When you have diabetes, it means your body is no longer able to manufacture a sufficient amount of insulin for the regulation of your glucose level. While the technicalities of the disease are easy to grasp, management and treatment of the condition prove considerably more complex. If you struggle with managing your diabetes, consider how the below advice may help you manage your own case of diabetes.
If your child has diabetes it can be hard, but you can deal with it! Today, diabetes is becoming so common that there are many new treatments that can offer a normal life for your child. The current oldest living diabetic is 90 years of age! This means that he was living in a time when all the current medical knowledge we now have wasn’t available!
Today, diabetes is a very prevalent condition which most people are generally very aware of. This makes dealing with your diagnosis much easier, eliminating some of the stress.
Gestational Diabetes
Your doctor will do a regular screening for gestational diabetes. If you don’t control gestational diabetes, not only your health, but your baby’s health, is in jeopardy. Your doctor can give you a prescription to help with the diabetes, and also help with a food plan.
If you start to have vision problems, you need to talk to your doctor. Diabetes can cause an array of different eye problems, including glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy. It is important to have these problems taken care of because the worse case scenario is that it can cause blindness.
If you have diabetes, you must be careful about what you eat. Different foods affect glucose levels differently, and you will need to carefully scrutinize your food choices. Large meals will need larger doses of insulin to process, and small meals require less. If you monitor your meals and are careful with your diet, you can manage your blood glucose levels well.
If diabetes is a challenge for you, consider eating five or six smaller meals during your day, instead of the more traditional three meals. When you are eating frequently through the day, you avoid large blood sugar fluctuations. You will be more satiated and less likely to binge if your eating is more frequent.
If your baby is exposed to your gestational diabetes, he might be born with diabetes or develop it when he is older. Don’t let your child suffer the brunt of your bad choices. Be responsible while you are pregnant.
If you have diabetes and smoke, you should definitely consider quitting. Smoking is really bad for those with diabetes because it has the ability to raise blood sugar dangerously high. If you have a hard time quitting, talk to your doctor about what methods you may use.
Alter the foods that you love eating as opposed to eliminating them. The difficult thing related to a diagnosis of diabetes is the way it restricts your diet. Diabetics sometimes believe that they must totally give up the foods they love. Some people will eat whatever they want. However, the wisest resolution is to find acceptable alternatives for your preferred foods. Oftentimes, the forbidden ingredients can be replaced with acceptable options, making a meal healthy for diabetics, as well as anyone else.
Even if you’re feeling sick and not hungry, a diabetic needs to be more careful about how and when they eat. Drink a lot of water and other liquids if you aren’t eating. Low blood sugar can contribute to dehydration.
Smoking is unhealthy for anyone, but diabetics who do it are begging for trouble. Do not start smoking and if you already do, you should consider quitting. Smoking can make a person resistant to insulin, and those who are not diabetic already may be at risk for type 2 diabetes.
One urban myth regarding diabetes is that sufferers cannot eat sugar. You should be smart about what sugar you eat, but you shouldn’t have to get rid of it all together. You may still celebrate with an occasional indulgence in a sweet treat. Because food high in sugar can add carbohydrates to your system, make sure you adjust what you are eating accordingly to compensate for this increase in carbohydrates.
Urine ketone tests are not the only ones you should use to detect your blood sugar levels. If high ketone levels are found in your urine, all this will tell you is your blood glucose levels are higher than 200mg per deciliter. The ADA recommends that diabetics utilize testing methods that are more accurate, such as testing strips and finger sticks.
If you plan on traveling, pack your insulin in an insulated bag. Insulated bags protect insulin from spoiling due to temperature extremes.
Sleep Apnea
When someone has diabetes, they are more open to getting a lot of other health problems which are easily undetected, for example, one serious problem that many are unaware that they have is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing. If you are fatigued during the day, you need to have your doctor check you for sleep apnea.
Diabetics have a tendency to develop many problems with their feet. Caring for your feet and being alert to any changes in their feeling and function is very important in avoiding serious consequences, the most severe being amputation. If you follow these suggestions, you can maintain good health for your feet despite your diabetes.
Immediately after a diabetes diagnosis has been rendered, start getting educated about this condition. If they know everything available, they can properly care for themselves. Having the right information is key in the battle against diabetes.
Have all of your needed supplies in one bag and ready to go. Also have smaller bags hidden around the house and car so that you have one no matter where you are. Keep your syringes, insulin and meter hooks in the bag so that you are prepared for anything.
Do not allow living with diabetes to become a complicated thing. Focus on the tips you’ve read in this article, in order to make living with diabetes a simple day-to-day routine that you can easily incorporate into your life. If you can follow these tips, you’re on your way to wellness.
