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They could never get her blood sugar down at the nursing home. They have been trying for months and just recently it was found she had a raging urinary tract infection that caused her to go into septic shock. Can sepsis cause that? Could the UTI have been the problem with the sugar the whole time?

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I'm no expert, but I am a Type I diabetic and am I the care giver for my cousin, who is Type II and also has dementia.

Do you know what your mom's A1C is? That will provide some information as to what her averages are. Until she gets under some control, a daily log of her BS levels would be helpful. A doctor can order the facility to check her each day.

I would recommend seeing an Endocrinologist. They are better at diagnosing and treating diabetes IMO. Most primary care doctors aren't that up on it. If there are problems see an Endo.

If she is taking pills and they aren't helping, it could be she needs an adjustment, such as more of the pills or she may need insulin in addition to the pills. ALSO, you can get Type I diabetes at any time in your life. It's not common, but some people get Type I late in life. If that happens, pills don't help. You need insulin only. An Endocrinologist can best make that determination.

I would discuss the matter of diet with the nutritionist at your mom's facility. There are many diabetics in those places and they should have a proper diet for her.

I would also check your mom for yeast infections. They can be very stubborn in people with high blood sugars. They are very uncomfortable and your mom may not be able to communicate that to you.

High blood sugars can cause so many complications. Her health will be at risk until they come down.

Does she take medication for high cholesterol? That type of medication can cause high blood sugars. So do steroids.

Good luck. You are doing the right thing by making this a priority.
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There are a number of things that can cause an elevated blood sugar. A few of these are: stress, infections, foods, medications. For a diabetic who has had their blood sugar under control and then it begins to rise with no dietary changes or medication changes it may signal an infectious process. Sometimes older people do not exhibit common signs of infection so a rise in blood sugar should signal a need for closer investigation into their health.
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One thing to keep in mind is that the nursing facility will probably need a doctor's order to do the blood sugar testing. If someone is not on Insulin blood sugar testing is not necessarily done. My mother was a diabetic and ended up in a rehab facility after a stroke and because she was not on Insulin no one asked for an order to perform glucose testing. She ended up with a UTI with confusion and until we(the family) asked to have it checked they just thought she was being uncooperative. Her blood sugar was high for her due to the UTI and therefore causing the confusion. We must be our own as well as our loved one's advocate. If you have a process in place at home and your loved one needs hospitalized or nursing home share these with the medical personnel. This may help to alleviate and prevent potential problems.
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Many elder facilities have very high carb meals--a friend of mine in assisted living was told by his doctor to move because their hamburger & carb meals would kill him. Having dealt with Type 2 diabetes myself and with my husband, I find it surprising that a simple blood sugar test isn't done at least every morning. (You can get inexpensive test kits OTC at Walmart.) High blood sugars contribute to UTI's because when the sugar spills over into the urine it feeds bacteria and yeasts. I know it's difficult to do low-carb with someone who is used to lots of bread and potatoes and sweets, but it is the best way to work on sugar control. BTW, cinnamon helps, but it takes quite a lot--my favorite snack is plain original yogurt (full fat, no sweeteners) with a teaspoon or so of cinnamon swirled into it; a little stevia if needed, and blueberries. Also BTW, avoid artificial sweeteners, particularly sucralose (Splenda) which can cause diarrhea and other digestive upsets.
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I mentioned the high blood sugar to the head nurse at the nursing home she was in for rehab, and this head nurse says it was borderline when they tested her when she arrived there... so they saw no need to test the blood sugar again....This angers me that they cannot and will not regularly test, especially since these infections and heightened sugar levels go hand in hand it seems. Perhaps the best thing is to get a testing kit through the family doctor somehow and go in and test your loved one's sugar yourself. The cranberry tablets and juice are a good idea.
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For some reason it seems that blood sugar problems and UTI's go together as older people get more UTI's. My Mom was in a nursing home for several weeks of rehab after a broken arm, and they too were not capable of getting her blood sugar down,(or able to get her to walk again as before either).She is at home bedridden with us now. A hospital doctor finally got the sugar under control with insulin and 2 other medications. She is still having UTI's though. Does your Mom use a catheter? These can cause frequent UTI's. UTI's in older people are frequent and can often lead to delirium. I would ask the doctor this question about the relation between the two as well, and see what he says. I know wounds can form and won't heal well with high blood sugar so the patient has to turn in bed frequently or an air mattress would help with that. Also, some antibiotics given for the UTI can actually raise the sugar level some.
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Any time my moms sugar runs high it is because she has a UTI or some other infection ---give cranberry juice for the UTI or they have cranberry tablets I have not tried the tablets My mother is incontinent so I can usually tell from the smell in the mornings when I go in to change her the smell is SOOOOO strong .Also a lot of nursing homes and rehab centers are so understaffed that they are careless in their responsibilities .
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I want to thank everyone for their responses and suggestions. I apologize I did not respond sooner, but have had my hands full helping my husband get everything arranged for his mom. We found a new home and feel it will be a MUCH better place for her. This was her third fall at the prior home and though none of the falls had resulted in any breaks, three is just unacceptable. It is crazy but this last call actually saved her life since she fell due to her being dizzy as her bp had fallen to 50/30 in the home and 40/20 by the time she reached the ER. She was in full septic shock and was in ICU for 3 days. She pulled through and is on the mend. Unfortunately, she has to be in isolation in her new home because the antibiotics she was on for the sepsis, caused another infection. What is very disturbing is that the home totally missed all of the signs of the UTI. As palomitaamorosa pointed out, there are definite signs of a UTI and when Mom lived at home with us, we could spot them quickly – confusion, strong smelling urine, dizziness, etc. We saw Mom at least twice a week and when we asked about some of the changes we were noticing, we were told it was due to the progression of her Alzheimer’s. Now we are both kicking ourselves that we did not push more – especially if we had known about the high sugar correlation. Being in a skilled facility, we had put our trust in their expertise. She is on two oral medications for her diabetes. Up until she went into the home, we were able to keep it under control with diet. Since we knew her disease WAS progressing, which is why we had to make the very hard decision to place her in the home, we knew the progression would continue. We so wish we could keep her home but her lack of bowel control and letting things happen no matter where she was, really forced our hand. No matter how many Depends or plastic we put on things, I felt like we were constantly steam cleaning and sanitizing our home. About six months prior, we laid linoleum over her carpeting as she would get up and remove her Depend in her room , squeeze it out, and put it in her pockets or dresser and then urinate all the way to the bathroom. It had come time where she needed 24 hour skilled care and have confidence she is in a better facility. It hurts us so tremendously that the rest of the family is always laying a guilt trip on us that we did not continue to keep her at home. They do not stop to think about all the extra professional care a home provides, the interaction with others in the home, the availability of onsite therapy, etc. that a good home can provide. We will continue to visit regularly as we have along with our children and their children.
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If she is a Type II, then the proper pills can really make a difference. My cousin eats for the most part what everyone else in the Memory Care unit eats. She even gets snacks, however, with the right two pills, her blood sugar levels are really good and considered in the controlled category. They take her blood sugar every morning and her A1C was good too. Sometimes, it takes while to get the right combination.

Medicare should cover her supplies such as kit, test stripes, etc. with a prescription from a doctor.
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One of the big things is to make sure that the home provides the right diet for her. Diabetes should be a controllable condition with food. With the alzheimer's diagnosis, is it possible that it's the UTIs causing the crazies. My mother is completely irrational when she gets a UTI.
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