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If you’re feeling overwhelmed and fear your loved one may be close to the last stages of diabetes before death, know that there are resources that can help. This article has all the information you need about the symptoms of dying from diabetes. It also covers symptom management when death is imminent, how you can support your loved one with late-stage diabetes and the role hospice care can play.

What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. It happens when the body can’t produce insulin (a hormone that turns sugar into energy) or use it efficiently. Over time, this can lead to complications in the kidneys, heart, eyes, blood vessels and nerves.

There are two main types of diabetes: 

  • Type 1 diabetes: A life-long, autoimmune disease where the pancreas makes too little or no insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels
  • Type 2 diabetes: A chronic disease that develops after blood sugar levels are consistently too high, causing insulin resistance

End-of-Life Signs With Diabetes

In the last stages of diabetes before death, blood sugar can spike or fall to dangerous levels. It’s important to know the signs, so you can alert your healthcare team. Left untreated, these levels can cause life-threatening complications. These include heart attack, kidney failure, nerve damage, seizures, brain damage, diabetic coma and death.

Signs of High Blood Glucose Levels

Symptoms of high blood glucose levels at the end of life with diabetes include:

  • Needing to urinate more frequently than normal
  • Excessive thirst
  • Itching
  • Increased hunger
  • Recurrent infections, such as urinary tract infections and thrush
  • Fatigue and drowsiness
  • Blurred vision
  • Weight loss
  • Headaches
  • Numbness in the fingers and toes

What Causes High Blood Glucose Levels at the End of Life?

A number of factors can cause high blood glucose levels in late-stage diabetes patients. These include infections, a missed dose of diabetes medication, dehydratio, or side effects from another medication, such as steroids.

Signs of Low Blood Glucose Levels

Symptoms of low blood sugar levels at the end of life with diabetes include:

  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Shaking or trembling
  • Confusion and irritability
  • Nervousness or anxiety
  • Dizziness
  • Weakness

What Causes Low Blood Glucose Levels at the End of Life?

Low blood sugar levels during the last stages of diabetes before death can happen when the patient is eating less (a common symptom when the end of life is near) but still taking their normal dosage of medicine. 

Do Patients With Terminal Diabetes Qualify for Hospice Care?

To qualify for hospice care, a patient’s doctor must certify that their life expectancy is six months or less. A diagnosis of diabetes alone isn’t enough to meet this criteria. However, people with diabetes often have another condition, such as heart disease or kidney disease. This can reduce their life expectancy to a few months or less.

Untreated diabetes can also cause serious complications that require hospice care. These can include diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or kidney failure.

Managing End-of-Life Diabetes Symptoms

At the end of life with diabetes, keeping blood sugar at target levels is less of a priority. At this time, treatment goals focus on avoiding symptoms of hyperglycemia (too-high blood glucose levels) and hypoglycemia (too-low blood sugar levels). 

Can I Still Take My Insulin in Hospice Care?

Care guidelines at the end of life for people with diabetes call for less aggressive management. This can mean cutting back diabetes medication like insulin. While that may seem counterintuitive, it’s important to remember that care goals change when you enter hospice.

For example, typically the main goal of treating diabetes with insulin is to prevent long-term damage from consistently high blood sugar. But in hospice care, treatment focuses on managing the immediate symptoms of high or low blood sugar levels.

Less Appetite Means Less Insulin

At the end of life, it’s normal for patients to feel like eating less. With less food, continuing the same doses of insulin may actually increase the risk of low blood sugar. That can cause confusion, irritability, dizziness and weakness. Hospice emphasizes comfort, so your hospice care team may adjust your doses to assure this doesn’t happen. 

According to the latest guidelines, type 2 diabetes patients may reduce or discontinue insulin in hospice. The choice depends on their weight, appetite and glucose readings, as well as their own wishes. However, those with type 1 diabetes should never go without insulin, though their dose may change depending on their food intake.

Supporting a Loved One With End-Stage Diabetes

You may find it difficult to help a loved one dying from a chronic illness, but there are plenty of ways you can offer support. If your loved one has end-stage diabetes, be present with them. Respect their boundaries, but don’t be afraid of having honest conversations about their condition and their feelings about death.

It can be helpful for you or another family member to attend their medical appointments and ask questions about symptoms and treatment options. Watch for signs of excessively high or low blood sugar levels and update your loved one’s care team.

