Managing Diabetes Like A Pro!

You may have heard the nightmarish tales of how diabetes can really be a spoiler to a person’s everyday small pleasures. There is also the constant fear that diabetes can further lead to serious health complications. Does having diabetes mean a lifetime of anxiety, high medical bills, rushing to and from hospitals and goodbye to foods that actually taste good? Well, that is not entirely true!

If you manage your blood sugar levels carefully and stick to a specific routine, then despite having diabetes, you can live a healthy and happy life. To help you develop a better understanding of how to manage diabetes, let us look into the various ways you can keep your blood sugar levels steady.

Diabetes medication

Thankfully, science has made great strides in discovering medicines that are super-effective in controlling high blood sugar levels. Simply following your medication routine will almost win the battle for you. It’s really that simple – just stick to the medicines your doctor has prescribed as recommended. Set alarms if necessary and use pillboxes or medicine planners to help you never miss a dose. This is one of the most crucial ways to manage diabetes. 

There are various categories of medicines for people with diabetes, which work by:

• Promoting insulin secretion from your pancreas.
• Making the cells of the body more responsive to insulin.
• Reducing the release of glucose in the bloodstream from the stores in the liver.
• Preventing the breakdown of dietary carbohydrates in your stomach. 
• Increasing the elimination of glucose through urine.

If you have Type 2 diabetes and are wondering how to manage diabetes, you must understand that if blood sugar control is not achieved by oral medicines, insulin will be recommended to you. 

Your doctor will suggest the best-suited medicine based on your health conditions. It is important to understand that just taking these pills alone is not the best idea. You need to make proper dietary and lifestyle changes to manage your diabetes with the minimum possible medicines.

A few other medicines:

Diabetes is often accompanied by some other health complications. That is why your doctor may recommend medicines for the following:

• To improve heart health 
• To manage high cholesterol 
• To lower high blood pressure

Exercise

Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage diabetes as it helps keep your blood sugar level in check. Exercise may not seem like fun but this is a small price to pay for good health. It helps improve the action of insulin and can also reduce the risk of developing diabetes-linked complications such as heart disorders, stroke, nerve damage, etc.

Being overweight or obese actually makes it difficult to keep blood sugar levels in control. To make medicines more effective, you need to start losing weight and exercise can help with weight loss. However, it is important to consult your doctor before initiating an exercise plan.

Try to exercise for 30 minutes every day and every once in a while go easy on yourself by allowing yourself a cheat day.

Diet

One of the most sought-after ways to manage diabetes is diet control. You have to focus on reducing unhealthy options from your diet. Excess carbohydrates flood your body with too much glucose and increase blood sugar levels. Consult a dietician and create a chart as per your health and taste needs. 

Remember to:

• Control your portion size.
• Avoid high-glycemic foods like white rice, white bread, cakes, pastries, cookies, sugary fruit juices, etc.

Although getting type 1 diabetes has nothing to do with weight, losing any extra weight will help you reduce your risk of complications and could mean injecting less insulin. And if you have type 2 diabetes, losing around 5% of your body weight can have real benefits for your health.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, MBBS, MD in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Conclusion

Remember that diabetes may be difficult but definitely not impossible to deal with. Do not forget to take your medicines on time. Follow a healthy diet, exercise routine, regular blood sugar monitoring and a few lifestyle changes like quitting smoking and drinking and you can manage your diabetes like a pro. 

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

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