Discussion:
Diabetes Case Study
1. Drugs for type-1 diabetes replace what substance that is not naturally available in the patient's body?
2. What is the difference between type-1 and type-2 diabetes?
3. What is the difference between how rapid-acting and long-acting insulin are used?
4. What might a doctor recommend for treatment to control Autonomic Neuropathy related to diabetes?
Case
Presentation: A 39 year-old (type-1) diabetic patient seeks advice from her endocrinologist when she starts having trouble regulating the dosage of her treatments. She presents with gastroparesis (nausea and bloating of the stomach) and urinary retention (inability to initiate urination).
Tests: The cranial nerve portion of a neurological exam reveals a loss of pupillary constriction and failure to abduct the right eye.
Diagnosis: A risk for patients with diabetes is the development of nerve damage, called Diabetic Neuropathy. Though a patient can have diabetes for a long time, damage to the nerves may not be evident until suddenly, symptoms appear. The exact causes of diabetic neuropathy are not known, but about 50% of all diabetics have some form of neuropathy, though not all will be symptomatic.