5 Self-Care Tips To Control Your Diabetes For A Happy And Healthy Life Starting Now For A Better Tomorrow




We understand that caring for diabetes can be difficult at times. Many have been recently diagnosed or have been living with this condition for some time. It does not have to change your quality of life. We know what self-caring for diabetes condition entails.

Here are our top 5 tips for self-caring for diabetes. These tips will not only lead to a happy and healthy life, they will also be a seamless way of putting your health and wellness first.

1)      Look at the Bigger Picture

 Diabetes doesn't boil down to simple things such as:

  • Blood glucose
  • Exercise
  • Diet

When managing diabetes, you have to think of the bigger picture - what does this diagnosis mean for your life? Think about the things you love to do; can you still do these things? If not, why? What are ways you can still do the things you love, while proactively thinking of your health? Yes, monitoring blood glucose is important. We also know that regular exercise and choosing the right foods will help you.  We have to go beyond that and stop overthinking our food choices. We can't be punishing ourselves for missing a workout.  You need to think of how you can pursue a healthy lifestyle to do more of it.

2)      Use a Blood Glucose Monitor

Using a blood glucose meter can help you better manage your diabetes. It will measure and display the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood. This makes a major difference when managing your diabetes. It is necessary to have a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), or even a blood glucose monitor in place. It is imperative to test glucose levels frequently to ensure you're in the target range. This will ensure that your diabetes is being managed properly and that you are on the right track.

There are so many options for ease of use.

Continuous Glucose Monitors

Customizable, Optional Real-Time Alarms:  FreeStyle Libre 2 system - Real-time glucose alarms that notify you if you go too low or too high. Great for adults and children with diabetes, ages 4 years and above.

Routine finger sticks a thing of the past: FreeStyle Libre 14 day system - Track your glucose on your Smartphone without finger sticks with manual scan.

Data direct to the receiver/app via Bluetooth: Dexcom G6 CGM System - Works with your Smartphone automatically and includes predictive high or low glucose alerts.

Using multiple daily injections (MDI) to manage your diabetes: Guardian Connect - uses smart technology to predict when you‘re going too high or low.

Blood Glucose Monitors

Compact size that's convenient to carry: Freestyle Lite - Backlight screen and test strip port light for easy testing, day or night.

Audio-enabled, bilingual:  Glucocard Expression - Accurate and reliable test results displayed in six seconds.

Many of these products you can pay for direct or bill to your insurance. Take the initiative to keeping a consistent eye on your blood glucose.  Do yourself a favor; get a meter to manage your diabetes easier!

3)       Keep Mental Health in Check

Stress tends to make a hard situation worse. When you are suffering mentally, it will make diabetes management much harder. Take a minute to breathe and understand the cause of your stress. Feeling overwhelmed at work? Experiencing trauma in your relationship? In today's changing world with COVID-19 and other factors, it can be difficult to function.   Get to the cause of your stress and write down ways you can manage it. When you realize how in control of a situation you are, it helps to calm the stress. It also encourages you to make an action plan. Take part in stress-reducing activities you enjoy such as:

  • Take 30 minutes to go for a walk in nature
  • Playing with your pet 
  • Yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises
  • Crosswords, jigsaw, and other puzzles 
  • Work some omega-3 fatty acids into your diet 
  • Perform a random act of kindness

4)      Quit Smoking


Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke. These are the two most fatal conditions for someone with diabetes. Smoking also leads to an increase in blood pressure immediately when you take a puff. Keeping your blood pressure stable is a significant aspect of diabetes management.

 

5)      Keep Track of your Care Plan

 

Write down your care plan from top to bottom in a notebook or a journal. Track your medications. Track exercise and sleep patterns with blood glucose levels at certain times. Add your mood. Set daily glucose targets with your physician and write down your numbers. See if you're within target range; if you are not, what did you eat/do that day to affect the numbers? Write down your goals. Set them up in long-term and short-term so that you can effectively create an action plan. Writing these types of things down will help you keep better track of your health.

We hope these tips to easier diabetes care can assist you in feeling your very best. Have you tried some of these methods? Let us know in the comments!

 


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