Q: My mother is 47 years old. She weighs 57 kg and is 5 feet and 3 inches tall. She is a diabetic. She is also suffering from thyroid and high blood pressure for the past 13 years. Her blood sugar count remains in the range above 200. She has been under continuous consultation and has been taking insulin twice a day with a dosage of around 25 and more. She has been following all restrictions. But now that she is ageing, I am worried about her. What all measures have to be taken to keep her healthy?

A:I am sorry to hear that your mother is having difficulty with controlling her diabetes, although one cannot judge overall control by a single blood sugar reading, since the levels vary very considerably during the day, and one would really need a series of blood sugar readings to give a more precise opinion regarding her overall control. It is obviously important that she keeps a regular diet, that is three meals each day with small snack in between and one at bedtime to avoid hypoglycaemia. The exact dose of insulin has to be individualised and can only be regulated by her own doctor in the light of series of blood sugar readings. Control of blood pressure is equally important for her health in the long-term, and I assume that she already has this in hand. I do hope these comments will be helpful to her.