How is diabetes managed?

The main goal of diabetes management is keep your blood glucose levels within the range recommended by your doctor. Because sometimes, many things make your blood sugar levels change.

There are some factors that can affect your blood sugar levels and they are as follows:

Food -

Too much food, such as a meal or snack with more carbohydrates than usual can rise your blood glucose level.

Medication -

Side effects from other medications, such as steroids or antipsychotic medications can rise your blood glucose level.

Illness -

When you're sick, your body releases hormones to fight the illness, and those hormones raise blood glucose levels.

Alcohol -

Alcohol consumption can increase and decrease blood sugar levels to dangerous levels and excessive alcohol consumption can reduce the effectiveness of insulin.

Menstruation and menopause -

Menstrual periods, which cause changes in hormone levels can result in significant fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Stress -

If you're stressed, then body can produce hormones that can raise blood glucose levels.

Treatment :

Depending on what type of diabetes you have, blood sugar monitoring, insulin and oral medications may play a role in your treatment.

An important part of managing diabetes is controlled your blood glucose level, maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy diet and exercise plan, as well as maintaining your blood pressure and cholesterol.

1. Healthy meal plan

Planning what type of food you eat, also how much you eat and the combinations of food types you eat.

You'll need to follow a healthy meal plan which includes vegetables, whole grains, beans, fruits, healthy fats, low sugar.

You should do the following things :

1. Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages because they cause blood sugar to rise quickly.
2. Learn about carbohydrate counting and portion sizes because carbohydrates often have the biggest impact on your blood sugar levels. If you are taking mealtime insulin, it is essential to know the amount of carbohydrates in your food, therfore you get the proper insulin dose.
3. Coordinate your meals and medications for that you need to talk to your diabetes health care team.
4. Talk to your doctor, nurse or dietitian about the best food choices and the appropriate balance of food types.

2. Regular physical activity

Another important part of your diabetes management plan is physical activity. Everyone needs regular physical exercise, and people who have diabetes are no exception.

When you exercise, your body makes the hormone that allows cells in your body to use blood sugar for energy which helps manage your diabetes.

Physical activity also helps your body use insulin more efficiently.

You should do the following things :

1. Ask your doctor about what type of exercise is appropriate for you and what is the best time of day for you to exercise so that your workout routine is coordinated with your meal and medication schedules.
2. According to meal and medication schedules you can keep an exercise schedule.
3. Then choose activity you enjoy, such as walk, swim and make physical acitivity part of you daily routine.
4. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes or more of aerobic exercise most days of the week, or at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week.
5. While exercising, stay hydrated drink plenty of water or other fluids because dehydration can affect blood sugar levels.

3. Medication

When diet and exercise alone aren't sufficient for managing diabetes, insulin and other diabetes medications are designed to lower your blood sugar levels

You should do the following things :

1. People with type 1 diabetes need insulin therapy to survive. Many people with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes also need insulin therapy, so store insulin properly.
2. Medications you take for conditions other than diabetes also can affect your blood sugar levels, so be cautious with new medications.
3. If your diabetes medications cause your blood sugar level to drop too low or if it's consistently too high, then report such kind of problems to your doctor.
4. The dosage or timing may need to be adjusted, beacuse effectiveness of diabetes medications depends on the timing and size of the dose.