Managing Your Diabetes

By Moses Wright

Managing your diabetes is not limited to monitoring your blood glucose levels. Proper diabetes management also includes getting regular medical care and living a healthy lifestyle.

A person should eat a well-balanced diet. A dietician may recommend a diabetic diet to help with diabetes management. The diabetic diet may be a traditional diabetic diet or counting carbohydrates for diabetes.

Regular exercise helps the body utilize glucose in the blood. Exercising for half an hour three or four days a week can help keep blood sugar levels more stable and promote weight loss if necessary. Exercise can also help prevent heart disease.

A regular sleep schedule is recommended for people with diabetes. Getting enough sleep should be a priority for people with diabetes. If the person is having trouble sleeping, the sleep problems should be reported to the physician.

Diabetes management includes stress management since stress can negatively impact blood glucose levels. The physician or a therapist can teach the person with diabetes how to manage stress with techniques like progressive relaxation.

Alcohol should be avoided, especially if the person has complications of diabetes or high levels of triglycerides. Diabetes complications that are caused by nerve damage can be made worse by alcohol consumption.

Alcohol can cause low blood sugar levels which can be dangerous. Alcohol interferes with the liver's ability to produce glucose which causes this risk of low blood sugar.

People with diabetes need to get prompt medical attention for sores on the feet. Sores on the feet are susceptible to infection. For people with diabetes, infected sores on the feet can lead to gangrene and the need to amputation.

The person with diabetes should check their blood glucose levels as recommended by their doctor. If the person is having difficulty keeping their blood sugar levels within healthy limits, they should discuss this difficulty with their doctor.

In addition to having regular check-ups with their physician, people with diabetes should have annual eye exams and regular dental exams. If diabetic patients notice numbness in the hands or feet or other possible signs of diabetes complications, they should notify their physicians. - 29887

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