Managing Type 2 Diabetes: How to Identify and Overcome Age-Related Obstacles
Specific problems older adults face with type 2 diabetes
There's no denying that an older adult with type 2 diabetes faces significant hurdles in keeping the disease under control. But with the expertise, support, and compassion of her healthcare team, caregivers, and family and friends, she can keep on track.
Increased insulin resistance. The body's ability to respond to and use the insulin it produces tends to decline as a person ages, even if an older adult isn't particularly overweight or inactive.
Symptoms that can be hard to recognize. Older adults with diabetes often don't recognize the symptoms of the disease. One sign of diabetes is increased thirst, for example, but older adults tend to lose their ability to recognize this sensation. And they may just chalk up frequent urination, another warning sign, to advanced age.
Symptoms that can be contradictory. When the person in your care does experience signs of type 2 diabetes, they may be confusing. For instance, she may feel tired, hungry, and shaky, which are symptoms of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar -- but these are also symptoms of hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar.
Physical complications. Older adults with diabetes often aren't diagnosed with the disease until an associated complication, such as vision loss, nerve damage, kidney failure, or cardiovascular disease, emerges, which suggests that the disorder may have been present for several years.
Complications from medications. Older adults are particularly susceptible to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, which can be triggered by medications, including drugs such as insulin that are designed to treat diabetes.
Memory loss. Coping with diabetes requires a reasonably high level of cognitive or mental function. A diabetes patient needs to follow a treatment plan that includes diet, exercise, medication, blood sugar testing, and other self-care measures. It can be hard to keep track of all that.
Dementia. Older adults with diabetes have a higher incidence of both Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, making it difficult for them to perform even routine complex tasks. Garden-variety memory loss associated with aging can also affect how well someone deals with diabetes.
