Kensington Pharmacy
Kensington Pharmacy
373 University Boulevard West
Kensington, MD 20895
301-933-6165
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Self-Care Guide For People With Diabetes
You want to learn how to live well with diabetes. Here is an easy guide to help you understand and address the factors that impact your success.
Healthy Eating Tips
Understand how the foods and fluids you eat and drink affect your diabetes control.
- Focus on the right foods in the right amounts.
- Aim for variety and balance.
- Make healthy choices when shopping and eating away from home.
- Treat, don’t over-treat, low blood sugar.
- Be consistent with meals and snacks.
Being Active
Whether you take daily walks, work in the garden or start a fitness program, being active regularly can help you control diabetes and decrease risks for complications.
Monitoring
Monitoring your blood sugar can help you manage your diabetes. By knowing your numbers, you’ll have helpful information to support the decisions you make regarding food and activity. It’s also important to monitor other aspects of your health to help reduce the risk of diabetes complications.
Make the most of monitoring by using these tips:
- Use the results of self-monitoring blood sugar to achieve blood sugar control.
- Monitor your weight and blood pressure.
- Inspect your feet regularly.
- Be sure your doctor schedules tests for lipids, kidney function and more.
Taking Medications
When medications are taken correctly, they can help you stay your healthiest.
Problem Solving
Learning to solve problems is important in taking charge of your life. This is especially true when you manage diabetes.
Try These Tips:
- Approach one problem at a time.
- Explore what might be causing the problem.
- Ask your diabetes care team to help you develop your own “what to do if” plan, such as if you have low blood sugar, if you want to eat extra food or if you are too sick to eat.
- Keep track of how well you solve problems and ask for help if you are having trouble.
To be sure you gain the benefits from your prescribed medications, use these tips:
- Take medications in the right amount, at the right time and in the right way.
- If you are new to taking medications on a regular basis, keep a medication record to help you develop good medication-taking habits.
- Understand how to take your medications by asking questions and getting answers that you understand.
Healthy Coping
Coping with diabetes or any chronic condition is an ongoing process. Work with your healthcare team to learn what might work for you.
- Learn how to manage living with diabetes.
- Identify things that cause you distress and stress.
- Understand that depression is more common among people with diabetes, and it is okay to ask for help.
- Ask for guidance to develop healthy coping skills.
These Are Tips To Help You Get Started:
- Know your treatment goals and ask your diabetes care team for help if you experience trouble in reaching those goals.
- Develop and maintain healthy behaviors to reduce your risk.
- If you use tobacco, find a way to quit.
- Have an annual flu shot.
- Get a pneumonia shot (usually once in a lifetime) to help prevent pneumonia.
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