Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Diabetes Awareness Month Message
– Improved health and wellbeing after you are diagnosed with diabetes.
By Dr. Kumar Sukhraj
The month of November is designated as National Diabetes Month. During this month there are many activities to help educate people about diabetes, help those at risk to get checked and take action, and help those who have diabetes to manage it. For anyone who was diagnosed with diabetes, it is not easy to face the facts. However, acceptance is the first step toward controlling your diabetes, feeling better and living a
Kumar Sukhraj
longer and a healthier life.
Here are some tips to get started on the path towards improved health and wellbeing after you are diagnosed with diabetes.
There are good news and bad news for people living with diabetes. The good news is that controlling your diabetes, which means keeping your blood sugar at healthy levels and reducing your chances of diabetes complications ranging from heart disease to foot damage, is something that you can do. However, the bad news is that keeping your diabetes under control is up to you, and it’s not always easy.
Many people with diabetes have found out after having a major complication such as a heart attack, stroke, or diabetic coma, etc., or people may have experienced symptoms such as blurry vision or excessive thirst, or just happened to find out from a routine blood test during a check-up. In whatever way you are diagnosed, it’s difficult to make sudden lifestyle changes. Most people need to gather their wits, talk to the experts and get up to speed on a confusing array of medical terms. However there are a few things you need to do right way.
Please Don’t let the past haunt you. Type two diabetes is partly genetic and many people may have childhood memories of grandparents or other relatives with diabetes who died after amputations, blindness, heart attacks, or strokes. In recent years a lot have changed due to the advances in technology. Our fore parents had no way to test their blood sugar at home, little or no medication options, and limited knowledge about the benefits of diet and exercise. We can count our blessings and acknowledge that there are lots of options/tools to control diabetes.
Understanding what is meant by the term moderation and consistency. These are important words for diabetic patients to understand. You need to learn how to eat at consistent times, limit your total calories, and space your carbohydrate intake throughout the day. Even exercise needs to be done on a routine, because it can help to lower blood glucose. People who do not take control of their diet and do not exercise have a lot of difficulties in controlling their blood glucose.
Don’t beat yourself up because you are diagnosed with diabetes. Many people may ask the question —”What did I do?” What you need to do is to move past this. You could feel bad or guilty, but the more quickly you move on to “What can I do about this?” the better it is for you.
Please do not panic. Many people are horrified when they hear the word diabetes. It could be the idea of using insulin needles, pricking their finger to test blood sugar, or never eating a piece of cake again. There are a lot of myths floating around about diabetes (such as you can never eat cake). Seek professional help from a diabetes educator or other people living with diabetes and enquire what you can eat, whether insulin hurts, or how difficult it is to prick your own finger. You may find that these aren’t as bad as you expected.
Don’t be too rigid about treatment options. Many diabetics may feel that they never want to take oral medication or insulin. Or they may think they could never control diabetes with diet and exercise. According to the American Diabetes Association patients can initially treat type 2 diabetes with lifestyle changes (improved diet, more exercise, and weight loss) and the oral medication metformin. What works best will depend on your individual circumstances. Once you take control over your blood sugar levels then you are on the way to lowering your risk for diabetic complications.
These are words of encouragement to help people accept their illness and make an effort to control it.
(Please feel free to send an email to [email protected] or call 622-8032 for further enquiry and discussion on the topic. Patient education plays an important in the diagnosis and management of diabetes and any other illness.)
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