Acquire as much diabetes knowledge as possible to help with questions/concerns that you have. Learn about the following topics to help understand diabetes treatment:
- Blood sugar. Establish blood sugar goals with your doctor. Learn about when to test and what your blood sugar goals are (fasting or after eating). Ensure that you are testing correctly as well.
- Meal planning/diet. Learn about a healthy diet that helps control blood sugar and meets weight goals.
- Exercise. Exercise can help you to control blood sugar and maintain a healthy weight. Educate yourself on what types of exercise are safe for you. Address the duration and intensity of the exercise as well as how often you should exercise.
- Medication. Ensure you know how often and how much medication should be taken. Learn about side effects and interactions of medications so they are working as they should.
- Complications. Ensure you are having preventative check-ups to reduce risk of complications. Foot care, eye care, and dental (gum) care are important in lessing complications. Also, visiting your doctor for regular exams is important to ensure that your internal organs (including your heart) are functioning normally.
Diabetes education can help you to improve your treatment the disease and lessen risk for complications down the road. Learn more about diabetes by visiting the following websites:
The American Diabetes Association http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp
The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/
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