DEAR ABBY: My best friend, who is 54, has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 9. She takes two insulin shots a day — one in the morning and one in the evening. We live together, and at night her blood sugar drops pretty low. I can tell when it’s happening because she becomes unresponsive. Twice she has had seizures that resulted in 911 calls.
I have begged her to please try adjusting her insulin dosage so it doesn’t happen again, and she says she will, but it’s still happening. I don’t want to act like I know more about her condition than she does because I don’t. When it happens, it’s really scary, and I am worried she will die. I’ve told her this, but she keeps doing the same thing. What can I do? — CARING FRIEND IN CALIFORNIA
DEAR FRIEND: You are a wonderful friend, and your concerns about your best friend’s health are understandable. I ran your letter by Dr. Robert Gabbay, the chief science and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association, who had a lot to say. I found it educational, and I hope you and other readers will agree:
“Abby, people who have had diabetes for many years sometimes lose their ability to tell when their blood sugars are low. There are a number of ways to deal with the situation, but the most important for her friend is to talk to her health-care provider.
“Things can be done to help her. One of them would be to equip her with a glucose monitor, which measures blood sugar continuously and warns when blood sugar is starting to get low so that she (or you, if you are there) can administer fast-acting carbohydrates.