Recently I was approached by a publisher to write a book of diabetes tips from medical professionals. Since those already exist, and most medical professionals don't live with diabetes, I thought how much better to gather tips from people who actually do.
Alas, the publisher disagreed, so there won't be a patient tips book,
but here's my patient tips list. Some of these tips, and plenty more,
are in my books. Each of these come from diabetes friends, colleagues, peers and me.
These
tips are in no particular order, and they won't all apply to you.
However, if you find one or two you can put into practice, your life and
your health may vastly improve.
25 Tips for Living With Diabetes
- Keep your
glucose meter always in the same place so you don't have to go looking
for it. Mine is on my kitchen counter resting beside two small stuffed
bunnies always smiling up at me.
- Get a dilated eye exam
every year from an ophthalmologist. But here's what no one tells you:
Lower the blinds in your house before you leave for your appointment and
bring sunglasses -- even if it's raining.
- Lancing
devices that allow you to check your blood sugar on your palm just
below your thumb give you very similar numbers as your fingertips do.
- Use a 100-hour timer and set it to 72 hours to know when to change your insulin pump infusion site.
- Keep
your glucose meter in a brightly-colored case, not the black one it
came in. You'll find it quickly. It may also make you smile more.
- Simple
carbohydrates spike your blood sugar, requiring more insulin. Insulin
is a fat storage hormone. Cut down on refined carbs and watch your blood
sugar spikes reduce as well as your waistline.
- Drop the idea that you're going to do this "diabetes thing" perfectly. It's impossible, and I'm a "recovering perfectionist."
- Exercise
in the morning so you don't have time to talk yourself out of it. I
take my hour walk after breakfast before the day becomes a 12-car pile
up.
- If you use two insulin pens, wrap a rubber
band or ribbon around one. It can prevent ending up in the hospital like
countless others have who mixed up their pens.
- Take
a full minute to look at your child/children before leaving the house.
That's why it's worth taking care of your diabetes. Okay, you can look
at your spouse or your dog too.
- Clear a path from
your bed to the bathroom so when you get up in the middle of the night
to pee you won't hurt yourself or wake up the neighbors.
- Opt for plain Greek yogurt instead of regular -- it has more protein, less carbohydrates and is way more fashionable.
- Use endive, cabbage and lettuce leaves as a scoop for dips and ditch the crackers and chips.
- Make
two or three boxes of different flavored sugar-free Jello, pour 6-8
ounces into plastic cups and pop them into the refrigerator. When you
need a snack, they're ready to go.
- Substitute
almond meal for flour when making biscotti or many other cookie type
confections. Sure, they crumble, but they taste great and have a LOT
less carbs.
- Need more exercise? Get a dog.
- Replace the clothes on your stationary bike with a book rack. I don't care, Daily Devotional readings or Fifty Shades of Grey, just get on and pedal.
- To
raise low blood sugar eat fast-acting carbs such as four glucose tabs
or 2 Tbs of honey or a handful of Skittles or drink a glass of skim
milk. Two slices of toast with raspberry preserves, three Oreos and a
slice of pecan pie a la mode is a slow and -- once you've looked at the
calories you've consumed -- painful method for raising blood sugar.
- Keep
cans of soda at home, the office, your briefcase, your locker, in your
car. It's okay to have a sugary drink when your low blood sugar's making
the world a very fuzzy place.
- Join a diabetes social media site or make a diabetes friend. You need someone in your circle who "gets it."
- If
you take insulin or a glucose-lowering medication, be prepared for
lows. Keep glucose tablets or SweeTarts in all your jacket pockets,
purses and bags -- and sneak them into your husband's too. Yes, personal
experience.
- Ask your doctor to write scripts for
your pills at twice the dose and cut them in half. Also, see if she'll
give you some samples from that big closet in her office.
- If you need to cut down on fat and protein go the Latin way: less meat more rice -- brown of course -- and beans.
- See everything you try to manage your diabetes as an experiment and learn from it. Failure doesn't exist.
- Diabetes
is a marathon, not a sprint. Learn everything you can and do the best
you can. Then applaud yourself for everything you do and say three Hail
Marys and one Jewish blessing that this year your son will marry a doctor.
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