Rob Kardashian Reportedly Hospitalized for Diabetes

Rob Kardashian, reportedly hospitalized for diabetes, had shied away from the limelight for the past few years. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Kardashian family is famous for taking the real out of reality TV. Tuesday night, news broke, however, of the family dealing with something very real, and very serious.

Rob Kardashian, the 28-year old son of Kris Jenner and the late Robert Kardashian (and former step-son of Kris’s ex, Caitlyn Jenner), was hospitalized over the holiday weekend after falling ill. Reports from E! Online list diabetes as the cause – a condition that the former reality star allegedly was unaware of having developed.

Rob Kardashian, once a prominent part of his family’s reality mega-hit Keeping Up with the Kardashians dropped out of filming, and out of the public eye altogether, roughly 18 months ago.

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In an October interview with People magazine, Rob’s sister Khloe Kardashian, told the magazine that Rob’s seclusion has been triggered by depression and rapid weight gain. The lone brother of the Kardashian Klan allegedly gained approximately 100 lbs. since last being a part of the family’s public life. (He did not attend sister Kim’s May 2014 wedding to musician-mogul Kanye West.)

Khloe also suggested that Rob’s depression might also have to do with the lack of a father figure in his life: His own father, Jenner’s former husband, died when Rob was 16. Caitlyn Jenner was an active presence in Rob’s life while still married to Kris, and Khloe’s soon-to-be-former husband Lamar Odom also served as a one-time father figure to the youngest Kardashian sibling.

But, says Khloe, “Once Lamar left – and it’s not Lamar’s fault at all – I think Rob didn’t know where to go. He was like, ‘I don’t have guidance anymore.'”

Odom himself suffered from a debilitating drug overdose this fall; he is still hospitalized, he reportedly will need intensive medical care and physical rehabilitation, even after his eventual release.

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Khloe told People that while her brother will always have her support, “"It’s sad, because he’s only wasting his life more and more. But he has to figure it out for himself. And he has so many people who want to help him.“

Rob Kardashian was allegedly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

“Some of the symptoms are the same as type 1 – urinate more frequently, more thirsty – but in type 1 diabetes, it is generally seen in kids who are not necessarily overweight,” explains Mitchell A. Lazar, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and the Director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

And while type 1 diabetes left untreated can result in a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which can lead to a diabetic coma and effect the brain, those with type 2 diabetes may also be at risk for diabetic comas, but not because of DKA. For type 2 diabetics, because their blood sugar can go higher and higher if unchecked, leading an individual to feel badly because of their elevated blood sugar levels, they will eventually enter into a state of extreme dehydration that can effect the brain – and may cause a coma. This is known as diabetic hyperosmolar, a syndrome which only occurs amongst those with type 2 diabetes.

Lazar explains that while diabetic comas for type 1 diabetes are treated with insulin and fluids, with type 2 diabetes, fluids are even more important than insulin. Treatment often begins with IV fluids being administered in a hospital to address a patient’s extreme dehydration.

“It is very important for people to realize that if a type 2 diabetic gets to that stage, while insulin is very important, taking in fluids is even more important,” Lazar emphasizes.

Once a patient has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Lazar notes that is most important for that person to be aware of their condition and have their blood sugar regularly checked. “They can do it themselves much more easily than ever before,” he says, due to the wide array of glucose meters available in the marketplace.

He adds that a type 2 diabetic should also monitor themselves with how much they are going to the bathroom and how thirsty they are so they can know if their blood sugar is dangerously high before they get to the point of hospitalization.

“They can also help themselves in the long-term by losing weight,” Lazar says. “There is no doubt that as weight is lost, blood sugar is better controlled and a person can greatly reduce their risk of the syndrome that gets you into the hospital – all through weight loss and exercise.” Over time, he says, this is a very effective course of treatment for many.

Type 2 diabetics might also be prescribed metformin, an oral medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in those patients who are overweight and have not yet lost weight.

Symptoms of adult-onset (type 2) diabetes include excessive thirst and increased urination, fatigue, weight loss, blurred vision, slow-healing sores or frequent infections and tingling hands and feet. Recent studies also show links to risk for dementia.

The development of type 2 diabetes is often linked to excessive weight gain; in addition to weight, other risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes are inactivity, high blood pressure, and low levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol.

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