i wish i had something useful to suggest. some method of convincing a loved one to shed unhealthy habits and pick up good ones. it is such a common situation -- when we care deeply for someone who is putting their own health in jeopardy. almost eveyone experiences some form of this during their lifetime. parents worry about their teenagers putting themselves in risky situations. children of alcoholics or smokers. family members who don't take care of themselves. we wonder if their unhealthy habits will lead to serious illness or death that will take them from us prematurely or cause problems that we have to deal with or put us in a position of having to look back with regret that we should have done something to cause them to change. we've heard stories or seen movies where someone's behavior takes a turn for the better after an emotional conversation. either a pep talk or a crying session or a stern lecture etc. sometimes it actually works in real life. other times it just gets awkward or backfires. in my experience it usually backfires or leads to hurt feelings and resentment. however at least we can look back and convince ourselves we tried. my advice is to try for one of these intense conversations when the timing seems right. then you can at least live with yourself without wondering if you should have done something differently. tell her how it makes you feel and how it might impact you if she has a stroke or heart attack or goes blind or she ends up on dialysis or loses a foot because of her actions. learn how it makes her feel to have diabetes and to have to choose between the sacrifices of doing nothing and allowing her disease to progress vs. the sacrifices of making changes that are difficult and reduce the few sources of pleasure she might get in a typical day. you are both in a tough spot. i hope you can work together to find a way to move forward in a positive way.
my mother has type 2 diabetes. she lost 30 pounds and watched her blood sugar until recently. how can i address this?