Question

The RN is caring for a 30-year-old violinist who makes his living as a touring concert artist. While on a European concert tour, he fainted on stage, was taken to a hospital, and subsequently diagnosed with Type I Diabetes Mellitus. The RN is teaching the patient about self-monitoring of blood glucose, dietary considerations, and insulin injections. The patient tells the RN that he cannot possibly manage this regimen, since he spends a lot of his life “in airplanes and on stages.”

Initial Discussion Post:

Address the following:

Discuss an approach the RN can take to assist this patient to understand his disease and comply with treatment.

What factors would the RN need to consider with this patient?

How might the regimen need to be adapted, based on this patient’s lifestyle?

Answer 1

Insulin plays essential role in maintianing the body glucose level.Insulin is a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy.Once a significant number of islet cells are destroyed, the production of insulin is little. Insulin is a hormone that comes from a gland situated behind and below the stomach (pancreas).Type 1 diabetes ,insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin.In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. The body breaks down the sugars and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose, which it uses for energy. Insulin is a hormone that the body needs to get glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. RN has to inform every particular detail of this problem to the patient, because treatment focuses on managing blood sugar levels with insulin, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications.

The patient should be more careful regarding what he/she eats, as anything may cause problem or worsen the disease. There could be replacement of some foods to avoid these problems as less intake of sugary substances or sugary drinks.Avoid the wheat bread and many carbohydrates foods. Daily walking for 20-35 mins may results in the improvement of the disease. It may prevent the health of the patient.