8 Essential Things Needed for Type 2 Diabetes

By TheLongPointGirl

3 min read

In my humble opinion, there are 8 essential things needed to help us with type 2 diabetes. This list is almost self explanatory and, at times, may seem silly but is still very important.

1. Diagnosis/correct diagnosis

I can see the ‘duh’ look on your face. Let me explain this one. When someone presents with an illness to a health care provider, often investigation is needed to determine what the problem is. Maybe diabetes awareness has progressed far enough that this is one of the first things thought of. Example: sometimes symptoms aren’t classic. Mine were not. I had no unquenchable thirst or smell to my urine. I was not losing weight etc. I was unwell but not that unwell; that could easily have been a virus. The blood work showed the diagnosis but I could have gone for years not knowing I had type 2 diabetes. Another example: being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only to find out sometime later, the diagnosis was atypical or incorrect: LADA, diabetes that presents like type 2 but is not.

2. Research

The importance of this cannot be understated. Dollars are needed to fund research so a cure can be found. Research, in its purest, guides best practice so we can live healthy with this chronic disease. Research has given us new medications, diet recommendations, self management strategies, and much more.

3. Access to supplies

I have written about this recently so I won’t spend a lot of time repeating it. You have to have access to the supplies needed to self manage your diabetes: a blood sugar monitor, test strips for that monitor, some type of finger pricking device. I suggest most people need these supplies. Make sure the cost is not so expensive that only some can afford. On my soapbox again I shout “ACCESS FOR ALL!!”

4. Medical/CDE support

The professionally educated people who can diagnose, treat, teach and guide us through this very complex, complicated disease that is never the same two days in a row. We need these professionals. For some, the need is ongoing. For others, short term. Either way, still needed.

5. Peer Support

Where would we be without one another? No one can truly understand what living with type 2 diabetes is like except someone else who has it. We do not live in isolation when we have peer support. It can be in person, online or through social media. Our peers are our lifeline.

6. Time to digest

When the diagnosis comes, even if it’s not a surprise, we need time to digest what it means to now live with diabetes. This is a life altering event. It requires attention, dedication, and quite frankly, a lot of work. Overwhelming work both at the beginning and throughout the course of the disease.

7. Time to practice

Practice getting it right, or as close to right as an individual can get. There’s a lot to learn about diabetes. Learning takes time. Will we be perfect in our management? Not likely. We have to practice to see what works for us because diabetes is different for each person.

8. Time to celebrate

There is a lot to celebrate when we work hard making small steps to improve our health and to avoid the complications that occur with diabetes. I say celebrate BIG! Take pride and let others know what you have done. It’s your time to brag. If you think you haven’t anything to brag about, I’m going to tell you, you are wrong! You have done good, very good. Get out there and brag!

Can you add other needed things to this list?

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Tula62 Member
#6 is so true, my doctor did not give me time to digest anything he put me on antidepressants anti anxiety drugs, I went to talk to how overwhelmed I was and I must say I was scared, I burst into tears in his office after about 3 weeks of dealing with this very new diagnosis he said I was depressed looking back, it wasn’t depression I was so overwhelmed it brought me to tears, this was 11 years ago. And still on these awful medications that make me constipated, and tired since I have been on them, and very difficult to get off of, he jumped the gun and put me on these horrible meds. He did not spend the time with me and say it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed and scared. Darn doctors they just don’t spend the time with there patient when they tell you bad news, I am so upset with him. He’s now retired. New doctor told me I could become dependent on the anti anxiety med, I’m terified, to even try to wean off because I know a lot now about weaning off clonazapam,by researching, and it’s terrifying what I read and what others have experience because of poor tappers by all doctors and psychiatrist they just don’t understand that you need to be in a safe place to get off these meds someone thereto monitor while getting tapered because of withdrawl, and it’s terrible. I watched many videos on YouTube it’s called Medicating Normal, please watch them because it could help one person not to be put on anti anxiety meds.
1. Lori.Foster Community Admin
 Hi <inline-mention username="Tula62" user-id="4788345"/>. How awful that your doctor immediately put you on medication for your mental health issues. Depression and anxiety are normal reactions to chronic illnesses. Often, education and time (and maybe some therapy) are enough to put people at ease. My children have all successfully tapered off ant-anxiety meds at some point. The trick to tapering safely is to take your dear sweet time. Doctors tend to insist on a schedule that is too fast for most people and there is absolutely no harm in going more slowly unless the medication is giving life-threatening side effects or you desperately need to get on something else. Talk to your doctor first, of course, but advocate for yourself as well. If your doctor insists on faster tapering ask why and ask why a slower schedule wouldn't be acceptable. You can use pill cutters to reduce your dose in smaller increments than the pills allow. The good news is that you can easily increase the dose again or stay at one level a bit longer if you begin to experience symptoms. A psychiatrist wanted one of my children to taper in a time frame of six weeks. Instead, he did it over a year's time with absolutely no side effects whatsoever. It can be done. Warmly, Lori (Team Member)