How Hospice Can Help With End of Life Diabetes Care

Hospice is a compassionate type of healthcare that brings comfort and a higher quality of life to those dying from a chronic illness. It can help soften the symptoms of diabetes at the end of life. Hospice also offers services for your loved one’s mental, emotional and spiritual health. You’ll access specialists like dietitians, physical therapists, nurses, counselors, home health aides and spiritual advisers.

Family members can also use hospice support, including caregiver assistance and bereavement counseling. 

Three Oaks Hospice Can Help

Diabetes is extremely common in the U.S., affecting more than 38 million people, or about 12 percent of the population. Three Oaks knows each individual has their own unique symptoms, challenges and care needs. 

Losing a loved one to diabetes is devastating to any family. While it can be heartbreaking, enrolling your loved one in hospice care will bring them comfort and relief.

Compassionate Care from Three Oaks Hospice 

We deliver compassionate care through personalized plans and interdisciplinary team coordination. With expertise in end-of-life care, Three Oaks helps loved ones stay secure, respected and cared for in the final chapter of life, right in the comfort of your own home or a healthcare setting. If you or a loved one requires the hospice services of Three Oaks, please get in touch. You can contact us online or find a local hospice near you. 

We Listen | We Care | We Serve

We proudly serve communities through:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are frequently asked questions about the last stages of diabetes before death.

There’s no set average life expectancy for diabetes. However, research finds a shorter lifespan than for those without diabetes. Those with type 2 diabetes diagnosed at 30, 40 and 50 die on average 14, 10 and 6 years earlier. However, meeting treatment goals like managing weight, blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol can increase life by 3 to 10 years. Those with more severe disease see the most benefit from lifestyle changes.

There’s technically no final stage of diabetes. However, long-time diabetes patients can develop end-stage kidney disease or heart disease. The risk is particularly high with untreated diabetes. Also, high blood sugar levels and severe dehydration can cause a diabetic coma. This can be fatal if it’s not treated right away.

Myocardial infarction, or a heart attack, is the most common cause of death in people with diabetes. 

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Popular Resources

Share this helpful resource:

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and fear your loved one may be close to the last stages of diabetes before death, know that there are resources that can help. This article has all the information you need about the symptoms of dying from diabetes. It also covers symptom management when death is imminent, how you can support your loved one with late-stage diabetes and the role hospice care can play.

What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. It happens when the body can’t produce insulin (a hormone that turns sugar into energy) or use it efficiently. Over time, this can lead to complications in the kidneys, heart, eyes, blood vessels and nerves.

There are two main types of diabetes: 

  • Type 1 diabetes: A life-long, autoimmune disease where the pancreas makes too little or no insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels
  • Type 2 diabetes: A chronic disease that develops after blood sugar levels are consistently too high, causing insulin resistance

End-of-Life Signs With Diabetes

In the last stages of diabetes before death, blood sugar can spike or fall to dangerous levels. It’s important to know the signs, so you can alert your healthcare team. Left untreated, these levels can cause life-threatening complications. These include heart attack, kidney failure, nerve damage, seizures, brain damage, diabetic coma and death.

Signs of High Blood Glucose Levels

Symptoms of high blood glucose levels at the end of life with diabetes include:

  • Needing to urinate more frequently than normal
  • Excessive thirst
  • Itching
  • Increased hunger
  • Recurrent infections, such as urinary tract infections and thrush
  • Fatigue and drowsiness
  • Blurred vision
  • Weight loss
  • Headaches
  • Numbness in the fingers and toes

What Causes High Blood Glucose Levels at the End of Life?

A number of factors can cause high blood glucose levels in late-stage diabetes patients. These include infections, a missed dose of diabetes medication, dehydratio, or side effects from another medication, such as steroids.

Signs of Low Blood Glucose Levels

Symptoms of low blood sugar levels at the end of life with diabetes include:

  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Sweating
  • Shaking or trembling
  • Confusion and irritability
  • Nervousness or anxiety
  • Dizziness
  • Weakness

What Causes Low Blood Glucose Levels at the End of Life?

Low blood sugar levels during the last stages of diabetes before death can happen when the patient is eating less (a common symptom when the end of life is near) but still taking their normal dosage of medicine. 

