4 Things to Ask Dr. Google After Your Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis

Have you ever gone online to find information about diabetes? You are not alone.

According to Pew Research, the vast majority of adult internet users (72%) have looked online for information about at least one health topic in the last 12 months. And 80% of online health queries begin with search engines, like Google.

What are some key questions you can ask Dr. Google to help you better manage life with diabetes? Here are four suggestions.

Where can I find  some diabetes-friendly recipes?

Diabetes-friendly means more whole foods and less carbs. Search “diabetes friendly recipes” or “low carb recipes” and you will get literally millions of results.

After clicking around some, I’ve settled on Deliciously Diabetic as my favorite source for diabetic-friendly, low carb recipes.

Written by Jules Clancy, a food scientist and mom who had gestational diabetes then developed type 2, Deliciously Diabetic is chock full of healthy, easy-to-cook recipes. She started out writing minimalist recipes (with no more than five ingredients) and has kept that same simple, straightforward approach.

Jules includes a lot of suggested variations in her recipes, making it easier to cook for a family with varied food restrictions and/or preferences. She always suggests a vegetarian option. For example, a poached egg or crumbled feta can replace the tuna in her Tuna and Zucchini Salad. Many of her recipes also list substitutions for gluten-free and dairy-free versions.

How can I start exercising?

Regular exercise is an important part of living healthfully. But, where to begin?

If you have a favorite sport or exercise routine then you’re well on your way. If you’re like me, a total beginner, the advice and guidance you get when searching for “how to start exercising” can be too general and not helpful.

One site I found intriguing is called None to Run. Put together by Mark Kennedy, a USATF certified coach and former Kinesiologist, None to Run assumes that you are an absolute beginner unable to run for more than five minutes before getting out of breath.

The 12-week basic training plan, along with companion workout podcasts and strength training videos, are available for free as Dropbox downloads. (You need to have a Dropbox login to access the files.) I’m not running 25 minutes at a time yet, but I just might be on my way.

Where can I find out about the latest diabetes treatments and medical devices?

Seems like every week there’s some sensationalist news story or another about diabetes. A miracle cure. A tattoo to check blood glucose levels. Too many of these stories turn out to be vague or misleading. Where can you find well-researched, clearly-written news about diabetes from a reliable source?

For the latest developments in diabetes-related health I turn to diaTribe.

Run by the nonprofit diaTribe Foundation, this patient-focused online publication covers everything from tips on how to manage day-to-day life with diabetes to newly-approved drugs and medical devices.

The editorial team at diaTribe is made up of people who’ve studied and have professional experience in healthcare policy, med tech, and science. Most of them also live with diabetes. They attend dozens of diabetes scientific, regulatory, and economic conferences each year, reporting what they learn. Whether I’m looking for an authoritative list of all the things that affect blood glucose levels or the latest updates from conferences diaTribe is my go-to source.

Where can I find some BTDT type 2 diabetes info?

There’s lots of information about type 2 diabetes available online. But sometimes I don’t want to hear from medical experts who’ve never faced having an out-of-whack day with high blood glucose readings. I want to connect with people who’ve faced the some of the same challenges I do. I want to read the been-there, done-that experiences of a fellow patient.

Blogs are a great source for this kind of info, especially when the blogger shares their story over time. Here are few type 2 blogs worth checking out.

Sweet Success: My life with Type 2 Diabetes - written by Kate, who lives with type 2 diabetes. Recently Kate has documented her quest to get insulin prescribed. You’d think it would be a simple thing, but Kate documents all the assumptions and barriers she ran into while getting her treatment plan updated.

My Diabetic Heart: Living with a Confusing Pancreas & a Broken Heart - Mike writes about his life with the twin diagnoses of diabetes and congestive heart failure. Eight years after his initial diagnosis Mike’s (new) endo informed him that his diabetes had been misdiagnosed and that he had LADA (latent autoimmune diabetes in adults). Mike has written about the effect this change had on the treatments available to him and on his self-identity.

Diagnosed Not Defeated - Phyllisa is an African American woman who in telling her type 2 diabetes story adds culturally-competent and faith-based perspectives to the conversation. After nearly dying because her type 2 diabetes went misdiagnosed, Phyllisa has gone on to become an educator, mother, and wife who is living (not dying) with diabetes.

Diabetes Ramblings - Sue experienced gestational diabetes with all five of her pregnancies and now has type 2 diabetes. After managing her diabetes with diet and exercise for a number of years, Sue now finds that she needs to start taking medication. She writes about life as a mom with diabetes and how things have changed.

Now what?

These are but a few questions that can be addressed online. I think they provide a good starting point. What questions do you have for Dr. Google?