Hyperglycemia

Your blood sugar level is an essential measure for your health. You have to learn how to monitor it and to make it part of your daily routine. Your doctor or a diabetes educator can help you with this.

An appropriate diet and some physical activity can help you lower your blood glucose level.

But there are special cases as well. If you have a high level of blood sugar you may check for ketones in your urine. If you have ketones you should not exercise. This may cause the opposite effect.

If you think you have hyperglycemia contact your doctor.

More info on hyperglycemia can be found here.

Your Health Care Team

You are the most important member of your health care team.

You are the one who has diabetes and takes care of it every day. You are the only one to know your feelings and what you are able and willing to do. You exercise, prepare and eat meals, take medications and/or insulin, check your blood glucose level and register it and you are the first to notice any problems. Your relationship with your healthcare team is really important, but don’t forget that this highly depends on your collaboration, talk to them honestly and tell them how you feel.

Some of the professionals that can collaborate with you in your healthcare team are:

The primary care provider: s/he may be a primary care or family practice physician, and they are the one who sees you for checkups and when you are sick. An endocrinologist is specialized and trained in diseases like diabetes, but you may not have an easy access to one. In that case look for family doctors or primary care doctors that have experience treating diabetes. Your primary care doctor may refer you to other specialists or other team members.
If you need to find a new doctor you may need to spend some time getting to know them. Make sure you are comfortable when talking about the details of your health and lifestyle. You may acquire the information that you need by asking:

Do you have special training in diabetes?
Are most of your patients people with diabetes? Do you see more people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes?
What tests will you do at regular office visits? How often will you order these?
What days are you not here? Who covers on nights and weekends?
What are your fees? Do you accept my insurance plan?
Are you associated with other diabetes care professionals, so I will benefit from a health care team?
Do you refer to an educator or dietitian?

Your doctor’s support is important! After a first visit ask yourself if the doctor really listen to your concerns, if they were concerned about your diabetes control and answered all of your questions.

Nurse Educator: A nurse educator or diabetes nurse practitioner is a registered nurse (RN) with special training and background in caring for and teaching people with diabetes. Many are certified in the field of diabetes. Nurse educators often help you learn the day-to-day aspects of diabetes self-care. They can teach you:

What diabetes is
How to cope with diabetes and to make changes in your health habits
How to use diabetes medications
How to work with insulin and give yourself shots
How to check your blood sugar
How to keep track of your diabetes
Symptoms of low and high blood glucose
How to take care of an insulin reaction
How to handle sick days
How to stay healthy if you are pregnant

Registered Dietitian: A registered dietitian (RD) is trained in nutrition. You want to be sure to work with an RD who has training and experience with diabetes. If your doctor does not work with a dietitian, ask him to refer you to one.
Your dietitian helps you figure out your food needs based on your desired weight, lifestyle, medication, and other health goals (such as lowering blood fat levels or blood pressure). Even if you are not new to diabetes, a visit to the dietitian can help as our food needs change as we age. Nutrition guidelines for people with diabetes also change from time to time.
Dietitians can also help you learn how the foods you eat affect your blood sugar and blood fat levels. They can help you with the following:

Balancing food with medications and activity
Reading food labels
Making a sick day meal plan
Planning meals
Planning for eating out and special events
Including ethnic or foreign foods into your meals
Finding good cookbooks
Making food substitutions

Endocrinologist: An endocrinologist is a doctor who specializes in treating diabetes and other diseases of the “endocrine system” — the body’s system of glands that produce hormones that control the way the body works. The pancreas is part of the endocrine system, and insulin is one of the key hormones the body needs to function properly. Besides diabetes, endocrinologists treat diseases involving the bones, the pituitary gland, and the thyroid and adrenal glands.
Many people with diabetes may never need to see an endocrinologist in order to take good care of their diabetes. Most people with type 1 diabetes do see an endocrinologist, especially when they are first diagnosed, and many people with type 2 diabetes may see an endocrinologist if they are having trouble getting their diabetes under control or are developing severe complications.

