Managing your diabetes is about the important role you have in looking after yourself now that you have diabetes. You will have agreed with your diabetes care team the range of blood sugar levels that you are aiming for. Your diabetes care team will be there to give you advice and support, but managing and controlling your diabetes from day to day will be up to you.

Why is good control of my diabetes important?

Recent research has shown that good control of your blood sugar levels can reduce the long-term complications of diabetes and slow the progression of these effects if they are already present.

What does good control of my diabetes mean?

Good control of your diabetes means that you feel well and that you avoid both very high and very low blood sugar levels. Ideally, good control means blood sugar levels between 4 and 7 mmol/l before meals and around 9 mmol/l after meals. You need to find your own way of looking after your diabetes that suits your lifestyle and will also reduce yours risks of future complications from diabetes. You could consider

Even if you do not aim for ideal control, any improvement in your diabetes management will help to reduce the change of you developing the complications of diabetes, whatever type of diabetes you have.

What are these complications?

As well as controlling your blood sugar levels on a day to day basis, you should make regular visits to your diabetes clinic. The staff there can check your average blood sugar levels over a longer period (your HbA1c0, give you advice on any changes you want to make and check your general health.

NOT SMOKING will also reduce your risks of heart disease, stroke and poor circulation.

Are there any problems with good diabetes control?

You should ask for help if you experience any of these. You should know about the complications of diabetes and work through the best way of preventing them in discussion with your diabetes care team to keep the lifestyle you want.