Where to find help for my Mom who's diabetic and can't self-inject herself?

If her blood sugar was LOW, injecting insulin is the wrong thing to do! She needs to check her sugar level before she injects anything! If sugar is normal, she doesn't need to do anything. If it's low, she should eat something; what and how much depends on how low it is. She should only be getting insulin if it's high. Insulin on top of low blood sugar could be very serious! I've been living with diabetes 2 for about 15 years, and it's not difficult if you understand it. My husband was diagnosed before I was, and I went through a series of classes with him, and did his sugar checks. He was on an oral med and didn't need shots. I was on it both a different oral med and shots for awhile, but after a major weight loss, a very low-carb diet and appropriate supplements I am now off of both the med and shots. It sounds like she needs to be under a lot better supervision if she's not able to monitor it successfully herself.

Is your mother not physically able to inject herself, or does she prefer not to? The pens are easy to use.

Could you tell us a bit more about your mother -- age, general health, health problems, how long she has had diabetes. I wondered why she was not able to inject her insulin if the syringe was prepared for her. People in AL communities might not be able to do the injection, but they should be able to dial the right amount of insulin for your mother. Injecting it is simple unless she is physically impaired. My mother injects hers in her tummy. Needles are short now, making it even easier.

It worries me that she had a hypoglycemic episode that ended up with her in the ER. Was it at nighttime? Many elders can have hypoglycemia at night that can be prevented sometimes by snacking on crackers before bed and having a bit of orange juice when they wake up if sugar is low.

Has your mother been to see a diabetic counselor recently? It might help her a lot, since she is in AL and not a NH. Medicare will pay for one consultation a year. It may help your mother to renew her education and maybe let a doctor adjust her insulin schedule if needed.

Wow. How often does she need the shot? Is it insulin or one of the new injectable drugs? Was she on this drug isulin when she moved in? Was she able to inject it herself then?

I am kind of wondering how she wound up in an assisted living center when she has critical needs they can't meet?

A nursing home could certainly meet this need. Perhaps an assisted living center with an RN on duty every day could meet it.

Can the director of nursing at the care center give you suggestions as to what kind of qualifications are needed (LPN? RN?) and where you might locate that? Is there anyone else in the center in the same situation who has hired someone?

Also ask the home health visiting nurse what resources are available to your mother. Leave a message to ask her to call you on her next visit.