9 Tips for Living With Diabetes

1) Educate yourself as much as you can. Read, listen, watch and try to remember as much as you can. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are complicated diseases; the more you know, the better your self-management will be. Understand the warning signs and preventative measures you can take to keep everything as plain sailing as possible.

2) Rotate where you injection daily to avoid scar tissue building up. Choosing where you inject has an influence on how quickly insulin enters the bloodstream. If you keep using the same spot, you’ll create a buildup and a slowdown in absorption.

3) Always have a backup. Back up insulin, back up testing strips, back up needles, back up hypo-treatment – especially at work and in your bag. You’ll never know when you might need them.

4) Wash and dry your hands before testing blood sugar levels. Clean, dry skin allows the most accurate testing. It only takes a few seconds and can prevent a hypo.

5) Manage your stress levels, increasing exercise and adding lean muscle mass are excellent ways of reducing basal insulin requirements.

6) Your diabetes is your diabetes. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another. I’m a firm believer that you are the master of your own diabetes management. No one knows it better than you.

7) Avoid smoking at all costs. Be mindful as well that nicotine patches have the potential to lower blood glucose levels.

8) If you travelling, take a copy of your prescription and a card to notify that you are a diabetic in case of any emergencies. You never know when something can get lost or go wrong.

9) Dispose of your needles carefully. It’s your responsibility and I can’t imagine it’s nice for anyone who might get injured with them.