12 Keys to Managing Your Diabetes Care

Proper diabetes care can reduce the risk of complications. It's important to pay attention to both physical needs and mental health when managing diabetes. Read on to learn more about 12 specific actions to stay healthy as you manage diabetes.

Check Your Blood Sugar

High blood sugar in diabetes contributes to a host of potential complications, so keeping your blood sugar controlled is essential. Checking blood sugar can be done in different ways, from lab tests drawn at your healthcare provider's office to checking your blood sugar at home.

Your healthcare provider can order a blood test called a hemoglobin A1c to get a sense of your level of blood sugar control over the past three months. Ideally, this number should be less than 7% in people with diabetes, though individualized goals may be recommended by your healthcare provider.

Blood sugar levels can also be checked at home using a blood sugar monitor, called a glucometer. Not everyone with diabetes needs to check blood sugar at home, but those taking certain diabetes medications like insulin are recommended to check blood sugar at home. Your blood sugar is usually checked before meals and at night before bed.

Care for Your Feet

High blood sugar in diabetes increases the risk of foot ulcers, which can lead to serious infections of the skin, soft tissue, and bones. In severe cases, it may require amputation. It's important to maintain foot health with diabetes by doing the following:

• Wear socks and well-fitted, comfortable shoes that do not rub or cause blisters.
• Trim your toenails regularly.
• Check your feet, or have a loved one check your feet, each night to look for signs of infection, broken skin, or injury.
• Visit a podiatrist at least once yearly for foot exams.

Eat a Diabetes-Friendly Diet

One of the most important ways to keep your diabetes under control is to eat a diabetes-friendly diet. It doesn't have to be a bland and restrictive diet, but it does mean cutting down on carbs. Things to avoid include:

• Sugar-sweetened foods like pastries, some cereals, and candy
• Sugar-sweetened drinks like juices and sodas
• Refined carbohydrates like white breads, crackers, and pastas
• Highly processed carbohydrates like chips and cereal bars

In a diabetes-friendly diet, there are still lots of delicious options. Choose low-glycemic-index foods. These foods have carbohydrates that are digested more slowly and are high in fiber:

• Whole grains instead of white grains
• Oatmeal instead of cereal
• Vegetables that are low in starch, like leafy greens, broccoli, and zucchini (not potatoes and corn)
• Beans and legumes (but watch out for canned versions that include sugar)

Dietary changes, along with exercise and weight loss when indicated, can help significantly reduce blood sugar. Some people are even able to put type 2 diabetes into remission this way.

Get Exercise

Another important step to controlling blood sugar and managing weight is staying active. Everyone should aim for 150 minutes of physical activity weekly.

Activities to try include:

• Walking at a brisk pace
• Dance classes
• Tennis
• Bicycling
• Swimming

In addition to helping control diabetes, exercise has benefits for heart health, mood, and muscle and bone health.

Take Medication as Prescribed

Medications are a big part of a diabetes care plan, and for many people with diabetes, they are essential for blood sugar control. Diabetes medication may include pills, injectable medications, and insulin.

Your healthcare provider may recommend medications like statins for cholesterol management, aspirin for the prevention of stroke and heart attack, and blood pressure medications.

Taking your medications as prescribed is one of the best ways to keep your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure under control.

Stop Smoking

Smoking has many harmful effects on the body, and it’s especially important for people with diabetes to quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. One of the reasons is that smoke exposure increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, and people with diabetes are already at a higher risk for heart disease and stroke.

In addition, nicotine actually increases blood sugar levels and can lead to type 2 diabetes. Note that when you quit smoking, your blood sugar levels can decrease and your medication requirements may change.

Keep Your Blood Pressure Under Control

Diabetes and high blood pressure often go hand in hand. Having both conditions drastically increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. About 80% of adults with diabetes also have high blood pressure, and blood pressure should be treated to a goal of less than 130/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury).

Pay Attention to Oral Health

High blood sugar in diabetes can increase your risk of gum disease, tooth decay, and infection. Diabetes results in excess sugar in the saliva, dry mouth, and poor wound healing.

To keep your mouth healthy, follow oral hygiene steps, including:

• Making regular visits to your dentist for preventive care (usually every six months)
• Brushing your teeth twice daily with toothpaste containing fluoride
• Flossing your teeth daily
• Avoiding cigarettes

Schedule Kidney Tests

Diabetes is the top cause of chronic kidney disease. One-third of people with diabetes also have kidney disease. Controlling blood sugar is important to prevent the development and progression of kidney disease in diabetes.

Kidney disease doesn’t cause any symptoms in the early stages. Your healthcare provider will monitor your kidney function with regular blood testing at scheduled visits as part of your diabetes care plan.

Check Your Cholesterol

High cholesterol is another condition that occurs with diabetes, drastically increasing heart disease risk. There is evidence that the cholesterol medication known as statins improve survival, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in those with diabetes.

Have Regular Eye Exams

Another complication of diabetes is eye disease, which can lead to vision problems and even blindness. In the short term, high blood sugar can cause blurred vision, but over time, high blood sugar can cause the following:

• Diabetic retinopathy (blood vessel problems in the back layer of the eye)
• Macular edema (swelling of the part of the eye responsible for high acuity vision)
• Cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye)
• Glaucoma (increased pressure in the eye that can lead to problems with the optic nerve)

Don’t ignore any eye symptoms like new floaters, flashes of light, or other vision problems. People with diabetes should see an eye care specialist for a dilated eye exam at least once per year.

Stay Positive

A diagnosis of diabetes can bring anxiety about complications, side effects from medications, frustration about controlling blood sugar, and feelings of deprivation around dietary changes. Depression is common in people with diabetes, which is a treatable condition with medication and talk therapy. Signs of depression include the following:

• Depressed mood (feeling low and experiencing a loss of interest)
• Fatigue
• Sleep disturbance
• Changes in appetite
• Decreased interest in things you used to enjoy
• Difficulty concentrating
• Suicidal ideation (thoughts or ideas)

Summary

Diabetes can cause a host of complications from head to toe, including depression, eye disease, dental disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and diabetic foot ulcers. Paramount to diabetes care is controlling blood sugar, but it’s just as important to identify and treat these potential complications.

A comprehensive diabetes care plan includes attention to possible complications, with regular visits with your healthcare provider for screening and medication management.

A Word From Verywell

A diagnosis of diabetes is life-changing. It can be stressful to keep track of your medication and blood sugar monitoring, as well as making lifestyle changes to avoid complications and to improve your condition.

Know that you’re not in this alone. Your healthcare provider can offer information and advice on ways to start achievable lifestyle modifications, including dietary changes, exercise, and smoking cessation.