Managing Type 2 Diabetes For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Diabetes is a disorder in which the amount of glucose in your blood is too high. Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition that can lead to complications down the road, so it’s important to take charge of your diabetes care. In addition to following a healthy meal plan, maintaining an active lifestyle, and taking prescribed medications, you need to be able to perform certain essential tasks and skills to keep your diabetes care on track. Understanding how to prepare for doctors’ appointments, check your blood glucose, recognize and treat low blood glucose readings, and use food labels to track nutrients in foods are all key aspects of the successful management of type 2 diabetes.

Your guide to diabetes checkups

When you have type 2 diabetes, you’ll get a series of physical exams and lab tests each year to monitor your diabetes management and screen for any complications. Here’s a schedule of what to expect from your appointments and a list of what to bring to the doctor’s office with you. Being prepared can help you make the most of these appointments and possibly prevent or delay diabetes complications.

Physical exams and appointments

• Weight and perhaps height measurements (every visit).
• Blood pressure measurement (every visit).
• Comprehensive foot exam (every year). If you’re at risk for foot problems, have your feet assessed at each visit and see a specialist such as a podiatrist for ongoing care.
• Setting goals for food and exercise with a diabetes-care provider, nurse, physician assistant, diabetes educator, or dietitian (once a year or more often).
• Discussion of medications, old and new, as well as refills of prescriptions (every visit).
• Mental and behavioral health screenings (every year).
• Comprehensive dilated eye exam by optometrist or ophthalmologist (once a year or every other year if your eye specialist recommends it).
• Teeth cleaning (every six months) and mouth exam (once a year) by dental hygienist and dentist.
• Ankle-brachial index test if you have signs of peripheral artery disease (as needed).

Lab tests

• A1C test, by diabetes-care provider (blood test; two to four times a year)
• Cholesterol measurements for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides (fasting blood test; at diagnosis and annually thereafter or when starting or changing the dose of a cholesterol medication)
• Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to measure your kidney function (blood test; once a year)
• Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) screening for liver function based on blood test and other factors (as needed)
• Urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio to measure your kidney function (urine sample; once a year)

What to bring with you

• Blood glucose meter or continuous glucose monitor (CGM)if data are not already shared with your healthcare provider in an online platform or app
• Medications list, with dosages
• List of questions or concerns to discuss with your provider

How to check your blood glucose

Checking your blood glucose when you have type 2 diabetes requires pricking your finger and using a blood glucose meter to get a reading. Many people are intimidated by the idea of using a blood glucose meter, especially when they’re first diagnosed. But it takes only seconds when you get the hang of it.

Follow these five simple steps to check your blood glucose:

1. Wash and dry your hands.
2. Insert a test strip into your meter.
3. Use a lancing device to prick the side of your finger and draw a small sample of blood.
4. Hold your finger to the tes t strip.
5. Wait for the reading to display.

Treating low blood glucose

A blood glucose reading below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is called hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). Low blood glucose can be dangerous when you have type 2 diabetes, so it’s important to recognize the symptoms or respond to alerts from your continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and then treat it.

Warning signs of lows

The symptoms of low blood glucose can be different for each person, but classic warning signs of lows include:

• Shaking
• Nervousness or anxiety
• Sweating, chills, or clamminess
• Irritability  
• Color draining from the skin
• Hunger
• Nausea
• Rapid heartbeat
• Weakness, fatigue, or sleepiness
• Headache
• Tingling or numbness in the lips or tongue
• Nightmares or crying out during sleep
• Lightheadedness, dizziness, or confusion
• Difficulty seeing or blurry vision
• Unusual behavior, such as clumsiness or slurring of words
• Anger, sadness, and/or stubbornness

Following the 15-15 rule

The 15-15 rule is an easy method for treating low blood glucose. The method is called the 15-15 rule because you treat lows with approximately 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrate (such as glucose tablets or gels, fruit juice, or regular soda) and then retest your blood glucose after 15 minutes. Before using this method, ask your doctor to make sure it’s right for you. To put the 15-15 rule to use, follow these steps:

1. If your blood glucose is 70 mg/dL or below, consume something with 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrate.
2. Wait 15 minutes.
3. Test again.
4. If your blood glucose is still below 70 mg/dL, consume another 15 grams of carbohydrate.
5. When your glucose is above 70 mg/dL or is trending upward on your CGM — and if you won’t be eating a meal soon — have a protein and carbohydrates snack. It will help prevent your glucose from dropping low again before your next meal.

Reading food labels for carbohydrates

Food labels are an excellent resource for finding out how many carbohydrates are in your foods. You can use these labels to compare the carbohydrate content of different products and track the amount of carbohydrate you eat. Reading food labels is a vital skill for anyone who counts carbs. To find the amount of carbohydrate in your foods, follow these steps:

1. Look for the Total Carbohydrate line on the label.
2. The value on this line will tell you how many grams of carbohydrates are in one serving of the food.
3. Check the number of servings per container to see if your package has one or more servings.
4. Check the serving size of the food to determine how many servings you plan to eat.
5. Multiply the number of servings you plan to eat by the grams of carbohydrate on the Total Carbohydrate line to determine how many grams of carbohydrate you’ll be eating.