Diabetes at home is mostly routine: meals at steady times, medicine on time, feet looked after, and someone noticing when something is off. That routine is the first thing to slip when a parent lives alone or starts to forget.
In older adults, low blood sugar can look like confusion, shakiness or a bad mood, and it is easy to brush off as “just a bad day.” This guide covers what helps day to day, where our caregivers fit in, and the signs that need a call.
What helps day to day
- Meals and snacks at about the same times every day. Skipped meals are a common cause of low blood sugar, especially with some diabetes medicines.
- Food that follows the plan their doctor or dietitian gave, not a strict diet nobody can stick to.
- A written schedule for every diabetes medicine, and one person in charge of blood sugar checks and insulin. That can be your parent, you, or a home health nurse.
- A look at their feet every day, especially if they don’t feel them well. Small sores can turn serious.
- Fast sugar kept handy (juice, glucose tablets), with a plan from the doctor for when to use it.
What a week of help can look like
For example: Monday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Breakfast at their usual time
- Meals and snacks made ahead for the days in between, following their meal plan
- Reminders for pills at the times the doctor set
- A trip to the grocery store or pharmacy
- Help with a shower. If our caregiver sees a sore, blister or color change on their feet, they write it down and we let you know
- Light housekeeping and laundry
- A note after the visit for our office
This is an example. Every plan is built with your family at the assessment visit, and it can change as needs change.
What our caregivers do, and what they don’t
Our caregivers can
- Make meals and snacks on schedule, following their meal plan
- Grocery shop with the plan in mind
- Remind them when it is time for their pills
- Help with bathing and dressing, and notice changes to their feet or skin
- Watch for signs of low or high blood sugar and tell you and our office right away
- Call 911 in an emergency
Our caregivers don’t
- Check blood sugar
- Give insulin or any other shot
- Give medicine or change doses
- Do wound care or any nursing task
Before care starts, we will ask who handles blood sugar checks and insulin, so nothing falls through the cracks.
When to call
Signs of low blood sugar include shaking, sweating, a fast heartbeat, dizziness, hunger, irritability or confusion.
Call the doctor the same day
- Low blood sugar happening more often
- Blood sugar readings outside the range their doctor gave
- Not eating, or skipping meals often
- A sore, blister or color change on the feet that is not healing
- Very thirsty, tired and going to the bathroom a lot (signs of high blood sugar)
Call 911
- Not alert, or can’t be woken up
- A seizure
- Symptoms of low blood sugar that don’t get better after fast sugar
- Too confused or drowsy to eat or drink safely
Always follow what their own doctor told you first. If a caregiver sees an emergency during a visit, they call 911 and then our office, and we call you.
What to tell us at the assessment visit
Jot these down before we come. It helps us build the right plan the first time.
- Every diabetes medicine and when it is taken
- Who checks blood sugar and gives insulin
- Their meal plan, or what the doctor said about food
- Any recent low blood sugar, falls or hospital visits
- Problems with their feet or eyesight
- Foods they love, so meals actually get eaten
Help in Springfield besides us
SeniorAge, the Area Agency on Aging for southwest Missouri, runs home-delivered meals and senior-center lunches across the region, plus rides and caregiver support: (417) 862-0762. Our Southwest Missouri caregiver resources page lists more local help.
What it costs
Care is $30 to $34 an hour, depending on how much hands-on help is needed. Visits are usually 4 hours or more, at least 8 hours a week, with no deposit and no long-term contract. See our rates.
Want to talk it through?
Call us and a real person answers, day or night. We can come to the house for a free in-home assessment and build a plan with you, with no pressure to decide anything.
Call (417) 234-8494Request a free assessmentSources for the health information on this page:
This guide is general information from our team, not medical advice. Their own doctor knows them best.