Managing Diabetes
Managing Diabetes: A Team Approach
Managing Diabetes?
Managing diabetes is what any diabetes patient has to do from the first day of diagnosis for the rest of their life. Managing diabetes means maintaining ones blood sugar at ’safe’ levels by means of medication, insulin, diet and exercise either alone or in combination. It is implicit in the previous sentence that managing diabetes is not the responsibility of the patient alone.
A team game
The personal physician has a role in diagnosis and initiating and refining a course of treatment. Regular blood and urine tests analyzed by a pathologist will inform the doctor about the effectiveness of the measures used to control BSLs. He or she may enlist the aid of a specialist such as an endocrinologist. He or she may bring a nutritionist or dietician in for advice on an appropriate dietary regime. An ophthalmologist will advise on the condition of the patient’s eyes by annual examination. Quarterly visits to a podiatrist will ensure that the state of the diabetic’s extremities is known and treated as necessary. A diabetes educator may bring the patient’s knowledge of the disease to a level which will enable the fullest possible participation in the management of his or her diabetes. The management team may be smaller or a little larger than outlined above. All have a role in managing diabetes with the greatest responsibility lying with the patient him- or her- self.
In the case of diabetic children, parents or guardians have a considerable part to play in managing diabetes. Nevertheless, even quite young children can grasp what is required and take an active part in managing diabetes.
Type II
At the simplest, a Type II diabetic may need only to take regular exercise and follow dietary guidelines to keep his or her BSLs in the ’safe zone’. These two factors along with regular measurement of BSLs with a glucometer will constitute the management plan.
Another Type II diabetic will be required to self-administer oral medication at appropriate times to maintain control while metering BSLs and following dietary guidelines.
Yet other Type II diabetics will have much in common with Type I diabetics if they control diabetes with insulin while regularly testing BSLs with glucometers and adhering to an eating plan.
Diet
The diabetic patient is generally enjoined to ‘watch the carbohydrates’, minimize the fats and avoid the sugars and foods that readily convert to sugars.
Exercise is beneficial in terms of burning calories but also in terms of building muscles which process insulin introduced by the patient or produced by the body. For this reason muscle-building proteins are important in diabetic diet-plans.
Managing diabetes is concerned with smoothing out the sugar spikes occurring after meals. For this reason it is often recommended that diabetics eat several smaller meals during the day rather than three square meals. Regular small meals eaten by the clock is a common routine.
Much of what a diabetic does in managing diabetes may be dictated by the regular testing of blood sugar levels with a glucometer. It may be the most important management tool available.
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