Nowadays, there are around 422 million patients with diabetes around the world and nearly 1.5 million deaths are directly associated with the disease each year. Although there’s still no cure for this diabetes yet, it can, however, be well-managed.
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme a tailored solution for you, for example, can be the solution you need. Some diabetes patients are able to manage their condition so well in fact that it doesn’t affect their lives in the slightest.
Of course, that takes a good bit of effort but you can eventually get there. The key is not to underestimate this disease and especially not to neglect it. With that in mind, here are a few things you need to know about living with diabetes.
A lifestyle change
If you’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you’ll have to turn your life around. This includes a lot of sacrifices but you get used to it eventually. The most important part is to determine the most likely cause of type 2 diabetes.
As you may already know, even scientists and doctors don’t know the exact cause of diabetes but conditions like fatty liver, obesity, your body’s faulty production of insulin and others are the usual suspects.
Your doctor will recommend the best course of action but most commonly that includes a complete lifestyle change aside from taking medicine regularly for the rest of your life.
How to manage diabetes?
The best way to manage diabetes is to start on a weight loss plan. Even if you’re not obese, losing a couple of pounds will do you good. The goal is to lose as much fat around your waist and stomach as possible as this fat is known to disrupt liver and pancreas functionality in your body.
If diabetes has managed to cause severe nerve damage, you might consider hiring a personal trainer to come up with a tailored exercise and diet plan for you.
Other ways to manage diabetes is to take your medicine regularly and give up on some bad habits like eating processed food, white flour products and pretty much anything that has a high glycemic index and glycemic load.
Things to watch out for
As you may already know, diabetes does a lot of interior damage that cannot be spotted until it’s too late. Nerve endings, eyes and kidneys tend to suffer the most. Moreover, your body reacts differently to wounds, which have difficulties healing and are prone to severe infection.
You don’t have to be paranoid about scratches and similar wounds but be mindful that those need to be disinfected properly. Furthermore, you react differently to diseases, such as flu, cold and similar infections.
Your blood sugar may spike or fall drastically so you have to be careful. You can use a healthcare app to monitor your condition and keep your blood sugar levels in check. Last but not least are symptoms of high and low blood sugar.
High blood sugar is followed by dry mouth, increased thirst, and an increased need to urinate while low blood sugar is followed by symptoms, such as aggressiveness, mood swings, hunger, dizziness and lightheadedness, shakiness and so on. Extremely high and extremely low blood sugar can result in a diabetic coma so be mindful of these symptoms at all times.
Closing words
Living with diabetes doesn’t have to be difficult. With reliable health coaching and weight loss. You can easily manage your condition and drastically reduce its negative effects. You’ll have to make a lot of effort but it’s well worth it in the end.