Diabetes, being a lifestyle disease, needs proper attention and care. However, it becomes a little overwhelming for people with diabetes to juggle so many things at once. They need to eat a healthy and balanced diet, get plenty of physical exercise, regularly monitor their blood sugar levels, take the prescribed medicines, etc., to keep their sugar levels in check. This is where diabetes educators come into the picture. A diabetes educator is a certified health professional who has a comprehensive knowledge of diabetes care and management.
Diabetes education is the cornerstone of diabetes management. These professionals educate you about your requirementsforday-to-day knowledge of nutrition, exercise, monitoring, and medication. In other words, a diabetes educator makes you aware of diabetes, what it takes to treat it, and also gives you the power to control it and make necessary changes to your lifestyle.
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Diabetes Educators Help You in More Ways Than One
Here is a list of a few of their roles.
- A diabetes educator helps you learn basic information about diabetes and its management to help you understand the gravity of your disease.
- They push you towards opting for informed and healthy food choices by providing you with better diet planning and adherence.
- They make you aware of the importance of an active lifestyle and tell you about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle on your blood sugar levels.
- When you are diagnosed with diabetes, you will need to familiarise yourself with many new instruments like blood glucose meters, insulin pens, insulin pumps, etc. A diabetes educator helps you understand how to use those devices correctly. Moreover, you also learn how to read, interpret, and appropriately respond to your results.
- Patients can also learn and understand how their medications work, including their reactions, side effects, efficacy, and more. Your diabetes educator will read your patterns of improvement with different medicines and recommend changing your medication if they do not work for your body properly.
Your diabetes self-management goals should be not only individualized but also measurable and achievable. You should focus on specific short-term goals as well as long-term goals.
Diabetes education is an ongoing process that should be under a certified expert. Diabetes educators are trained under a team of endocrinologists and are the best service providers in diabetes care and management. They are your support system, along with the endocrinologist.
Being aware of diabetes gives you the power to control your sugar levels, so it doesn’t end up controlling you. Along with an educator, another important part of your diabetes management should be proactive monitoring of blood glucose levels. It is important to get a compact and easy-to-use glucometer in order to take regular readings and maintain a record of the patterns.
