Change can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing your diabetes. But healthy living can be an empowering transition, and just a few simple steps can keep you happy and healthy on your diabetic journey. It takes time and practice to live well with diabetes, but everything you do to take care of yourself helps. But you're not alone on your journey. Here's some tips to help with your Diabetes management as well as resources for more help along the way:
- Healthy Coping
Diabetes distress
You may sometimes feel discouraged, worried, frustrated, or tired of dealing with daily diabetes care. Maybe you've been trying hard but not seeing results. Or you've developed a health problem related to diabetes in spite of your best efforts.Those overwhelming feelings, known as diabetes distress, may cause you to stop taking care of yourself. You may slip into unhealthy habits, stop checking your blood sugar, even skip doctor's appointments.
It happens to many—if not most—people with diabetes, often after years of good management.
Mental health has an impact on so many parts of daily life. It affects how you think and feel, handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. You can see how a mental health problem could make it harder to stick to your diabetes care plan.
If you're stressed, you may not take care of yourself as well as usual. Your blood sugar levels can be affected too. Stress hormones make blood sugar rise or fall unpredictably. Stress from being sick or injured can make your blood sugar go up. Being stressed for a long time can lead to other health problems or make them worse.
Anxiety—feelings of worry, fear, or being on edge—is how your mind and body react to stress. People with diabetes are 20% more likely than those without diabetes to have anxiety. Managing a long-term condition like diabetes is a major source of anxiety for some.
Diabetes distress can look like depression or anxiety, but it can't be treated effectively with medicine. Instead, these approaches have worked:
So, what can you do if you suspect you’re experiencing diabetes distress? Here are some steps to consider:
- Seek Guidance: Talk to your diabetes care and education specialist. They can ask you relevant questions and provide valuable insights.
- Assessment: Undergo a simple test, like a diabetes distress questionnaire, to pinpoint which areas of diabetes are most distressing for you.
- Develop a Plan: Based on your results, work with your healthcare team to create a plan that addresses your specific concerns and needs.
The mind-body connection
Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can affect how healthy your body is. Untreated mental health issues can make diabetes worse. Likewise, problems with diabetes can make mental health issues worse. But fortunately if one gets better, the other tends to get better too.
Your health care team knows diabetes is challenging but may not understand how challenging. And you may not be used to talking about feeling sad or down. But if you're concerned about your mental health, let your doctor know right away. You're not alone—help is available!
- Make sure you're seeing an endocrinologist for your diabetes care. These specialists likely have a deeper understanding of diabetes challenges than your regular doctor.
- Ask your doctor to refer you to a mental health counselor who specializes in chronic health conditions.
- Get some one-on-one time with a diabetes educator so you can problem-solve together.
- Focus on one or two small diabetes management goals instead of thinking you have to work on everything all at once.
- Healthy Eating
Healthy eating
Healthy eating for prediabetes and diabetes not only helps to manage your blood glucose (blood sugar), it also helps you have a better relationship with food. When you nourish your body with quality foods, it helps your body function at its best.
How to Make Healthy Eating Choices
Informed food choices are essential to living well. Food fuels the body and is a key part of diabetes management. However, no matter what eating plan you follow, there are some basic guidelines that apply across the board.
- Take the time to cook. Simple recipes can be healthy and delicious.
- Write down or take photos of meals and snacks to help you stay on track.
- Try an online cooking class to learn how to make veggies taste delicious.
- Skip "diabetic" foods. They tend to be high cost and low flavor.
- Make the same food for you and your family. Healthy eating for everyone!
- Try Meatless Monday. Beans and lentils are cheap, tasty, and good for you.
- Have veggies instead of rice or pasta. You can also blend cooked veggies and add them to sauces.
Healthy Eating Tips:
- Being Active
Physical activity doesn’t have to be hard work. Daily physical activity may increase the length and quality of your life. You can be active without going to a gym, getting special exercise equipment, or hiring a sports trainer! Instead, dancing, yard work, and even riding a bike are all forms of activity that can improve your strength, muscles, bones, and coordination. Physical activity can also help you lose weight and feel better physically and mentally.
Regular physical activity can also help you:
- Lose or maintain your weight.
- Improve your memory.
- Manage your blood pressure.
- Lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol and raise HDL ("good") cholesterol.
Physical activity is a foundation of diabetes management. It helps you manage blood sugar levels and lowers your risk of heart disease and other complications.
Physical Activity Help:
- Reducing Risk
Having diabetes significantly increases the risk of developing other chronic illnesses and complications.
Diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, is often associated with obesity, high blood pressure, and abnormal lipid profiles, collectively known as metabolic syndrome. These conditions elevate the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular problems.
