Diabetes changes everything. You suddenly find yourself having to eat differently, exercise differently, and maybe you even sleep differently. It can feel like a complete upheaval to your life and is often overwhelming. There are things you can do to make living with diabetes more bearable.
Keep Your Glucose Meter at the Ready
Checking your blood sugar is new to you, and it might be tempting to try to put the meter somewhere that you’ll see it all the time in order to remind you. The problem with this is that you won’t always be in the same place. You might be in the living room watching TV one time that you need to check your levels, and in the kitchen cooking the next time. Keep the meter in the same place, whether that’s a kitchen cabinet, beside your bed, or in the bathroom medicine cabinet. If you need reminders, set alarms on your phone or slap sticky notes all over instead.
Exercise in the Morning
Particularly if you were sedentary before your diagnosis, exercising in the morning before you can talk yourself out of it will be very helpful. By the time lunch rolls around, or you’ve finished work and can head to the gym, chances are you’ll find excuses to skip it. Or something will genuinely come up that prevents your workout. Getting it in first thing in the morning ensures that it happens and nothing can stop it. It will do wonders for your blood sugar, energy levels, and just generally making you feel better, too.
Wear Compression Stockings
Diabetes causes circulation problems and you’ve likely been instructed to check your legs and feet every day for peripheral edema (swelling). Compression stockings, like those available from SmoothToe, gently “squeeze” your legs, causing the veins walls to go back to their normal state. This supports better blood flow. This can prevent swelling and DVT, as well.
Join a Support Group
Doctors and online reading can provide plenty of advice, but there’s nothing like hearing it straight from the mouths of those who have been living with diabetes for years. They can give you tips, advice, and emotional support that others can’t. They’ve been where you are, and they’re proof that you will eventually adjust.
Learning to live with diabetes is an adjustment. It takes time, mindfulness, and consistency. With time, patience, and forgiveness when you stumble, you’ll learn to live with diabetes.