Diabetic patient self-medicates with unknown drugs, leading to coma.

Fearing COVID-19 infection, diabetic patients skipped follow-up appointments. In particular, some patients arbitrarily stopped taking their prescribed medication and used an unknown, unverified drug, leading to coma and worsening of their condition.

Today (April 28), Dr. Tran Minh Triet, Department of Endocrinology, University Medical Center of Ho Chi Minh City (UMC Hospital), said: Patient LNH (50 years old, residing in Binh Duong) has been diagnosed with diabetes for more than a year.

Recently, fearing COVID-19 infection and realizing he was at high risk due to his chronic illness, Mr. H. skipped his follow-up appointments. Furthermore, he arbitrarily stopped taking his prescribed medication at the hospital and instead used an unproven medication recommended by a friend.

For nearly a month now, Mr. H. has been feeling tired, losing weight, and experiencing excessive thirst.

After experiencing these symptoms, Mr. H. continued to endure them without going to the hospital for examination due to his fear of the epidemic.

As his symptoms worsened, his family noticed his health deteriorating, with signs of impaired consciousness, lethargy, and slow reactions, prompting them to take him to the emergency room at the University Medical Center.

Doctors diagnosed the patient with hyperosmolar coma. This is a dangerous, life-threatening acute complication caused by excessively high blood sugar levels.

The patient was then treated at the Intensive Care Unit and the Endocrinology Department of the University Medical Center.

After a week of treatment, the patient's health gradually recovered and they were discharged from the hospital.

Dr. Triet warns that mistakes in self-care for diabetes patients can lead to many dangerous complications. Therefore, patients should follow their doctor's instructions and prescriptions, proactively acquire knowledge from official sources to achieve treatment goals, and not arbitrarily stop treatment or switch to treatment based on "word-of-mouth" methods to avoid unnecessary mistakes.

University Medical Center organizes online consultation program: "Staying healthy at home for people with diabetes"

The program aims to provide knowledge about appropriate nutrition and exercise regimens for people with diabetes, as well as important considerations regarding medication use. Simultaneously, doctors will share useful information and directly answer patients' questions submitted during the program.

The program will be broadcast live at 2 PM on Monday, May 4th, on the Fanpage and replayed on the YouTube channel of the University Medical Center of Ho Chi Minh City.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/benh-nhan-dai-thao-duong-tu-uong-thuoc-la-dan-den-hon-me-185950968.htm