Why Older People May Not Need to Watch Blood Sugar So Closely

Now Ora Larson is aware of what’s going on. “It feels like you’re rocking inside,” she said. “I’m being speeded up. I’m worried.” When someone asks if she wants a salad for lunch, she doesn’t know how to respond.

She has some such episodes this year, but it appears they come more often.

“She stares and turns gray, then she gets confused,” said her daughter, Susan Larson, 61. “It’s really scary.”

Hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose levels, or glucose, are too low. Readings below 70 milligrams per deciliator are accepted definitions. It can cause pain to those who use glucose-lowering medications to control their condition.

However, it occurs more frequently in older people. “If you’ve been a diabetic for years, you’re likely going through the episode,” said Dr. Say Lee, a geriatrician at the University of California, San Francisco.

Elder Larson, 85, had type 2 diabetes for decades. Now, her endocrinologist and primary care physician are concerned that hypoglycemia can cause falls, fractures, arrhythmia in the heart and cognitive damage.

Both advised to increase hemoglobin A1c, a measure of average blood glucose over several months, by 7%. “They say, ‘Don’t worry too much about highs – we want to prevent lows,'” said the young Larson.