only as an administrator but I know enough to know that’s not good AT ALL , you should definitely get him to a doctor ASAP, vomitting and lethargy on top of seriously high blood sugar levels… That’s really dangerous, it can definitely lead to other more severe problems… Even though he takes insulin, it could put him into a hypo if you administer too much..

How can someone not let you take him to the medical unit?? Inmate or no inmate, that’s ridiculous!!

You need to get him to a doctor NOW!

I have the day off today, not sure how the inmate is doing. Thank you very much for verifying my fears. Another officer and I were the “squeaky wheels” and kept pestering our supervisors. The inmate was moved to medical.

As far as the medical staff… harumph! I had a heart attack at work and they diagnosed me with stress and told me to relax a while. I nearly died. So I knew I couldn’t rely on them for diagnostic skills.

And of course, it’s not a wise career move to ‘assist a felon in an escape’, so calling 911 wasn’t an option for me.

I’m a Type II Diabetic and when I was first diagnosed, I had a blood sugar level of 396 and a Hemoglobin A1C level of 15 and that was enough to make the triage nurse very concerned.

The 470 to 540 levels you are talking about with your inmate are terribly high and dangerously unhealthy and prompt medical care is the only answer to help solve his problem.

The medical department wasn’t too concerned?!! They should have been!!!

Good job getting him transferred!

WOW! and he’s still alive??? That is a medical emergency as far as I’m concerned. We’re talking diabetic shock if this isn’t treated. There is a book out there called the Diabetic Bible. If you can get your hands on it the book tells you everything that one would learn in the Diabetes Education class that you take after being diagnosed.

I’m not a diabetic nor am I a medical professional, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this person needed to be attended to immediately! You & your other co-worker need to stick together to watch for things like this, as it doesn’t sound like your “medical department” is going to. How scary!!!

I take it your medical department believes in capital punishment?

My husband is a diabetic and I have been told to keep his sugar readings below 220 and above 70. Any higher (or lower) and I am supposed to call his doctor ASAP.

The critical nature of this glucose level hinges somewhat on whether the patient has type I and type II diabetes. Individuals with type I (insulin dependent, or, juvenile onset) diabetes can develop diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in the setting of a relative absence of insulin. These people can deteriorate rapidly and die. Conversely, people with type II diabetes (or insulin resistance) can tolerate high glucose levels, often without consequence. However, at glucose levels >600 (and often >1000), these patients can develop a hyperosmolar nonketotic state (HNNS) which can also be serious and/or life-threatening. I agree that the individual you described needs a thorough medical evaluation. In either case, DKA or HHNS, something brings this one (infection, heart attack, fever, dehydration, etc.). So, I would continue to push for a medical visit.

Good work getting him to see the medical unit..

Hopefully the guy is doing better..

my husband is a diabetic and it is so frustrating because when I am not around him he eats stuff he not supposed to eat. He is 49 years old and tonight he could hardly keep his eyes open and when I would talk to him he would not make sense so It hit me like a brick wall..his sugar must be high so I took his blood and it was 396 so I gave him his humalog and I am watching him close and letting him have a piece of my mind. I need to know if anyone knows of a website I can go to that he can look at to make it clear to him that this can kill him. The doctors have told hims everal times that this is not a joke but he will not listen and I swear if he does not start taking care of himself and something happens to him I will be so angry with him. Please help me find a website that he can go to to read up on this. Thank you

@lujanluvshugs – I don’t know about a website, but I can tell him what has happened to my husband because of not taking better care of himself and his diabetes.

As a result of uncontrolled blood sugar he has had to have an angioplasty and then a quintuple bypass. He has coronary artery disease still, which must be monitored frequently.

He has lost all the vision in one eye and much of it in the other due to diabetic retinopathy. He can no longer read or drive, but can watch TV now that we have gotten him a 42” screen.

He can no longer feel his feet, which is actually an improvement because while the nerves were being damaged his legs and feet would tingle and burn. He has been hospitalized three times for foot ulcers. He also has reduced blood flow to his hands and feet (peripheral artery disease) which has caused him to loose much of the use of his right hand, and puts him at great risk of gangrene and amputation. In addition, his sense of balance has been damaged so he must use a walker or a wheelchair. He can no longer go upstairs in our house.

His gall bladder became gangrenous and ruptured, putting him in a coma for three weeks. This is a common problem for diabetics.

While his kidneys were struggling to keep working he had repeated bouts of congestive heart failure and was hospitalized. He can no longer sleep lying down, but must sleep in a recliner. His kidneys have now failed completely so he is on dialysis three times a week, four hours each time.

Another effect of kidney failure is loss of appetite. My husband played football at a weight of 265. After football he dropped to 224, where he stayed for many years. In the past year he has gone from 224 to 176, because he has no appetite.

As a result of damage to the nerves controlling his digestive system he developed an intestinal blockage, which caused his potassium level to rise to 7.9 (normal is 3.5–5.0, and 7.9 is considered “a level incompatible with life”), and which resulted in his being hospitalized for 5 days before Christmas.

I just got him back out of the hospital today. They had to do a 2-part surgery to create a fistula where dialysis can be done. Until it heals he has a pair of plastic tubes put into his carotid artery for use by the dialysis machine. This means he has a direct path for bacteria to enter directly into his main circulation. As a result he is no longer allowed to take showers, but only careful sponge baths.

My husband is 67 and will never be able to travel in retirement as he had hoped to do. He may see our daughter graduate from high school this coming June, and he might see our son graduate in 2013. I doubt that he will see our daughter graduate from college, and he certainly will not walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

Print this out for your husband to read and PM me if you want more details. All of his problems are the result of not controlling his blood sugar levels.

On the good side, I now know the floor plans of all the major hospitals in our town, and where is the best place to park at each one depending on whether he is being admitted, has come to the ER by ambulance, or is being discharged. I also know how to give injections, how to do CPR, how to recognize the symptoms of a variety of serious illnesses, and how to keep track of 21 different medications, some of which are once a day, some twice a day, some four times a day, and some as needed.

We also know a lot of nurses, EMTs and doctors by their first names, and always get lots of mail, from insurance, from hospitals, from doctors, and from medical supply companies. I also no longer need a hobby to fill my empty hours because I have none.

Also, the walnut-chicken salad at one hospital’s cafeteria is really terrific. I recommend it.

His symptoms of lethargic, vomiting, etc and with such a very high blood sugar level, indicate for ketoacidosis, which is very serious and life-threatening condition. Apart insulin, supportive and other medications should be used.