I was compensated by Med-IQ through an educational grant from Sanofi to write about the realities of diabetes as a chronic disease. All opinions are my own.
One of the most important things I hope you take from this article is to share it with someone you love or use it as a tool to start the conversation. Now more than ever, we need to become our strongest advocates when it comes to healthcare.
I am excited to work with Med IQ again to help create awareness around type 2 diabetes and how you can become an advocate for your own health. I took this opportunity to sit down with my mother-in-law and have an updated discussion on her diabetes care and what her goals should be.
Med IQ is an accredited medical education company that provides a research-based educational experience for physicians nurses pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. This article will help you learn how to advocate for yourself, build a diabetes care team, and address any barriers you may experience in getting appropriate care for your diabetes type 2.
CEO Of Your Company
It’s time now more than ever to see yourself as the CEO of your company, your company being your health. A major key to success against diabetes is to make sure you are aware of where your numbers are measuring up and that your team is all on one accord. Your healthcare team is there to diagnose and treat but you have the power to make the greatest impact in this diagnosis.
Building a strong relationship with the team can also help you choose realistic goals to help you see improvements over time.
Some members of a diabetic care team:
- Mental Health Professional for assistance in stress and behavior modification
- Optometrist
- Dietician
- Podiatrist
- Diabetes Educator
- Primary Care Provider
Being familiar with both the patient and the provider side of healthcare, I agree that appointments can be very limited in time. This is why I always advise patients to make notes on their phones before appointments. This way they can come prepared with questions they need answers too. That face to face time with your medical provider is the right moment to get any and all questions out that you have about your health. Consider making diabetes only appointment so that all other health issues can be addressed at a separate time and you’ll be able to better focus on preventing or treating your condition.
It’s recommended that any person suffering from diabetes should have at least four separate diabetes-focused appointments to address specific health questions this dedicate time for a focused session; it’s been proven to improve your outcome and treatment
The Silent Killer
Diabetes is a very common yet silent disease. Diabetes can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and so much more. In the United States more than 34 million people with diabetes. 1 out of 5 of them does not know they even have the disease. PreDiabetics have a hemoglobin A1C between 5.7 and 6.4. Anything above 6.5 indicates diabetes. The higher your A1 C, the greater your risk to develop diabetic complications. But before even getting to that point, diabetes may be completely silent to you. You may not always feel the symptoms but the damage is most definitely be done. That’s why it is important to know your numbers. Those numbers can be broken down as the ABC’s of diabetes
A: get your hemoglobin A1 C checked every three months to make sure you stay in the target range
B: aim to keep your blood pressure below 140/90mmHg
C: keep control of your cholesterol
S: stop smoking or don’t start at all
The most effective way you can help fight against the damaging effects of diabetes is to proactively seek early detection, create lifestyle changes to keep blood sugar under control, and be aware of what medication options are right for you. If you are interested in learning about the latest in diabetes treatment, I will be sharing more details in November as part of this campaign.
Want to know how you can help others?
Med-IQ is conducting an anonymous survey and would appreciate your input. The survey, which includes additional education on this topic, will take less than 10 minutes to complete. Survey responses are shared only in aggregate. Your responses to these survey questions will provide Med-IQ with important information about your experiences with diabetes and your care team, which will help us develop future educational initiatives. Once you’ve completed the survey, you will have the option of providing your email address to be entered into a drawing administered by SOMA Strategies to win 1 of 10 $100 VISA gift cards. If you choose to enter, your email address will be used only to randomly draw the winners and notify them of their prize and to send a follow-up survey as part of this same initiative. ENTER HERE
