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Posted 11/11/2006 4:48 AM (GMT 0)

My friend is in DKA for the fourth time. sad  I spent my whole day with her at the hospital.   

Have any of you had this same experience?

She had run out of insulin, and that in part is at fault and has been the past two times, but what else could cause her to go into DKA four times?! Is it stress? 

My friend is really trying to get her diabetes under control, and had even started an exercise routine, but you know how it is. If it's not one thing, it's the other.

Any thoughts would really help.

Posted 11/11/2006 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
Plain and simple, the causes of your friends problems are NOT taking her insulin, period.  Stress can cause blood glucose levels to rise but DKA is caused by simply not taking your insulin.

There is really no excuse for not taking your insulin as a type 1, unless you want to end up in the hospital and risk a fatal episode.  This is your friends THIRD TIME.  If she can't afford her insulin she should talk to her doctor ASAP as there are clinics and programs to get her the insulin she needs.  Again, there is NO EXCUSE for being in DKA THREE TIMES because you ran out of insulin. Once could be an accident, but 4 times DKA and 3 because of "running out of insulin"?????

Your friend might need to see a professional for some mental health issues in dealing with diabetes as perhaps there is some strong denial or other issues going on here that you may not be aware of.

I wish your friend a speedy recovery and we can always point you in the right direction if cost of her drugs is an issue here.  In the meantime, I would guess that the support you are showing her is something she needs.  Good luck

scool  Warren

Posted 11/13/2006 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
She did have assistance with her insulin. However, her husband makes 1% over the maximum allowed income, for the medical assistance she was receiving. And no, they can't afford insulin without insurance every week. She uses at least two types of insulin, one daytime and one at night. Each one is almost $100...That's expensive.

And I agree she does have some issues in dealing with diabetes, but this wasn't one of those times. The first time was b/c she couldn't accept having diabetes. But this time it really was b/c she didn't have medicine.

She has spoken with her doctors, but the only outlet there is is the clinic from which she was getting her insulin, who called her a few days prior to going into DKA.

It's really quite sad. It's not just her being neglectful of her disease. She didn't have the money for insulin, and unfortunately they don't give medicine away at the pharmacy. 

Although I am glad to say that she is home doing well and feeling much better. They gave her one bottle of insulin for this week. She should be okay from now on :-)

Also, she just found out that pharmacies have these different aid programs. Walmart or anywhere that you get your prescription filled, they have paperwork you can fill out and send out to see if you can get some help. One of the nurses informed her of this.

So I guess for now we're going to go on with our plans for a dinner party :-)

And by the way, I do believe this last time in DKA has been quite an awakening for her.

Post Edited (Toodles) : 11/12/2006 9:14:59 PM (GMT-7)

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