Controlling your diabetes

Controlling Your Diabetes

By Lindsey Santos References DiGiulio, M., & Keogh, J. E. (2014). Medical-­‐surgical nursing demystified (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-­‐Hill Education.

Preventing complications is key!

Eat clean and exercise Eating clean allows you to get your nutrition without additional and unnecessary sugars being added to your diet. The less amount of simple sugars you eat, the less your pancreas works to secrete a proper amount of insulin in your body. Exercise helps by lowering your blood sugar in the form of increased insulin secretion through the pancreas. Both of these will help you maintain your blood sugar at normal levels without pharmacologic intervention.

Monitor your blood sugar By monitoring your blood sugar, you can make sure your sugar is maintained within the normal levels of 70-­‐120mg/dL. You can also manage it through recognition that you either need to take insulin or need to eat something, depending on your levels.

Prepare for a sick day By recognizing that your blood sugar exceeds expected ranges during illnesses, you can become more aware of the importance in monitoring your blood sugar levels. Making sure you’re getting proper nutrition and are staying hydrated are ways to keep your blood sugar from rising more than wanted.