Do Patients With Terminal Diabetes Qualify for Hospice Care?

To qualify for hospice care, a patient’s doctor must certify that their life expectancy is six months or less. A diagnosis of diabetes alone isn’t enough to meet this criteria. However, people with diabetes often have another condition, such as heart disease or kidney disease. This can reduce their life expectancy to a few months or less.

Untreated diabetes can also cause serious complications that require hospice care. These can include diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or kidney failure.

Managing End-of-Life Diabetes Symptoms

At the end of life with diabetes, keeping blood sugar at target levels is less of a priority. At this time, treatment goals focus on avoiding symptoms of hyperglycemia (too-high blood glucose levels) and hypoglycemia (too-low blood sugar levels). 

Can I Still Take My Insulin in Hospice Care?

Care guidelines at the end of life for people with diabetes call for less aggressive management. This can mean cutting back diabetes medication like insulin. While that may seem counterintuitive, it’s important to remember that care goals change when you enter hospice.

For example, typically the main goal of treating diabetes with insulin is to prevent long-term damage from consistently high blood sugar. But in hospice care, treatment focuses on managing the immediate symptoms of high or low blood sugar levels.

Less Appetite Means Less Insulin

At the end of life, it’s normal for patients to feel like eating less. With less food, continuing the same doses of insulin may actually increase the risk of low blood sugar. That can cause confusion, irritability, dizziness and weakness. Hospice emphasizes comfort, so your hospice care team may adjust your doses to assure this doesn’t happen. 

According to the latest guidelines, type 2 diabetes patients may reduce or discontinue insulin in hospice. The choice depends on their weight, appetite and glucose readings, as well as their own wishes. However, those with type 1 diabetes should never go without insulin, though their dose may change depending on their food intake.

Supporting a Loved One With End-Stage Diabetes

You may find it difficult to help a loved one dying from a chronic illness, but there are plenty of ways you can offer support. If your loved one has end-stage diabetes, be present with them. Respect their boundaries, but don’t be afraid of having honest conversations about their condition and their feelings about death.

It can be helpful for you or another family member to attend their medical appointments and ask questions about symptoms and treatment options. Watch for signs of excessively high or low blood sugar levels and update your loved one’s care team.

How Hospice Can Help With End of Life Diabetes Care

Hospice is a compassionate type of healthcare that brings comfort and a higher quality of life to those dying from a chronic illness. It can help soften the symptoms of diabetes at the end of life. Hospice also offers services for your loved one’s mental, emotional and spiritual health. You’ll access specialists like dietitians, physical therapists, nurses, counselors, home health aides and spiritual advisers.

Family members can also use hospice support, including caregiver assistance and bereavement counseling. 

Three Oaks Hospice Can Help

Diabetes is extremely common in the U.S., affecting more than 38 million people, or about 12 percent of the population. Three Oaks knows each individual has their own unique symptoms, challenges and care needs. 

Losing a loved one to diabetes is devastating to any family. While it can be heartbreaking, enrolling your loved one in hospice care will bring them comfort and relief.

Compassionate Care from Three Oaks Hospice 

We deliver compassionate care through personalized plans and interdisciplinary team coordination. With expertise in end-of-life care, Three Oaks helps loved ones stay secure, respected and cared for in the final chapter of life, right in the comfort of your own home or a healthcare setting. If you or a loved one requires the hospice services of Three Oaks, please get in touch. You can contact us online or find a local hospice near you. 

We Listen | We Care | We Serve

We proudly serve communities through:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are frequently asked questions about the last stages of diabetes before death.

There’s no set average life expectancy for diabetes. However, research finds a shorter lifespan than for those without diabetes. Those with type 2 diabetes diagnosed at 30, 40 and 50 die on average 14, 10 and 6 years earlier. However, meeting treatment goals like managing weight, blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol can increase life by 3 to 10 years. Those with more severe disease see the most benefit from lifestyle changes.

There’s technically no final stage of diabetes. However, long-time diabetes patients can develop end-stage kidney disease or heart disease. The risk is particularly high with untreated diabetes. Also, high blood sugar levels and severe dehydration can cause a diabetic coma. This can be fatal if it’s not treated right away.

Myocardial infarction, or a heart attack, is the most common cause of death in people with diabetes. 

Categories

Popular Resources