Diabetes Basics :: Diabetes Self-Management

These articles cover a wide range of subjects, from the most basic aspects of diabetes care to the nitty-gritty specifics.

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Diabetes Basics articles cover the fundamentals of diabetes self-management, from blood glucose monitoring to meal planning to medicines. You’ll find basic and useful information on exercise, nutrition, foot care, insulin, and other topics. If you’re newly diagnosed and are just beginning to learn about diabetes, these articles can help you get started.

Are You Label-Able? by Belinda O’Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E.

Eating healthfully and following a meal plan are key components of good diabetes care whether you use oral medicines, insulin, or diet and exercise to manage your diabetes. Knowing how to read a food label can help you choose healthful foods, figure out…

Avoiding Complications by Amy Tenderich, M.A.

Most people who are diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes are told at some point about the long-term damage diabetes can do, such as causing heart attack and stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and limb amputations. Unfortunately, too few are also told…

How to Avoid Errors in Diabetes Care by Patrick J. O'Connor, MD, MPH, JoAnn M. Sperl-Hillen, MD, and Becky Klein, RN CDE

Medical errors generally make the news only when they are particularly dramatic — the wrong leg is amputated, for example — or tragic — someone dies. But less sensational errors take place every day in numerous settings. Some errors happen in hospitals, some in doctors’ offices, some in pharmacies, and some in people’s homes, when, for example, two drugs are mixed up or a dose is forgotten…

Managing Hyperglycemia by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Belinda O'Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

When you were diagnosed with diabetes, your doctor probably told you that your blood glucose levels were too high. Indeed, high blood glucose, or hyperglycemia, is the hallmark of diabetes. Regardless of your knowledge of diabetes at that time, you may…

Navigating Your Way to Optimal Health by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Gregory Hood, M.D.

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”
—Seneca the Elder

Diabetes is a chronic condition, meaning that once you are diagnosed, it’s there to stay. While this idea can be daunting and even…

Also inside: Monitoring for Control and Complications, Symptoms of Diabetes

Oral Medicines for Type 2 Diabetes by Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E.

Taking care of your diabetes is a bit like building a home. With input from your diabetes care team contractors, you begin by drafting a well-thought-out set of blueprints and assembling all the tools you need to control your blood glucose levels…

Physical Activity: The Magic of Movement by Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E.

“The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions.”

—Fred Allen

If jumping to conclusions is your only form of physical activity, you are overlooking one of the top tools available to improve your diabetes control! Healthful eating…

Also inside: Risky Business?, Step It Up!

Sexual Wellness by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Lawrence Maguire, M.D.

“Intimacy is being seen and known as the person you truly are.”—Amy Bloom

Researchers believe that up to 50% of people with diabetes will experience some sort of sexual dysfunction at some point. But even if diabetes doesn’t directly…

Also inside: Read More About It

Stress: Finding Peace Amid the Storm by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.”—Unknown

Everyone experiences stress in life, and people with diabetes are no exception. In fact, diabetes itself can be a source of much stress. While stress is often perceived…

Also inside: Symptoms of Depression

Taking Steps Toward Healthy Feet by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Belinda O'Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

Diabetes is notorious for causing foot problems. In fact, it is the number one cause of lower limb amputations in the United States. In 2001, the latest year for which statistics are available, some 82,000 amputations—over half of all…

Also inside: For More Information, How Can I Get My Doctor to Help Me Take Care of My Feet?, What Can I Do to Take Care of My Feet?

Teaming Up for Better Diabetes Control by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Kristina Humphries, M.D.

Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.

—Henry Ford

Diabetes is a chronic condition, which means it lasts for a lifetime and requires ongoing care. Diabetes can also affect many parts of the…

Also inside: Maximize Your Team Meetings, Rounding Up Your Team

The Benefits of Tight Control by Wayne Clark

It has been 16 years since the results of the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) were published. Despite its continuing legacy of proof that maintaining blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible reduces the risk of…

Understanding Hypoglycemia by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Belinda O’Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

When you think about diabetes and blood glucose control, the first thing that comes to mind is probably avoiding high blood glucose levels. After all, the hallmark of diabetes is high blood glucose, or hyperglycemia. But controlling blood glucose is more…

Understanding Insulin by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

In any discussion of diabetes, the word insulin is almost certain to come up. That’s because a lack of insulin or trouble responding to insulin (a condition called insulin resistance) or both is what is responsible for the high blood glucose…

Also inside: Treating Hypoglycemia

What is Diabetes? by Belinda O’Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E.

Most likely, you knew very little about diabetes before you learned that you had it. After your diagnosis, your next few doctor visits were probably a crash course in diabetes: learning how to check your blood glucose level, inject insulin or follow a…

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1. Insulin
2. Blood Glucose Monitoring
3. High Blood Glucose
4. Nutrition & Meal Planning
5. Diabetic Complications