Any medical people here? I'm a bit concerned about my friend.

I had plans to go to dinner and a movie with an old friend of mine. She called to cancel because she's having trouble staying awake. She is tired and listless. I'm worried about her heart.

She had a kidney transplant a year and a half ago. She's obese. She's diabetic, has high BP, high cholesterol, etc. She takes a baggie full of meds several times a day. She mentioned to me that maybe she should try to eat something, and I asked her if she had eaten anything today. She replied that she hadn't. I told her if she was diabetic that she should be eating on a schedule. She had never known that. I asked her if she had been sent in for a consultation on managing her diabetes, and she never had. No wonder she had kidney disease!  Anyway, she doesn't sound good at all to me. She had an appointment to look at a new apartment today, and called to cancel it. She was listening to the voicemail message and fell asleep before the beep came to leave her message. 

What should I do? I offered to take her to her doctor or ER, but she won't have any of it.

She needs to get to a doctor ASAP.  Somebody should have educated her when she received a dignosis.  She needs some nutrition help ASAP or she will only get worse in her illness.

Nothing much you can do if she refuses to go to the doctor.

If she ends up in the hospital try and get the doc to order home health on discharge to do diabetic teaching.

 Tell her if she won't go to the ER,  you will call 911 and give them her address.

It sounds as though she needs medical care immediately - falling asleep like that is far from normal.  She has too many medical issues to neglect the sleepiness and lethargy - get that lady to an ER - don't offer, just somehow make her go.  I think I would give her 2 choices - you either come with me or I will call 911 and they will come for you.  It sounds pretty serious to me.

Thanks! I think I'm going to head up to her apartment. She shouldn't be alone, and I'm going to try to get her to the ER. She lives a few towns away.

 is she responsive now? it sounds like she's heading for a diabetic coma. becoming belligerant is common in brittle diabetics with low blood sugar. i worked with a lady who always got argumentative when her blood sugar got really low. you had to take the bull by the horns and make her eat some sugar-hard candy, honey, O.J. etc. my co-worker also became listless, slow response time to questions, and inappropriate responses.

waiting for her to take herself to the doc or E.R. may be too late. 

is this her normal demeanor? does she live close by? does she answer the phone?

i find it hard to believe that she didn't get any instructions on diabetes, diet, exercise, etc. 

She really needs to go, and, she shouldn't be driving. Before my Dad had his bypasses, he almost fell asleep at the wheel . It is very dangerous. Does she seem to not comprehend when speaking to her? My Dad couldn't focus well. I hope you can get her help.

My Dad also has diabetis, and can tell when he is in need of food or something. He makes sure he eats regularly. I worry about him, though, when he is working in the garden, and loses track till the last minute.

The problem with calling 911, however, is that unless she's unconscious she can still refuse to go.

 Maybe- but they will check her vitals and maybe throw a good scare into her. Then she just might go.

If she allows them to assess her then the scare tactic may work (hopefully this is what would happen), but she can still refuse an assessment. Just because 911 is called does not mean they are required to lay hands on the patient. I've seen people call 911 THEMSELVES and then refuse an assessment.

Anaphylactic Shock can be deadly, which is what this reads like. Mom is type 2 and I have to gripe at almost every day to eat according to her diet at the intervals she needs to.  Stubborn! She's had 3 "crashes" this week- lethargic, confused, heavy sweating, shakes...hard candy followed by protein to last until the person can eat something substantial.  She's gonna keep messing around and one of these days I'm gonna come home and find her in a big heap on the floor... (Yes, I can make her go to the ER and authorize treatment by EMT or ER.)

whateverfood:

Anaphylactic Shock can be deadly, which is what this reads like. Mom is type 2 

Hmm? Anaphylaxis and diabetes are not related in any way.

I have zero medical training but if she can't stay awake...she needs to be seen in an ER soon.  It could be from the diabetics...my MIL once went into some sort of a state where she appeared unconscious & unresponsive & it was because of her diabetics.  And, my DH, who's had a triple-bypass....other than the chest pains we & our dr. thought were heartburn...would fall asleep anywhere...couldn't figure out why he was tired, even when he got up in the morning.  You can either leave her alone because she's refused medical attention....or you can call the paramedics & give her address....once there, they'll assess her & make a decision.  Sounds like she might be difficult for you to move, especially since she's uncooperative, but she may not be in a state of mind to be making a good decision for herself?