Eye Doctor: This doctor is another key member of your health care team, because diabetes can affect the blood vessels in the eyes. When eye problems are caught early, there are very good treatments.The American Diabetes Association guidelines say you should see your eye doctor at least once a year. These checkups are the best way to detect diabetic eye disease. Your eye doctor will check for any changes in your eyes. If there are changes, the doctor will treat the problem or refer you to another doctor with special training in that area. Be sure your eye doctor is familiar with how to spot and treat diabetic eye disease. It’s a good idea to ask:

How many of your patients have diabetes?
Do you perform eye surgery?
Will you send regular reports to my primary care or diabetes physician?

Social Worker/Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Marriage and Family Therapist: Mental health professionals help with the personal and emotional side of living with diabetes. Social workers may be able to help you find resources to help with your medical or financial needs. Some social worker’s may even be able to help you cope with many concerns related to diabetes, including problems within the family and coping with workplace situations.
A few sessions with a psychologist might help during a stressful time. On a long-term basis, a psychologist might help work on more lasting problems.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can prescribe medication to treat physical causes for emotional problems. Psychiatrists also provide counseling.
Marriage and family therapists can help you with personal problems in family and marital relationships and problems on the job.

Podiatrist: This health professional is trained to treat feet and problems of the lower legs. Diabetes makes you prone to poor blood flow and nerve damage in the lower legs. You may get infections more often. Sores, even small ones, can quickly turn into serious problems. Any foot sore or callus needs to be checked by your primary care doctor or a podiatrist. Do not try to fix these yourself, because you could cause an infection. Do inspect your feet daily for signs of trouble. Podiatrists treat corns, calluses, and more serious problems. Ask your podiatrist:

How many of your patients have diabetes?
Are you familiar with the foot problems diabetes can cause?
Will you work with my primary care doctor, if needed?

Pharmacist: A pharmacist has a wealth of information on medicines: what’s in them and how they interact with each other. Pharmacists are highly trained professionals who must know about the chemistry of the products they dispense and what effects, both good and bad, medications have on the body. Therefore, they can also give advice on whether and how any medication you take for your diabetes or other conditions could or will affect your blood glucose levels. It is important to find a pharmacy you like and to stick with it. This way, the pharmacist can keep an accurate and up-to-date profile of your medical history, allergies, and medications.

Pharmacists do more for you than fill your prescriptions. They alert you to the potential common or severe side effects of any drug you are going to take. With each new prescription, they can review your medication profile to see if any of your current medications might interact with your new prescription. So, in addition to asking your diabetes care provider, you can ask your pharmacist to recommend over-the-counter medicines for colds or other minor illnesses. For example, if your pharmacist knows you take a sulfonylurea, he or she may recommend a cold medicine with little or no alcohol to avoid any possible interaction between the two medications.

Dentist: People with diabetes are at somewhat greater risk for gum disease. The excess blood sugar in your mouth makes it a good home for bacteria, which leads to infection. See your dentist every six months. Be sure to tell your dentist that you have diabetes.

Exercise Physiologist:Exercise plays a major role in your diabetes care, no matter which type of diabetes you have. Exercise can help lower blood sugar, help your body to use insulin better, and help control your weight. It can also improve your blood fat levels, reduce stress, and improve your overall fitness level. Even if you have diabetic complications, ask your doctor about safe exercises you can do.
The best person to help you and your doctor plan your fitness program is someone trained in the scientific basis of exercise. Your doctor can help you look for someone.

Always get your doctors approval for any exercise program.

You are the most important member of your health care team.

Some of the professionals that can collaborate with you in your healthcare team are:

Do you have special training in diabetes?
Are most of your patients people with diabetes? Do you see more people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes?
What tests will you do at regular office visits? How often will you order these?
What days are you not here? Who covers on nights and weekends?
What are your fees? Do you accept my insurance plan?
Are you associated with other diabetes care professionals, so I will benefit from a health care team?
Do you refer to an educator or dietitian?

