Dad diagnosed with Diabetes?

[RN_BSN09, RN]

Hello fellow nurses~

My dad recently told me his Doctor told him he has diabetes at his physical. I asked him what his fasting BS was, and he doesn't remember, but plans to get copies of all his labs. Anyway, the Dr. prescribed metformin. He's supposed to go to an educator in the next week to get a glucometer and diet advice, etc.

I've had many patients with diabetes on telemetry... but all of them have other chronic problems, and weren't "newly diagnosed".

My dad is very healthy, he is 66 years old, never been hospitalized other than a nose surgery and broken ribs. He's not overweight, very physically active other than when he has gout flare ups. Never had high blood pressure, except this one visit (they did not check manually) and then prescribed Lotensin. His LDL was a little elevated, and HDL a little low... so he prescribed Lipitor. All other labs he said were fine, including liver enzymes and creatinine.

He could fix his diet a little, by eating less salt and smaller frequent meals. He tends to eat a big breakfast, have a few beers, and then a large dinner... a habit he grew up with working on a farm.

I just find it somewhat odd the Dr. prescribed metformin already after one fasting sugar... I would think he would want to find out more blood sugars, and see what his sugars are doing first. Same with the BP medication... but maybe the doc is being cautious d/t my dad's age? I understand why he prescribed the Lipitor, but feel like he jumped to Rx the other 2 meds.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, just concerned for my dad. Should he get a second opinion? I told him to start monitoring his BS as soon as he gets his glucometer, and to check his BP at least weekly. What do ya'll think??

[MunoRN, RN]

We can't really give you medical advice, so avoiding anything specific about your dad, in general diabetes diagnosis and an overall treatment plan is based on A1C's these days, and less on a single fasting blood sugar. Spot checks of blood sugars are used more for adjusting dosages and the timing of the various medications and insulins a diabetic might be on.

[RN_BSN09, RN]

I don't expect you all to diagnose him for me... any tips would be helpful. If he were a close relative of yours, what would you do or what advise would you give him as a nurse or family member?

Thanks MunoRN for reminding me of the Hgb A1C! I'll have to ask if he had that lab test.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Recently Diagnosed - American Diabetes Association

from the National Diabetes Association.

As above poster mentioned - we can not provide specific advice. There may be other factors involved.