These principles, or steps, will help you manage your diabetes and live a long and active life. Every person who has diabetes has different needs. Talk to your health care team about a treatment plan that is best for you. Diabetes affects almost every part of the body and good diabetes care requires a team of health care providers. They include doctors, diabetes educators, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, mental health workers, eye specialists, foot specialists, dentists, and social workers. Print out and take this information with you when you visit your doctor or other members of your team to talk about your treatment plan.
Taking good care of diabetes can lower the chances of getting:
- heart disease
- stroke
- eye disease that can lead to a loss of vision or even blindness
- nerve damage that may cause a loss of feeling or pain in the hands, feet, legs, or other parts of the body and lead to problems such as lower limb amputation or erectile dysfunction
- kidney failure
- gum disease and loss of teeth
As you read through this information, look for things with a to help you take action to control your diabetes.
Principle 1: Learn as Much as You Can About Diabetes
The more you know about diabetes, the better you can work with your health care team to manage your disease and reduce your risk for problems. You should know what type of diabetes you have. If you do not know, ask your doctor whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Principle 2: Get Regular Care for Your Diabetes
see your health care team regularly
make sure your treatment plan is working. If it is not, ask your health care team to help you change it
ask your family, friends, and co-workers for help and support when you need it
Work with your
Principle 3: Learn How to Control Your Diabetes
Diabetes affects many parts of the body. To stay healthy, it is important to know how to eat the right foods, how to be physically active, and how to look after yourself. Using the following checklist will help you learn how to control your diabetes.
Principle 4: Take Care of Your Diabetes ABC's
A major goal of treatment is to control the ABCs of diabetes: A1C (blood glucose average), Blood pressure, and Cholesterol. You can do this in many ways.
Follow a meal plan that was made for you.
Be active every day.
Take your medicine as prescribed.
Before taking any non-prescription medicines, vitamins, or herbal products, ask your pharmacist how they may affect your diabetes or prescription medicines.
Test your blood glucose on a routine basis.
Principle 5: Monitor Your Diabetes ABCs
To reduce your risk for diabetes problems such as blindness, kidney disease, losing a foot or leg, and early death from heart attack or stroke, you and your health care team need to monitor the diabetes ABCs: A1C, Blood pressure, and Cholesterol. Talk to your health care team about how to reach your target numbers.
Principle 6: Prevent Long-Term Diabetes Problems
People with diabetes must control their blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol to prevent the problems of diabetes: heart attack, stroke, eye and kidney problems, nerve damage, impotence, foot or leg amputation, gum disease, and loss of teeth. Here are the key self-care activities to help you manage your diabetes and live a long and healthy life.
Principle 7: Get Checked for Long-Term Problems and Treat Them
See your health care team regularly to check for problems that diabetes can cause. Regular check-ups help to prevent problems or find them early when they can be treated and managed well. Along with the checks of your A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol (see Principle 5), here are some tests that you will need:
- Triglycerides (a type of blood fat) Get yearly
- Dilated eye exam to check for eye problems Get yearly
- Foot check Get every visit
- Complete foot exam to check for circulation, loss of feeling, sores, or changes in shape Get yearly
- Urine test to check for kidney problems Get yearly
- Dental exams to prevent gum disease and loss of teeth Get twice a year
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