"I was just so overwhelmed. I’m thinking you know I’ve got a job, I’ve got a wife, I’ve got all these other things that I need to do. And now I’ve gotta adjust my whole life."
You may feel overwhelmed. There is a lot you need to think about when you have diabetes, and a lot you need to do to maintain your good health and help ensure that the long-term complications of diabetes don’t sneak up on you. But it is manageable.
With the help of your diabetes care team, you can set up a management plan that will help you steer through the difficulties of diabetes each day and help you reach your blood glucose goals.
Members of your care team may include: your doctor, nurse, registered dietitian, exercise specialist, pharmacist, podiatrist, ophthalmologist, social worker, and counselor or psychologist---all of whom may be certified diabetes educators, or CDEs.
Your management plan should include: learning all you can about diabetes, making healthy food choices, getting physical activity, taking medication if necessary, and monitoring your blood glucose.
Taking healthy steps in each of these areas will go a long way to help control your blood glucose levels and your overall health.
But it may not be easy. It is up to you as the manager of your own self-care to make a commitment to take control of your health.
"A good management plan always will help because it keeps you on track as to what you are trying to do and need to do, and also allow you to make changes if you’re not progressing. In other words, you might need to go back and reevaluate what you’re doing in trying to work with your diabetes and keeping it under control."
If you find you are not reaching your blood glucose goals, members of your diabetes care team can help. They may ask you about your eating habits, level of physical activity, work schedule, and overall health to discover things that may interfere with effective self-care.
Together, you and your diabetes care team can make changes to your management plan to help you achieve your blood glucose goals.
"What’s just important is that people take an active role in their treatment. They become partners with their team, as opposed to dictating from the healthcare team … that there is that communication, that partnership going on, and that they practice good self-care."
Be an active participant in the management of your diabetes daily, and follow your management plan to better health.
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