Comprehensive Diabetes Checklist

This is a list of management skills and required tests all people with diabetes should review. If you don’t have all of these skills, ask your physician and certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.) for help acquiring these skills, or contact the Diabetes Center nearest you. In order to get as full a picture of your diabetes as possible, it is also crucial for you to have all of the tests outlined here, and within the time frame recommended.

Meal Planning
___create your own meal plan
___discuss special foods and occasions
___discuss options when dining out
___portion control
___low cholesterol, low-fat guidelines
___fitting sugar into the meal plan
___label reading
___alcohol

Self monitoring of blood glucose
___blood glucose goals
___how to use a meter to guarantee accurate results
___monitoring schedule
___how to clean meter
___storing supplies
___interpreting blood glucose values and making decisions in diabetes treatment plan

Use of insulin or diabetes pills
___action and side effects of medication
___timing and treatment schedule
___insulin injection technique
___site rotation schedule for injection
___proper storage, refrigeration and disposal of supplies
___what to do for missed doses

Exercise
___exercise guidelines: how long, how hard, how often and when?
___snacking adjustments
___preventing high and low blood glucose

Knowledge of high and low blood glucose
___factors that cause high and low blood glucose
___symptoms
___how to treat
___how to prevent
___when to call a healthcare provider

Foot Care
___daily foot care
___emergency treatment for cuts, sores, abrasions
___how to do a proper foot exam
___proper footwear

Sick day management
___preventing life-threatening problems
___what to eat and drink
___monitoring and medication schedule
___when to call the doctor

Urine testing for ketones (for insulin users only)
___when and how to check for ketones
___what ketones mean
___when to call the doctor

Special topics
___meal plan
___skills in taking medication
___glucose monitoring technique
___treatment of high and low blood glucose
___sick day management
___risk factors for health problems
___foot care treatment

Tests should have at least once a year:
___A1C (2-4 times/year)
___Kidney function
___Cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides (lipids)
___Foot exam
___Dilated Eye exam
___Blood pressure
___General health exam
___Urinary microalbuminuria
___GFR
*Joslin Diabetes Center*

LadyCDE

I have a twitter site that I have decided to use to post information on diabetes care/management and prevention.All links will send readers to this blog. Hope it blesses your life.By the bye, LadyCDE is also Mzgetreal.....CDE stands for certified diabetes educator :-)

What is Diabetes? What are the signs?

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. People with diabetes have problems converting food to energy. After a meal, food is broken down into a sugar called glucose, which is carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Cells use the hormone insulin, made in the pancreas, to help them process blood glucose into energy.
People develop type 2 diabetes because the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly. Eventually, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin for the body’s needs. As a result, the amount of glucose in the blood increases while the cells are starved of energy. Over the years, high blood glucose damages nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputation.

Nearly 6 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes and do not know it. Many have no signs or symptoms. Symptoms can also be so mild that you might not even notice them. Some people have symptoms but do not suspect diabetes.

*Symptoms include
-increased thirst
-increased hunger
-fatigue
-increased urination, especially at night
-weight loss
-blurred vision
-sores that do not heal

Many people do not find out they have the disease until they have diabetes complications, such as blurry vision or heart trouble. If you find out early that you have diabetes, then you can get treatment to prevent damage to your body. NIDDK/NIH