Nurse Educator: A nurse educator or diabetes nurse practitioner is a registered nurse (RN) with special training and background in caring for and teaching people with diabetes. Many are certified in the field of diabetes. Nurse educators often help you learn the day-to-day aspects of diabetes self-care. They can teach you:

What diabetes is
How to cope with diabetes and to make changes in your health habits
How to use diabetes medications
How to work with insulin and give yourself shots
How to check your blood sugar
How to keep track of your diabetes
Symptoms of low and high blood glucose
How to take care of an insulin reaction
How to handle sick days
How to stay healthy if you are pregnant

Registered Dietitian: A registered dietitian (RD) is trained in nutrition. You want to be sure to work with an RD who has training and experience with diabetes. If your doctor does not work with a dietitian, ask him to refer you to one.
Your dietitian helps you figure out your food needs based on your desired weight, lifestyle, medication, and other health goals (such as lowering blood fat levels or blood pressure). Even if you are not new to diabetes, a visit to the dietitian can help as our food needs change as we age. Nutrition guidelines for people with diabetes also change from time to time.
Dietitians can also help you learn how the foods you eat affect your blood sugar and blood fat levels. They can help you with the following:

Balancing food with medications and activity
Reading food labels
Making a sick day meal plan
Planning meals
Planning for eating out and special events
Including ethnic or foreign foods into your meals
Finding good cookbooks
Making food substitutions

Many people with diabetes may never need to see an endocrinologist in order to take good care of their diabetes. Most people with type 1 diabetes do see an endocrinologist, especially when they are first diagnosed, and many people with type 2 diabetes may see an endocrinologist if they are having trouble getting their diabetes under control or are developing severe complications.

Eye Doctor: This doctor is another key member of your health care team, because diabetes can affect the blood vessels in the eyes. When eye problems are caught early, there are very good treatments.
The American Diabetes Association guidelines say you should see your eye doctor at least once a year. These checkups are the best way to detect diabetic eye disease. Your eye doctor will check for any changes in your eyes. If there are changes, the doctor will treat the problem or refer you to another doctor with special training in that area. Be sure your eye doctor is familiar with how to spot and treat diabetic eye disease. It’s a good idea to ask:

How many of your patients have diabetes?
Do you perform eye surgery?
Will you send regular reports to my primary care or diabetes physician?

Social Worker/Psychologist/Psychiatrist/Marriage and Family Therapist: Mental health professionals help with the personal and emotional side of living with diabetes. Social workers may be able to help you find resources to help with your medical or financial needs. Some social worker’s may even be able to help you cope with many concerns related to diabetes, including problems within the family and coping with workplace situations.
A few sessions with a psychologist might help during a stressful time. On a long-term basis, a psychologist might help work on more lasting problems.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can prescribe medication to treat physical causes for emotional problems. Psychiatrists also provide counseling.
Marriage and family therapists can help you with personal problems in family and marital relationships and problems on the job.

Podiatrist: This health professional is trained to treat feet and problems of the lower legs. Diabetes makes you prone to poor blood flow and nerve damage in the lower legs. You may get infections more often. Sores, even small ones, can quickly turn into serious problems. Any foot sore or callus needs to be checked by your primary care doctor or a podiatrist. Do not try to fix these yourself, because you could cause an infection. But do inspect your feet daily for signs of trouble. Podiatrists treat corns, calluses, and more serious problems. Ask your podiatrist:

How many of your patients have diabetes?
Are you familiar with the foot problems diabetes can cause?
Will you work with my primary care doctor, if needed?

Pharmacist: A pharmacist has a wealth of information on medicines: what’s in them and how they interact with each other. Pharmacists are highly trained professionals who must know about the chemistry of the products they dispense and what effects, both good and bad, medications have on the body. Therefore, they can also give advice on whether and how any medication you take for your diabetes or other conditions could or will affect your blood glucose levels.
It is important to find a pharmacy you like and to stick with it. This way, the pharmacist can keep an accurate and up-to-date profile of your medical history, allergies, and medications.
Pharmacists do more for you than fill your prescriptions. They alert you to the potential common or severe side effects of any drug you are going to take. With each new prescription, they can review your medication profile to see if any of your current medications might interact with your new prescription. So, in addition to asking your diabetes care provider, you can ask your pharmacist to recommend over-the-counter medicines for colds or other minor illnesses. For example, if your pharmacist knows you take a sulfonylurea, he or she may recommend a cold medicine with little or no alcohol to avoid any possible interaction between the two medications.

