Improve Your Health as a Diabetic

If you are diabetic you will want to do all you can to improve your health which will improve your diabetes management.

Type 1 diabetic persons cannot be cured (unless they get an islet or beta cell transplant, which is still experimental), and must take insulin injections several times per day for life -- because the pancreas produces no insulin.

Type 2 diabetes may be controlled or sometimes "cured" -- unless the pancreas is only partially working (burnt out), requiring low-dose insulin, as well as changing lifestyle, in any case!

Steps

  1. Diet is part of the cure of Type 2. Type 1 and 2 need to maintain a healthy diabetic diet, on schedule (don't get too hungry) to get better. Follow the advice of your doctor or diabetes educator.
    • Eat slowly; the sensor in your brain needs about 20 minutes to get the "I'm full!" signal.

      If you eat quickly, you get full, even overeating -- but still feel hungry.

      Drink water with your meal to avoid overeating.
  2. Exercise may be a cure (Type 2). If it is medically safe, start exercising 30 minutes a day, of vigorous but low impact activity. A 30-minute walk at a quick pace can help to reduce blood sugar, and possibly the amount of medication needed. You can also break your exercise into 3, 10- or 2, 15-minute periods, throughout the day.
  3. Have a medical plan for exercise to adjust dosage downward, "if taking insulin or using blood sugar lowering drugs", because exercise lowers blood glucose, and too much insulin can possibly result in hypoglycemia.
  4. Take medications on time as instructed, keeping all self-testing records. Make and keep appointments with your health team and doctor, and for getting laboratory tests as instructed.

    Missing your insulin doses can cause hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis (high blood acid) -- either may cause "seizures, coma and death".
  5. Follow your doctor's guidelines, including, but not limited to: checking your blood sugar as directed, taking insulin/medication as directed, following a meal schedule, if necessary.

    Get regular eye, kidney function, and foot checkups.

    Communicate with your health care professional, developing an effective treatment plan for diabetes -- by working together with your health team -- so you are better prepared to handle the illness.
  6. Have your hemoglobin A1c test done every 3 months or as directed by your physician. Aim for a value of 6.5% or less as recommended by the American Diabetes Association. This test measures your average blood sugar levels over a period of 2-3 months and is a strong indicator of overall glycemic control.
  7. Stop smoking! Smoking raises blood sugar levels, damages blood vessels which can lead to heart disease and stroke, and adversely affects circulation due to constriction of blood vessels. Heart disease, stroke, and circulation problems are frequent complications of diabetes, even in non-smokers; a diabetic smoker greatly increases his or her risk of developing these complications.
  8. Know how to treat hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar which can occur in both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.
    • High blood sugar occurs at a level above 126mg/dL (7mmol/L), occurring as a result of stress, insufficient insulin, too much food, or an issue with oral medication.
    • Watch high sugar symptoms including: frequent thirst, frequent urination, unusual hunger, fatigue, and irritability.
    • Treatment includes adjusting insulin treatment (frequently, patients using insulin will simply take a correction shot based on the level of their blood sugar), or adjusting oral medications.
    • Untreated hyperglycemia is a leading cause of complications from diabetes, thus it is important to recognize and treat hyperglycemia as directed by your physician.
    • While patients taking insulin will typically adjust their insulin dosages to lower blood sugar, patients taking oral medication or patients using diet or exercise will typically have to adjust their carbohydrate intake to control blood sugar.
  9. High (hyper) blood sugar is life-threatening for another reason -- untreated it can rapidly progress into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which frequently requires hospitalization.
    • Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, unquenchable thirst, diarrhea, and muscle cramps. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms of DKA, SEEK URGENT MEDICAL ATTENTION, from not enough insulin.

