10 People You Need On Your Diabetes Care Team

So who is involved in diabetes care?

Diabetes affects every part of the body and there is no one provider who is skilled in offering resources to address all of those areas. Although it may feel daunting to have several professionals, it’s important to note that each of these providers offers a specific resource tailored to increasing the likelihood of overall success in managing diabetes.

Therefore, you should do the best to utilize the resources at your disposal, which includes time away from your normal schedule, money, and the ability to get to appointments via public transportation, your own car or virtually over your personal computer. With that in mind, here are the 10 people you need on your diabetes care team:

Primary care physician (PCP)

When it comes to type 2 diabetes, the primary care physician is the general health coordinator. This is the professional you’ll see for checkups, routine care, as well as concerns that are not linked to diabetes. That means they may recommend that you see other specialist for specific issues, follow up to understand what treatment plans you’ve been offered, and facilitate adherence to your care plan. They also keep an up-to-date list of all supplements and medications you are taking.

Endocrinologist

An endocrinologist helps you with blood glucose management as well as other diseases related to the endocrine system. In addition to treating diabetes this doctor will also assess the need for blood-sugar-lowering medications and determine the best medications and right dose for you. Because diabetes is a life-long disease, your endocrinologist may have a close and long relationship with you.

Dietitian nutritionist

An understanding of nutrition is a critical part of managing most health conditions, including diabetes. Building a diabetes-friendly diet involves knowing what you should eat and avoid while keeping your blood sugar level in check. A dietitian nutritionist will help with this and help you meet other goals such as improved blood pressure, weight loss, and improved cholesterol. Moreover, they can provide assistance in trying diet plans such as intermittent fasting or the ketogenic diet in a safe way.

Pharmacist

This professional will help you understand your prescribed medications, how they work, and medication interactions. This is particularly important if you are taking several medications prescribed by different doctors. Pharmacists play an important role in type 2 diabetes care and can help reduce the number of low and high blood sugar episodes which benefits your health and helps you save money on your care.

Diabetes care and education specialist

This healthcare professional helps you create a healthy lifestyle as well as put the diabetes management plan into practice. A Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist usually spends more time with the diabetes patient compared to a Primary Care Physician.

This allows for specialized care so that patients can success in attaining their goals. Some Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists are also trained behavioral psychology, which offers additional benefits for patients.

Such professionals act as accountability partners who can address various barriers, including adhering to medications and sticking with treatment. These are experts who understand their patients without judging them.

Ophthalmologist

This is an eye specialist who will help prevent eye diseases that are commonly caused by diabetes. An ophthalmologist will help you improve or maintain healthy vision by monitoring you for complications caused by uncontrolled or elevated blood glucose levels, including diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and cataracts.

Podiatrist

This healthcare expert specializes in treating foot-related diabetes complications, and helps patients watch for and care for any complications in the lower extremities. Studies conducted by the American Podiatric association show that diabetes complications account for about 100,000 lower limb amputations annually. Scheduling regular appointments with a podiatrist to treat and monitor foot problems can decrease the risk of lower limb amputation by up to 85 percent.

Dentist

Taking care of gums and teeth is important for everyone. However, monitoring gum health is particularly vital for people with diabetes because gum (periodontal) disease is a common complication of diabetes. Moreover, treating gum disease has been shown to improve blood glucose control.

Your inner circle

Letting your close friends and family know what is going on and how they can help you goes a long way in supporting good habits as well as relieving the burden of the diagnosis. By offering positive support, your loved ones can help reduce the stress that comes with managing diabetes. In other words, your inner circle lets you know and feel that you are not alone.

Support groups

Support groups connect you with other PWDs (people with diabetes) who understand the challenges and struggles and can offer strategies and tips for a healthy life.

Most support groups are virtual right now and they typically feature helpful forums for people with diabetes as well as their caregivers.

What are symptoms of adult onset diabetes?

What are symptoms of adult onset diabetes? Diabetes is a very serious non-communicable disease for all ages including adults. Diabetes is a very serious non-communicable disease that is currently taking over the nation and the world. Todays sugar filled foods and desserts and the ability for diabetics to live longer lives and reproduce is only fuel to the already massive fire. Diabetes is a non-communicable disease where the person’s body is failing to get the required amounts of chemical called insulin. This absolutely necessary chemical/hormone called insulin is produced by the pancreas organ. For some unknown reasons the pancreas organ will stop or slow in production of this vital chemical/hormone. This chemical/hormone is used by the body to transform the blood sugar (glucose) in the blood into fuel that the cells are able to use. Without the proper amounts of this necessary sugar converting chemical/hormone the blood glucose levels in the blood begin to rise to extremely high levels. Once they reach a certain high blood sugar level the body begins to suffer cell damage. The cell damage most commonly associated with high blood sugar levels is nerve cell damage, heart damage, kidney damage, and eye damage. But this can all be avoided if the diabetic can lower their high blood sugar level and keep it at that lower blood sugar level. So what are symptoms of adult onset diabetes?

There are a few symptoms of adult onset diabetes? Excessive thirst, excessive urination, hunger, and excessive weight loss are all symptoms. The symptoms happen as the body tries to clean its self of the excessive sugar and feed the slowly starving cells. The cleaning results in urination which results in thirst, and the hunger results in weight loss. These symptoms should be noticed and reported a doctor soon. So now you know what some symptoms of adult onset diabetes are.

Fish Oil and Diabetes

Can you take fish oil if you have diabetes — fish oil and diabetes

Fish Oil and Diabetes

Fish oil is a helpful supplement to take in order to maintain your diabetes properly. It can also be a great dietary supplement to take, not only for diabetes, but for many other different medical conditions in order to help stabilize these .

Diabetes is caused by insufficient insulin production or lack of responsiveness to insulin, resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels). There are 2 primary types of diabetes mellitus, type I (insulin-dependent or juvenile-onset), which may be caused by an autoimmune response, and type II (non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset). Diabetes insipidus is typically due to hormonal dysregulation. While fish oil supplementation does not provide a cure for type I or type II diabetes a diet high in fish oil may help to treat or alleviate many of the health disorders and risks associated with diabetes. Thus being why fish oil is good for diabetics to take on a regular basis.

Fish oil is a great supplement because it can help lower your blood glucose levels and also help clean out your system therefore being able to allow yourself to take care of your body and live a healthier life. Research demonstrates that including fish oil into your diet, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease considerably.

Effects of Fish Oil and Diabetes

People tend to think that fish oil has no detrimental effect on diabetic patients, however it has been documented and known that fish oil can help lower your triglycerides and should be considered helpful in managing diabetes. People with diabetes are also exposed to the risks of suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Consequently, any form of dietary intervention like fish oil would significantly work to lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, in addition to lowering the levels of triglycerides in blood. Fish oil and diabetes is a great thing that goes hand in hand with knowledge and being able to take care of your diabetes.