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Medication therapy for 83 years old woman with diabetes

• Anonymous ORIGINAL POSTER
  Medication therapy for 83 years old woman with diabetes - Posted by Anonymous

  what is the best option for treatment for a 83 year old female with chronic UTI problems , A1C 7.5 - from what I learnt yesterday there should be no medication given to this pt for diabetes - do you agree? But the dr has started her on Merformin 500mg twice a day
• Samuel Grossman, BS Pharm, Pharm.D, CDE PROFESSIONAL
  Answered 11/21/2014 by Samuel Grossman, BS Pharm, Pharm.D, CDE

  According to the American Diabetes Association, elderly patients with chronic diseases like heart disease and a long duration of diabetes should have Hemoglobin A1c levels between 7% and 8%. Based on the information that you provided, this 83 year old woman has UTI, which is not considered a chronic disease. Metformin may cause stomach aches or diarrhea and should be taken with the last bite of a meal twice daily. If this 83 year old woman can tolerate the medication, she can give it a try to see if it will help improve hemoglobin A1c levels. I do recommend that she sample finger sticks before breakfast. If the finger sticks drop below 100mg/dL, you may have to inform the provider. The provider based on her finger stick logbook may have to decide whether or not to continue this medication.