Dentist: People with diabetes are at somewhat greater risk for gum disease. The excess blood sugar in your mouth makes it a good home for bacteria, which leads to infection. See your dentist every six months. Be sure to tell your dentist that you have diabetes.

Exercise Physiologist:Exercise plays a major role in your diabetes care, no matter which type of diabetes you have. Exercise can help lower blood sugar, help your body to use insulin better, and help control your weight. It can also improve your blood fat levels, reduce stress, and improve your overall fitness level. Even if you have diabetic complications, ask your doctor about safe exercises you can do.
The best person to help you and your doctor plan your fitness program is someone trained in the scientific basis of exercise. Your doctor can help you look for someone.

Always get your doctors approval for any exercise program.

Diabetes advocacy groups

The following is a list of organizations that can provide information on diabetes. Ask your health care team to help you find other resources for information or support.

Country specific groups can be listed here.

Support groups

Diabetes can affect emotions in a direct or indirect way. Poor control of your blood sugar can make you more irritable. You may also feel different from other people because of your condition, and you may also feel resentful as a consequence. You have to adapt your daily life to diabetes planning.

As a person with diabetes you have an increased risk of depression and anxiety, and that is why your healthcare team may include a social worker or even a psychologist.

You may find it useful to talk to other people suffering from diabetes. There are support groups organized both online and in person. Even if you may not feel eager to join one or you think you are not a kind of person who can enjoy being part of it, consider that they can be good sources of information. People in support groups know about the latest treatments, and can share their own experience or other kinds of helpful practical information (i.e. carbohydrate counts for your favorite takeout restaurant).

SUPPORT GROUP: A group of people who share a similar problem or concern. The people in the group help one another by sharing experiences, knowledge, and information

In a support group, if you just found out you have diabetes you can learn from people who have lived with it for long time. You can talk about it and share how you deal with it. You may even talk about how you take care of your health, how you prepare food, and which kind of physical activities you do. Family members are also welcome, even if they do not have diabetes. This can help them to understand your situation, and how to better help you.

Ask your doctor if they are aware of a local support group you may join!

It can help to talk with other people who have problems like your own.

Support

To live with diabetes can be difficult and frustrating, and you know it well. Sometimes your blood sugar level my rise even if you have done everything properly. However if you stick to your diabetes management plan you will likely see a positive difference in A1C during your visit with your doctor.

These situations, as well as the normal daily diabetes management, can become overwhelming. It can be helpful to find somebody to talk with. Your healthcare team can be a support, and it is made up of many different specialists, but you may also want to try a support group to share your frustrations as well as your successes with other people. These people can understand your situation, because they live it themselves and it can be very helpful. You may find new tips thanks to meeting with other people that manage diabetes every day.

Ask your doctor if they are aware of a local support group you may join!

Strategies to deal with negative emotions

You have to deal with diabetes every day for the whole day. This can impact your emotional well-being, stress and negative emotions can even affect your blood glucose control. There are some strategies that can help you deal with negative emotions, to communicate with your loved ones, and to find support and any kind of help you may need.

Late night snacks

If you love to have late night snacks remember to make the right choices.

Late-night snacks add extra calories to your daily intake, and this can lead you to gain weight. If you have a snack at night which is rich in carbohydrates you may wake up with a high blood sugar level.

So try to choose a “free” food, such as:

A can of diet soda
Five baby carrots
Two saltine crackers
One vanilla wafer

Or swap the snack for a piece of gum or hard candy. These “free” foods have few, if any, carbohydrates and calories, so they won’t contribute to weight gain or increased blood sugar.

If you take insulin or other diabetes medications and must snack before bedtime to prevent low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during the night, talk to your doctor. He or she may adjust the dose of your medications to prevent the need for a late-night snack.

