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Your Diabetes Type 2 Starter Road Map

"Based on the research and information I have on December 05, the following makes sense to me," Harlan Jacobsen Copyright © 2005

What diabetes does to your life from here on is going to be primarily up to you, under your self management and will be at least 90% your responsibility.

You can chose to ignore or delay taking responsible action, but diabetes will not ignore you.

It is a stealth disease and does you bodily damage from Diabetes "complications" and steadily progresses with no announcement or clue until it is too late.

To diminish its control on your life, you will need to become promptly educated about your disease and be in an informed position to make some right decisions and take some prompt actions.

Every day you delay, in taking charge of your diabetes, your task becomes more difficult.

You have just had a "wake up" call.

Diabetes requires a team effort of health professionals, and I assume you have been diagnosed with Diabetes type 2. I would strongly suggest you find or get a referral to a good endocrinologist if you are type one or a good general practitioner will work if you are type 2 An endocrinologist is a doctor that specializes in diabetes.

Your doctor will line you up with a team that usually includes an educator, nurse,- dietician, nutritionist etc to get you started on the right diet to bring your blood sugar under control and other symptoms according to your diagnosis.

You will need to be examined right away by an eye doctor called an Ophthalmologist. He will be able to tell you if you have any preliminary start of diabetes connected eye disease, which if underway needs to be treated immediately.

You will want to go back to see your Ophthalmologist once a year.

If you are having foot problems even starting you will need to see a podiatrist.

Your regular doctors testing lab will do tests, (normally every three months hereafter) plus other tests too, (like Triglyceride and cholesterol) but primarily to determine your A1C reading.

This is the doctors way of learning what your blood sugar level has averaged for the last 3 months.

Your doctor will line you up with a member of the team to teach you how to do glucose meter readings using finger prick blood tests initially 5 or 6 times a day. He will write you a prescription for test strips that your insurance including Medicare will normally pay.

This reading is your self feed back blood sugar level for you to learn when it is necessary to take whatever actions appropriate. You are learning how to get the results of having your blood sugar under minimum specifications (levels) as soon as possible.

You will need to start a daily exercise program and this is an absolutely essential part of your doctors prescription.

You will likely need to lose weight promptly with a goal of 10% off your weight absolutely as soon as possible. This makes it much easier to control your blood sugar levels.

Eventually getting it down to the correct weight for your height etc.

You will learn what to eat and what not to eat and when. This is all an education you will not learn overnight, (one team member is usually a dietician, nurse or educating nutritionist) You will be advised you will need to take drastic steps and sacrifices right off and then add back in gradually as you can do so but only after your blood sugar level and blood pressure reading are maintained under control.

You will need to also get your weight loss program under way immediately.

Medications that affect insulin levels make it very difficult to lose weight. Make every effort to control your blood sugar with diet, exercise and supplements, without any medication raising your insulin level.

Your doctor will determine if you may be able to try to bring your blood sugar under control solely with diet and exercise alone.

He may add in some medication such as Metformin, (does many things but also helps lose weight) (plus more) to start that can be dropped when you have developed the skills necessary to manage your diabetes without this crutch.  (which has side affects)

You will need to make some drastic life style changes, and attitude changes, likely for the rest of your life, which you will resist mightily. Mostly because you do not want to give up old habits.

Success in overcoming your diabetes will require more will power then you have ever had to pull together in your life time.

There is no waiting for a miracle pill, some have been waiting for 25 years, and there is none on the horizon. The FDA would likely take three years for approval even if there was.

There have been many turn arounds every day by individuals and you can be one of them.

The medical people will tell you that there is no cure, and most damage already done is totally irreversible, and/or if underway is almost unstoppable. Our newspaper and web site are reporting on every new treatment or technique that we are sure will help change that.

Obtain some good books and information and get educated promptly on getting on top of this right away. Never stop learning. Keep informed of studies that reveal "what works".

Look on this as a four legged diabetes stool.

1. Change your diet drastically
   
2. Develop a regular exercise program which you will participate in 100% without fail.
   
3. Your doctor may prescribe medications. You add in vitamins, supplements and extras like increased water intake etc.
   
4. Life style, weight, attitude and stress level changes.

Neglect any one of these legs and your stool may collapse unexpectedly leaving you with damage you can not reverse.

To Understand Your Diabetes, the relationship to Body Fat and how it progresses, and understand why you need to be rid of excess body fat quickly....take charge of your blood sugar level, go here

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