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A diagnosis of diabetes means there is going to have to be some
changes made in your way of life. Although you don’t have to go on a
restrictive diet and give up eating sugar, you do have to start
watching what you eat. And if you already watch what you eat, you
are going to have to watch how much you eat. You’ll need to start
exercising, whether it’s something as simple as walking or riding a
bike or a bigger change, like a membership at a fitness club.
Depending on the severity of your case, you will also have to start
buying diabetic products.
No matter where your sugar levels are now, you will want to keep
track of them on a regular basis. For people with type 2 diabetes,
this can mean testing anywhere from once a day to 3 or 4 times a
day. This may change as you get comfortable with eating healthy
choices from the diabetic food pyramid and you get into an exercise
routine.
But during those first months up to a year, you will want to test
in the morning, after meals or certain foods and after exercise to
see what effect each of these has on your glucose levels. To do this
you will need a blood glucose monitor. There are many different
models available, talk with your health care professional, support
groups, pharmacist or go online and do comparisons to see which one
fits your needs.
To go along with your meter you will need test strips, lancets,
alcohol wipes or sanitizing lotion. A great way to keep all of these
diabetic products together and convenient is in a travel bag with
compartments for everything. You should be able to find all of these
items in the same section at your pharmacy.
There are other specialized diabetic products that you might want
to carry in your kit, things such as glucose pens or glucose tablets
for emergency situations. Another item to look for at your pharmacy
is a medic alert bracelet that informs emergency personnel that you
have diabetes.
For those with severe cases of diabetes it is important to be
aware of the dangers of diabetic neuropathy and the possibility of
diabetic foot problems. Moisturizing lotion, skin ulcer treatment
cream, socks designed for people with diabetes as well as shoes and
shoe inserts, all of these diabetic products are valuable tools in
caring for your feet and staving off infections and worse.
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