How to read food labels

A healthy diet is fundamental in your treatment plan. But how can you know what you are eating? Reading food labels is a recommendation that should become integrated into your daily routine, or at least whenever you are eating something which you are not familiar with. This can help you make good choices.

What should you look for first?
Pay attention at the list of ingredients. Remember that the list of ingredient is in a decreasing order by weight. The heaviest ingredient is the first and so on.

What should you choose?
Go for ingredients like whole-wheat flour, soy and oats, or monounsaturated fats such as olive, canola or peanut oils. These ingredients are good for your hearth too. You should also choose foods that are high in fiber. If an item has more than 5 grams of fiber you can subtract half of this from your counting of carbohydrates since fiber allows for better absorption of carbohydrates.

What should you avoid?
Try avoiding ingredients such as hydrogenated oil (or partially hydrogenated).

How to pay attention to carbohydrates?
Reading food labels is very important when it comes to calculating the carbohydrates in your eating plan. You should evaluate the grams of carbohydrates in total, not just the sugar.

What should you pay attention to?
Some extra labels such as “sugar-free” or “fat-free” may be misleading. Sugar-free does not necessarily mean less carbohydrates, so you should pay attention to the whole of the nutrition facts. Similarly fat-free food can be rich in carbohydrates. Therefore, you should compare labels before making a choice.

Be aware also that products with sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol) contain carbohydrates as well.

Remember to calculate…
The labels are written based on serving sizes. Pay attention to them and to the ones of your eating plan. Remember to double the calories, fat, carbohydrate, proteins and others if you double the serving.

Another useful piece of information is the daily value. The percentage is based on a 2000 calories per day diet. This may help you compare the food with the daily recommendations.

You have to set your own goals with your doctor and dietitian. Knowing how to read food labels will give you more chances to choose what you eat in a correct way.

Eating Plan

If you suffer from diabetes you need to have an eating plan in order to have the correct nutrients in moderate amounts and to eat regularly.

When thinking about a diet one may think about restrictions. But the diabetes eating plan simply organizes meals rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories. A large proportion of the meal is constituted by fruit, vegetables and whole grains. This kind of diet is suitable and healthy for any adult.

Why? The doctor may suggest for you to see a dietitian in order to organize your eating plan and help you with changing eating habits. The main goal is to control your blood sugar level and your weight. In modern societies we are generally eating more than needed and when you exceed in calories and fat intake your body reacts by rising its blood glucose. This can lead to complications. Controlling nutrition can help you avoid these complications, by maintaining the blood sugar levels in a safe range.

How? It is recommended to start planning your diet with a doctor or a dietitian. Talk to him/her in order to avoid frustration and to personalize your diet.

What else? An eating plan good for diabetes is also beneficial to other health related aspects. By following a diet rich in fiber, fruit and vegetables you will reduce the risk of other diseases (e.g.. cardiovascular disease, cancer).

Be aware: It is important that you follow the eating plan, but it is important as well that your eating plan is tailored on you (goals, lifestyle, body).

The right balance in nutrition is important!

Together with physical activity and treatment, healthy eating is one of the most important parts of diabetes management. Sometimes you may be concerned with specific ingredients that may affect your blood sugar level, but you must remember the overall picture. You shouldn’t be excessive with quantities and you should stick to a schedule. Here you’ll find some suggestions on how to balance your nutrition:
Keep to a schedule. Eating at the same time every day helps to maintain stable blood sugar levels. As you monitor your levels you should be able to recognize patterns: the blood sugar levels is highest after eating and decreases after a couple of hours.

Make every meal well-balanced. Try to cook or order food with the right mix of nutrients (starches, fruits and vegetables, proteins, and fats). Remember that carbohydrates are particularly important, and try to eat the same amount of them at each meal.

Eat the right amount of foods. Try to divide the food into portion sizes. Keep track of portions for your typical food thus to simplify the process. Be precise by using a scale or any appropriate measurement tool.

Coordinate your meals and medication. Be aware that if you are eating too little or too much this can be dangerous. You should also balance the quantity of food food you eat with your medication intake.

These suggestions could be more safely implemented in your routine if initiated with your dietitian or your doctor!

Power2DM

Author: User