Diabetes Basics: what you need to know

If you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes, you probably have a lot of questions. Many of these questions can be answered by asking other people living with diabetes (and joining a diabetes community), but it’s also important to have a factual understanding of what diabetes is, and how to deal with it. It’s also really important to be able to give the basic information about diabetes to your family and friends, so that they understand the changes you have to make in your diet and lifestyle.

Diabetes Basics

We recently found this excellent article from Accu-Chek about Diabetes Basics. It covers:

• What is diabetes?
• 3 main types of diabetes
• Common symptoms of diabetes
• How does low blood sugar happen?
• Newly diagnosed? Here’s what to do now
• Eating and drinking
• Why testing your own blood sugar is important

The article is part of a whole section of Diabetes Basics that offers helpful advice on things like how to deal with low blood sugar, and how to manage diabetes in the workplace. Read the full article here.

9 questions to ask if you’re newly diagnosed with diabetes

1. If you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes
2. How to test your own blood sugar and how often to test
3. Using a blood glucose meter
4. Understanding your test results
5. How to treat your diabetes
6. What kind of exercise is right for you
7. What changes to make to your diet
8. Other health issues you have that affect your diabetes treatment
9. Who else you can see for information

What are your questions about diabetes basics?

Living with diabetes means you’ll constantly have questions – about blood sugar and testing, food and exercise, how to balance a busy lifestyle and manage your diabetes. This is your space to ask any of those questions – comment below and we’ll ask our experts for the answers. We’re all in this together!