recent death dilaudid + diabetes ?'s

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2004
recent death dilaudid + diabetes ?'s
3
Wed, 07-21-2004 - 3:21am
Hello all. I am so glad I found this board so I can communicate to anyone who has diabetes. I will try to shorten the storey. My sister who was 30years old passed away this past February. It was a sudden death and it shocked the entire family including her 3 children. Health history, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just 3 years ago. History of drinking although she hadnt drank since after being diagnosed. Insulin dependant 3 times daily. 2 months leading up to her death she had noticable swelling in her abdominal area and was on a waiting list to see a specialist, with this she had alot of pain. Her sugars spiked frequently and was admitted to the er several time to bring them down as well as her blood gas. On Monday February 23rd she went into the er with excrusating pain again in her stomach/ribs region. They did a whole bunch of tests and everything proved to be ok. kept her overnight on morphine for pain, checked her inulin levels a few times. The last time they checked her insulin was 3 hours before they discharged her oh and they never feed her at all. She did not want to go home and begged them to keep her, she felt somthing was really wrong. They gave her 3 dilaudid tablets to take home with her and released her tuesday at 4pm. That night she talked on the phone to a friend and grandma and said she was really naseous and extremely tired.

Wednesday grandma phoned her house no answer so she thought she must be out for the day

Thursday morning no answer so she got her land lady to go in and check. She found her dead on the bathroom floor.

Insulin was easily assecible on the kithcen table and was filled.

At first everyone was telling us it probably was a diabetic coma assuming this of coarse because she was a diabetic.

I have thought all along that the dilaudid was at fault because she could not think clearly to know if she needed her insulin. The reactions to dilaudid say it can lead to death,etc when overdosed.

5 months later we recieve the autopsy report. no known cause probably a complication due to diabetes. extremly enlarged liver. they cannot check sugar levels post mortom.

while the hospital released her and said tests were normal we got a copy of that report. all levels were extremly high when it came to liver and kidney tests both showed danger. a urine test showed somthing as well due to kidney failure but i forget.

Doctors we personaly have talked to as well as nurses and other health care practitioners cant believe they released her, but also cant believe they would give her dilaudid.

I need your help in figuring a few things out.

1) we have 4 witnesses from the building she lives in say that staring wednesday morning they heard a loud moaning sound coming from the bathroom and it ended around 5pm. why they didnt check was beyond me. could you go into diabetic coma and be vocal making noises like this? if a death takes this long could it be hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia?

2) from all the reseach I have done i have concluded that contraindications for dilaudid is liver or kidney problems, obviously because your body cant rid the medication properly. Can diabetics safely take this medication?

I know this storey may be a bit disturbing and sad but we are just trying to figure things out, please help with any knowledge you may have surrounding diabetes.

We live in Canada and currently are awaiting an investigation by the college of physicans and surgeons, then we will meet and her their storey and will go from there.

Alot of people are discouraging us from a lawsuit, they say it will take 15 years and youll come out with nothing. what exactally is malpractice if no doctor can ever be found guilty of it. it makes me sick to think somones split second decison took the life of my sister and life is suppose to just go on.

"To realize the value of a sister, ask somone who doesnt have one"

Thanks for your time..

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-02-2003
Wed, 07-21-2004 - 4:57pm

Hi Rainy -


I hopped over to www.webmd.com and according to the information there, there is no contraindication for diabetics and dilaudid, but there is for liver and kidney disease, like you have already found out.

Blueliner4
(aka The Pixie Princess)

Avatar for cl_d_minnick
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 1:04am

I am so terribly sorry to hear of your sisters passing away, which saddens my heart so with her knowing something was not right and begging the hospital to not release her. That is why I never let the ER not talk it over with one of my doctors since I have so many at this time, because I just do not trust the ER doctors for so many reasons that I will not go into right now.


Now as to your questions.



  1. I have been in a hyperglycemic coma before in which I did not make any sounds at all just passed off into sleep. I have also had many cases of hypoglycemic reactions in which my husband has found me sprawled or passed out on the floor and moaning. So from my history I would go with hypoglycemic since when I have an episode sever one I cannot talk only make noises like moaning. In my honest opinion I would say that she had a hyperglycemic reaction brought on by a hypoglycemic one since the liver will kick out sugar to bring up a low one, but as to passing away slowly or quickly I honestly cannot tell you since I have no experience with that at all.

  2. I have no experience
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Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 9:15pm
Hi and welcome to the board.

I am terribly sorry to read about your sister and the care she did or didn't receive. The moaning that was heard had nothing to do with the dilaudid and in fact she wasn't given enough to cause her death if she took it all at once. I have experienced hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and other than doing strange things and going to sleep there has never been any moaning or anything like that.

I hope you can get to the bottom of why the doctors didn't treat her differently and if they were given her lab work. Perhaps it was misfiled on another patient's chart. Unfortunately mistakes happen in hospitals and sometimes there are dire consequences. She must have been on IV fluids and that is why she wasn't given anything that you know of to eat. If you can get the nurses' notes to read it will explain to you a lot about what happened with her.

I am wondering if she was in liver failure and with that an increase in her blood ammonia levels. I don't know if they can check for that on a post mortem examination. That could explain her unconsciousness which is probably what was the cause of the moaning.

If you can get an satisfaction in your quest please let us know what they finally fingured out.

My thoughts and prayers go to you and your family.

Mary Frances


cl-maryfrances40

Co-CL Diabetes Board