Diabetes is Here. Take Charge!

You just learned you have diabetes. It does not mean just because you have it, you have to be sad and stop the world from spinning. It is best to get advice from a health professional what to do to stay active and in control of the disease. Take charge of your own self-care and diabetes management.

Do your planning

Talk to a diabetes healthcare team about which activities are safe for you. They can guide you to take charge of your illness. Albeit, that shall depend on the conditions of your heart, eyes, blood glucose, feet, kidneys and nervous system. You will get a good advice on starting up slowly, monitoring and executing your activities that can necessary for diabetes management. Most likely, you will be in activities that are not difficult but not easy at all.

You may find it better to keep track of your activities by taking down notes. Or use a pedometer to see how far have you walked. Have an available water and snacks all the time in case you need them.

Be familiar with your own blood glucose reaction

For patients of diabetes who wants to take charge, having a physical activity like exercise is good but you should be familiar with how your blood glucose response to your exercise. Check the levels before and after exercise and make adjustments if necessary - adjustments on the intake of food, medicine or on the activity itself.

Before exercise, if your blood sugar is above 300, better be more cautious on your physical activity as it can make it go higher. For type 1 diabetics, if the fasting sugar level is above 250 and ketones are present in your urine, it is highly recommend that you avoid activity.

Educate yourself on how to avoid hypoglycemia as well. That is a key factor too in diabetes patients to know in order that they can take charge. Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar. This can occur when you take diabetes pill or insulin, exercise for longer or more strenuously or skip a meal. If this happen to you, you may take a snack before exercise or do some adjustments in your medication. Talk to your health care team for advice.

If you feel hunger, shakiness, nervousness or sweating during exercise, check your blood sugar levels immediately. If it is 70 or below, take 4 oz or ½ cup of fruit juice, or ½ cup of regular softdrink 2 to 5 glucose tablets to raise the sugar levels. If sugar level is still the same, take another serving of the mentioned items until blood glucose is at least 70.


Diabetes, an illness that needs serious care and attention is likewise manageable. If you have it, don’t panic. Take charge!