Mom has AD. Stepdad has a bunch of medical problems one of which is diabetes. I check his glucose in the morning and administer--let me cut to the chase. I had to administer 20 units of Lantus, making an educated guess, because the doctor has not sent us the appropriate prescription of Novolin-N. His glucose was 305 so I was to administer 6 units of Novolin-R (that's right, R) but worrying about the high glucose, and thinking of how much he was going to eat today and raise his glucose further, etc., I grabbed the Lantus vial and filled a syringe with another 20 units. Only when I was injecting him did I realize what I'd done, but I'd only pushed the plunger administering about 5 units. I am not beating myself up. I am under crushing stress here. But I just wanted to share my error. This is the second time I've made mistakes with his insulin. Any feedback?

I'm sorry you are having a bad day on Christmas Day, like you, I'm having a bad day too. Good luck. I'd hate to deal with insulin.

Sorry! I didn't mean to imply I'm having a bad day. I'm not kiddin'! I'm having a good day. A very good day. My stepdad, who hates my guts--hmmm, unconscious attempts to murder him? Just kidding. He has hated me since he married my mother 50 years ago. That's the way it is. But anyway, my stepdad actually spoke to me today. Although he didn't say so, he liked the xenon flashlight I gave him. I just made an error and hoped people who know about diabetes, Novolin R, and Lantus would be able to tell me more. It was a very good day. Mom knew HOW to open her gifts, WHAT they were, and most astonishing of all, WHOM they were from! Last year she could do none of these three. When Mom is happy, I'm in heaven--and I don't believe in god! His glucose this evening was 390! So I guess the additonal 5 units of Lantus didn't hurt. Certainly didn't help. Gave him 6 units of Novolin R and he and Mom just went to bed, Mom looking lovely in her pale turquoise flannel floor-length gown (not a good thing for someone with Alzheimer's, and stairs to climb--gotta tell my sister about that, the one who gave her the gown), and stepdad climbing the stairs slowly, bent over with crippling arthritis. I feel so sorry for him. He is always in pain, always unhappy, always miserable. He staggered into the bedroom, and bumped into his bureau, his gait is so unsteady. I keep doing everything I can think of to help his quality of life improve. I take him to doctors for MRIs and two weeks ago he had a CT guided injection of cortisone in his lumbar spine to diminish the pain in his lower back (and we all know cortisone shoots our glucose through the roof). It had gone down, the glucose I mean, but it's up because he has been eating what he is not supposed to eat. Try to stop him. Any ideas? Suggestions? Comments? Please, make me laugh.

I administer my husband's insulin and have made errors in dosage before, even on occasion forgetting a dose. If you know the symptoms of hyper/hypo-glycemia and how to treat it you can usually correct the error fairly easily. If you think you overdosed, check sugar again in 30 minutes. (I bet you know all this stuff!) Hospitals have even made errors in dosing my husband's insulin. It happens to us all, and I haven't killed him yet! (My mom's the one with AD - my husband just has diabetes, CHF, a pacemaker/defibrillator, and combat PTSD. So I understand stress.)

Dear Mommie Dearest: Whew! Thank you! Although I've read a lot about diabetes, I never read anything about under or overdosing with insulin, etc. Yes, I do know the hyper/hypo symptoms and the man is not only alive and kicking, he's kicking hard. You have allayed my fears. I love it: ". . . just has diabetes . . . " How do you find the strength? I'm signing up for caregiver support group meetings again. I'm messing up giving the meds to Mom. This morning the home attendant told me I had forgotten to insert the furosemide and Coreg into her evening slot in the pill box. (I corrected that.) I forgot there are meds to be picked up at the pharmacy. I picked up a boiling hot pan with my bare hand. (Put it in the freezer and now it's fine.) I've been better. I've been worse. At least I know where to go, and the AMB (Alzheimer's Message Board) has saved my life. Thanx Mommie Dearest. You're a good woman.

Saribet,

Given the significant amount of time and energy Alzheimer's caregivers devote to their loved ones, it's not at all surprising that caregivers often fail to acknowledge and address their own needs. As is often suggested, please don't forget to take care of "number one" - physically, emotionally, socially, and however you know best. And please give yourself the credit that you rightfully deserve - not only for the care that you provide for your own loved ones but for the insight and support that you've provided to others in this forum. Please feel free to call us at 800-272-3900 if we can offer any additional assistance.

Jin K: Thanx for your response. I have already contacted The Association to re-join the local support group which I attended two years ago. The person who can help me, Wendy Panken, is on vacation until next week, so I'll call her then. As I said in my initial entry, I am not beating myself up because of these errors. I understand. Again, thank you.