What is Brittle Diabetes?
A term used when a persons blood glucose level often swings quickly from high to low and from low to high. Also called labile and unstable diabetes. These are the diabetics, even practicing tight control, whose blood glucose level “over-reacts” to minute changes in diet, exercise, and/or insulin. These individuals experience unpredictable rises and swoops in blood glucose, within very short periods, as the result of very small departures from schedule. Small changes “break” their control, and they are thus said to be “brittle.” Brittle Diabetes is a subjective term and the diagnosis often depends on the experience of the patient, family and physician involved. The most useful definition of brittle diabetes is a functional one the patient whose life is constantly disrupted by episodes of hyper- or hypoglycemia, whatever their cause. While these patients are rare (less than one percent diabetics), they cause a considerable burden on hospital, social, and family resources due to multiple