Additionally, diabetes can impair the functioning of the kidneys, leading to chronic kidney disease. The elevated levels of glucose in the blood can damage nerves, resulting in diabetic neuropathy, which causes pain, tingling, and numbness, particularly in the extremities. Furthermore, diabetes can affect the eyes, potentially leading to diabetic retinopathy and vision loss.
Proper management of diabetes through lifestyle changes, medication, and regular monitoring is crucial in reducing the risk of these debilitating chronic conditions.
- Taking Medication
Lifestyle choices, including eating a healthy diet, exercising and staying at a healthy weight, are key to managing type 2 diabetes. But you also might need to take medication to keep your blood sugar, also called glucose, at a healthy level. Sometimes one medication is enough. In other cases, taking several medications works better.
The list of medications for type 2 diabetes is long and can be confusing. Take time to learn about these medicines — how they're taken, what they do and what side effects they may cause. That can help you get ready to talk to your health care provider about diabetes treatment choices that are right for you.
Your health care professional will decide which medication(s) and treatment plan are right for you based on your:
- Lifestyle
- Physical condition
- Cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol
- Response to medication
- Insurance coverage
Your health care professional may prescribe a combination of medications to lower your blood glucose and reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke. It’s important to understand the possible side effects of each medication and what to do if you have them.
3 THINGS TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR MEDICATIONS WITH
YOUR PROVIDER- Any side effects you are having.
- If you have stopped taking any of your medications.
- If the medication is affecting your quality of life
CHECK IF YOUR MEDICATION PLAN IS WORKING
There are several ways to measure if your diabetes medication plan is working. One way is to check an A1C level. It is important to know that the A1C doesn’t show how many times you have had low or high readings, so you may need to maintain a blood glucose log. If you use a continuous glucose monitor, you and your diabetes care and education specialist have access to a measure called Time in Range that will show how often your levels have been up or down. Ask your diabetes care team where your numbers are compared to your target range. - Treatment
When you have diabetes and get sick, like with a cold or the flu, your blood sugar can go up. Make sure you know what to do BEFORE you get sick.
What Should I Do?
- Prevent illness– get your flu and pneumonia shots.
- Make a sick day toolkit. Being prepared is the key!
- Be ready with diabetes friendly medicines, like sugar-free cold medicine. Ask your pharmacist for help.
- Keep extra testing supplies. Test your blood sugar at least every 4 hours. If your blood sugar is 250 mg/dl or higher, you may need to test your urine or blood for
ketones. Ask your doctor if this should be part of your sick day plan. - Keep taking your medicine. If you are on insulin, take it even if you cannot eat. Ask your doctor/ healthcare provider if you should take extra insulin, if needed.
Drink, drink, drink! Try to drink water or sugar-free, caffeine-free drinks every hour you are awake. - Try to eat the same as usual. If you are having trouble eating, choose easy-to-eat foods like a ½ cup of regular Jell-O©/ gelatin, 1 popsicle, or 1 cup of soup. If you
cannot keep any food down and you are on insulin, drink sugary drinks (15 gm carbohydrate) every hour, like a ½ cup of juice, Sprite, or Gatorade©/ sports drink.
- Monitoring Monitoring means checking your glucose (sugar) levels, activity and food intake, and gathering data from multiple sources and devices to make decisions about your diabetes prevention efforts or diabetes care and self-management.
Monitoring also involves your overall health, such as blood pressure, weight, cholesterol levels, heart health, sleep, mood, medications, and eye, kidney and foot health.
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
For people with prediabetes or diabetes there are optimal target ranges to aim for in many areas of management. There are national guidelines to help put everything in perspective.The following recommended ranges are for most people with diabetes who aren't pregnant. Your target range may be different based on your age, health status and diabetes management plan. Always follow your doctor's recommendations specified for you.
- Before meals: 80 to 130 mg/dL
- After meals (1-2 hours later): Below 180 mg/dL
There are different kinds of meters, but most of them work the same way. Ask your health care team to show you how they work. Have someone else also learn how to use your meter in case you're sick and can't check your blood sugar yourself.
Below are steps to test your blood sugar:
- Make sure the meter is charged and ready to use.
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water, and dry well before each test.
- Massage or shake out your hand to get blood into your finger.
- Use a lance to prick your finger. Squeezing from the base of the finger, gently place a small amount of blood onto the test strip.
- Place the strip in the meter. After a few seconds, the blood sugar reading will appear.
- Track and record your results. You may want to keep notes about anything that might have affected your reading.
- Dispose of the lancet and strip in a trash container.
- Do not share blood sugar monitoring equipment, especially lancets, with anyone, even other family members.
Join a DSMES Program
Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) can help you:
- Learn practical skills.
- Gain confidence.
- Get support.
Everyone with diabetes can benefit from DSMES, whether they’re newly diagnosed or have had it for several years.
