Help with my mother. Diabetes and physical weakness

82 year diabetic old woman, 1.66m tall, 66 kilos (145 pounds) from Argentina

Symptoms

• Left foot: stiffness (since last year), especially in bed. Gets relief by putting her feet in warm water.
• Left leg (started 2 years ago): pain while walking. Get better by heat or taking ibuprophene.
• Now she is physically weak but mentally well. Usually she is in bed or sit in the living room listening to the radio or watching the news. Only moves to go to the bathroom or between the living room and her bedroom. She only tries to do some exercise with her feet to avoid the stiffness.
• Stubborn about meals to eat: wants to eat meat every day and usually rejects raw salads and fish and gets angry when trying to convince her of eating them. Not easy to please about food, which is why all her complaints and irritability are especially about meals.
• She likes sweets and pasta, but she has learned to avoid them because of her diabetes, although sometimes she wants them.
• Likes drinking mate (yerba), coffee and tea.
• A religious woman. She used to go out every day to the church although she could not walk more than 3 blocks (she got exhausted). Since this year she cannot go out alone as she gets tired easily and has stability problems, so she only goes out with me and takes a taxi to go to the church. Nevertheless, she has not gone out for the last month as she feels weak and tired.
• She usually talks about the country´s political situation (Argentina).
• Feels bitter about what relatives did to her many years ago. These relatives are dead or she never have seen them again, but sometimes she remind me about what they did to her.
• Dreams: not so often, but when she dreams is about her dead family: parents, sisters, husband.
• She likes reading about metaphysics, watching the news, going out to the church or to take a coffee.
• Very responsible about economy matters, she is the kind of person who takes care of the money, not spending it in luxuries or unnecessary things, probably because she was forced to do it when she was young.
• Suffers cold weather (the last 10 years), she needs heat and sleep with many blankets and a heater. When she was young it was the opposite: she used to like cold weather.
• She sleeps well at night but has to get up to go to the bathroom usually at 3am, 5am and 7am.
• Headaches (since last month): probably because of the medications. For instance, carnitine when was taking in the morning, but taking it after lunch it doesn’t cause headaches.
• In summary: Although she is not the kind of person who is usually sweet and charming, and sometimes she is irritable, she is a very loyal and responsible woman.

Health
• Diabetes type 2: started 25 years ago. Sugar levels betweeen 130 and 200 and using Glibenclamida 5 mg.
• Anemia (started 2 years ago): Red cells 3.67MM, hemoglobine 11.3. She has tried taking B12, B6 and folic acid but she gets a heachache which is why she suspended.
• Hypothyroidism (started 1 year ago) taking T4.
• Weight: used to have 80 kilos (145 pounds, 1.66mts tall) when she was younger, but during elderly she has lost weight, especially in the last 2 years, now is 66 kilos.
• Hypertension (started 10 years ago) : very high since last year, which is why she was depending on 2 medicines: losartan 50 mg (twice a day)and carvedilol 3.125mg (twice a day), but since last month after losing weight, the blood pressure is better depending only on carvedilol.
• Medicines: Glibenclamida 5 mg, T4, Carvedilol 3.125mg. Since last week: Resveratron 50mg, L-carnitine 500 mg, Alpha lipoic acid 100 mg, Vitamin E 400 mg, B3 500 mg,
[message edited by Estivill on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 23:38:36 BST]