I’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. What do I do now?

The first thing you should do is not panic. Diabetes is not a death sentence. There are millions of people all over the world who have diabetes but still live healthy and rewarding lives. Diabetes can be controlled and if it is, the complications related to diabetes may never rear their ugly heads.

There are a few things that you must do as soon as possible. Do not ignore diabetes or procrastinate the changes that you know you must make. If left uncontrolled, diabetes will take over your life and wreak irreversible havoc in your body.

The first thing you need to do is educate yourself on the disease. You need to know what causes diabetes, what are the foods with a high glycemic index, what are the possible complications and worst case scenarios, etc. You must do your research and be well-informed so that you can deal with this disease effectively.

The next step will be to re-examine your entire diet. Whatever you eat will have a direct impact on the progression of your diabetes. You will need to give up junk food, processed food, foods high in fat, etc. You will have to eat at regular intervals and eat in moderation.

If you are overweight or obese, you will need to do your best to bring your weight down and shed the excess fat. The leaner and fitter you are, the lower your risks of diabetes complications. A sensible exercise program will be excellent. Cardiovascular disease occurs in many diabetes patients. If you engage in cardiovascular training often, your internal system will be much stronger and will be able to ward off any ill-effects that may take root.

The key to controlling your diabetes is to control your blood sugar levels. You will need to monitor your blood sugar levels daily initially. This will give you an understanding of how the foods you eat affect your blood sugar levels. Wildly fluctuating levels at either end of the extreme must be avoided. Hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia are not pretty situations to be in.

There are many inexpensive blood glucose monitors sold commercially. Get one and monitor your blood sugar levels. It is crucial that you do this. If you don’t know where you are heading, you’re going get lost and diabetes complications will find you. Stay on the ball.

Stress management is also important. There is no doubt that the rat race society we live in these days can make a monk into a mad man. Despite all these daily stresses, you must make a conscious effort to relax and de-stress. Start doing yoga or meditating to achieve this. While stress is not a cause of diabetes, high stress levels make it difficult to control your blood sugar levels.

People who suffer or have a tendency to suffer from depression will need to get professional help to deal with the problem. Many people who are emotionally down tend to medicate themselves with food. This is very dangerous if you have diabetes.

If someone is upset with their job and goes home daily and binge eats, their diabetes may spiral out of control and cause permanent vision loss. The problems they’re facing just escalated to a whole new level.

It is essential that you make changes in your life to cope with diabetes. It may not be easy initially but with time, it will come naturally. You will need to go through the hard yards in the beginning in order to coast through life easily later on. Diabetes can only ruin your life if you let it. Don’t let it.