Too much insulin

  1. Low (hypo) blood sugar is, also, life-threatening -- called hypoglycemia caused by too much insulin, for little or no food, or other overdose: you need to know how to recognize and treat it -- mainly when taking insulin or glucose lowering drugs.
    • Hypoglycemia occurs when the blood sugar level is below 70mg/dL (3.9mmol/L). It can occur as a result of stress, too much insulin, too little food for the amount of insulin you used, or an issue with oral diabetes medication.
    • Watch low sugar symptoms including: shakiness, tremor, rapid heart beat, sweating, clamminess -- even possible seizure, coma or death.
    • Caution: untreated hypoglycemia can rapidly progress into the worst results of seizures, coma, or death; thus, it is very important that hypoglycemia is quickly recognized and treated as directed by your physician.
    • In any situation where the patient believes that he or she is suffering from hypoglycemia, the patient should confirm with a blood sugar test; however, the patient should treat immediately, if they feel that the hypoglycemia is severe and it would take too long to test. Mild hypoglycemia can be treated by the patient and usually involves consuming 15 grams of carbohydrates, in the form of sugary (not diet) soda, fruit juice, glucose tablets/gel, or a small snack in the form of crackers, pretzels, hard candy, etc. It is important to note that candy bars contain a high amount of fat and can slow the absorption of sugar from the candy bar; therefore, it is not advised that patients use high-fat candy bars to treat hypoglycemia as the blood sugars may not rise fast enough to prevent drops in blood sugar.
  2. Once the patient has self-treated, wait 10-15 minutes, then test his or her blood sugar to confirm that blood sugar levels have risen above 70mg/dL (3.9mmol/L).
    • If the blood sugar levels are still below 70mg/dL (3.9mmol/L), the patient should repeat the treatment process, and if upon testing again after 10-15 minutes blood sugar levels are still below 70mg/dL (3.9mmol/L), the patient should treat once again and consult his/her physician immediately.
    • After successful self-treatment for a hypoglycemic event, if the patient has a meal planned within the next 30 minutes, the patient should continue as normal but continue to monitor his or her symptoms or blood glucose to check for any additional episodes of hypoglycemia.
    • If his/her next meal is beyond 30 minutes, the patient should consume a small snack (1/2 of a sandwich and an 8oz glass of milk, or a pack of peanut butter crackers).
  3. Intervene for another person. Severe hypoglycemia is an urgent medical condition that requires immediate intervention, and can sometimes require intervention from a second- or third-party. It can occur when blood sugars fall so rapidly that the patient is not well enough to self-treat, or when the patient suffers from "hypoglycemia unawareness" (perhaps a child or elderly diabetic).
    • Severe hypoglycemia can result in fainting, seizures, or death. Treatment may or may not be possible by the patient themselves due to significant impairment, however, treatment remains the same: raise blood sugar levels as rapidly as possible. This may be achieved using oral carbohydrates, if the patient is conscious.
  4. Get emergency help, if the diabetic is: unconscious, unable to swallow, or having a seizure, as outside intervention is necessary. Contact 911 or emergency medical technicians or paramedics.
  5. Know how to use a glucagon emergency kit; get one and instruct family members and friends how to use it. It may save your life, if you have "severe low blood sugar and are unconscious". The paramedics may not arrive in time.

Tips

  • Ask your doctor about lowering your blood sugar and lower need of insulin during your sleep (night or day): not eating other than light protein snack near bedtime, especially stopping non-essential nutrients 2 or 3 hours before your sleep-time, drinking only water (not alcohol, no caffeine or other stimulants) at such times, telling yourself: "That food will be here tomorrow!"
  • If you take insulin or other diabetes medications and believe that you "must snack" before bedtime to prevent low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) during the night -- how do you "prevent" that excess insulin? Talk to your doctor about adjusting your dose of your medications to "not need a late-night snack".[1]
    • Give your nerves, liver and the digestive system time to finish work, and to rest and for general recovery, from the sugar produced by [continuing] digestion after being asleep; so sugar is less elevated in the blood, and to stop fats or sugars being processed all night in the liver (allows in-digestion to clear, as well), etc.
  • Sleep (on an almost empty stomach!) -- get 6, preferably 7 or more hours of sleep for recovery time for the nerves and all other systems to settle and rest. This will lower your diabetes problems, i.e.: blood sugar levels [and improve your blood pressure].
    • If you need help sleeping, (1) try the one antihistamine to cause drowsiness that does not cause higher blood pressure (HBP), as cheap as $4 for 100 (as Equate brand 'Chlortabs'): it is chlorpheniramine maleate -- also sold as 'Chlortrimeton' and as 'Corcidin-HBP'. (Do not use any sugary antihistamine syrups.) (2) Taking Valerian as a highly relaxant herb -- helps with sleep and is especially known to reduce body aches and pains. If you wake up too early, drink water and take another dose of both, if four hours or more have passed since the first dose. (3) Take calcium with magnesium and vitamin D3 and B-vitamins, omega3, omega3-6-9 which all work together, causing much improved relaxation and many other healthful benefits! (4) A "small serving of protein food" helps sleep -- such as plain turkey or chicken, and do eat almonds (have more fiber!), walnuts, pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, pistachios, red peanuts with skins-on (also, those kinds of seeds and all nuts have essential oils!).

Warnings

  • If you have dry, "cotton" mouth urinating frequently, you may be in ketoacidosis: seek urgent medical attention!
  • There is no substitute for professional medical care -- but only you can be self-aware, doing your self-tests, responding appropriately to the any high/low sugar symptoms that you experience.
  • If you feel faint, lightheaded, shaky, have a quickened heart rate, and are clammy (cool but a little sweaty), you may be having an insulin reaction - immediately treat for hypoglycemia as directed by your physician.

Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/AN00975 Mayo Clinic, "Are late-night snacks a no-no for people who have diabetes?"
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