Living With Type 2 Diabetes

Making healthy choices

Making healthy choices is a big part of managing type 2 diabetes. The more you learn about the disease, the more motivated you may be to make good choices and follow your treatment plan.

Eat healthy foods

Eat a balanced diet, and try to manage the amount of carbohydrate you eat by spreading it out over the day. For information, see: Quick Tips: Smart Snacking When You Have Diabetes.

For more help, see:

Diabetes: Counting Carbs if You Don't Use Insulin.

Diabetes: Using a Plate Format for Eating.

Diabetes: Coping With Your Feelings About Your Diet.

The dietary guidelines for good health can help everyone form healthy eating habits, including people who have type 2 diabetes. It is especially important for people with type 2 diabetes to:

• Shift from eating unhealthy saturated fats to eating healthier unsaturated fats.
• Avoid foods that contain trans fat.
• Eat less salt.
• Be careful with alcohol, which affects your blood sugar. It can make problems from nerve damage, blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight even worse. Adult women should limit alcohol to 1 drink a day with a meal. Adult men should limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day with a meal. And women who are pregnant should not drink at all.

Be active

You don't have to join a gym to get fit or be active. For help, see the topic Quick Tips: Getting Active at Home. For other ideas see:

Fitness: Adding More Activity to Your Life.

Fitness: Walking for Wellness.

Test your blood sugar

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that you keep your blood sugar levels at:¹

• 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) to 130 mg/dL before meals, when using a home blood sugar test. If you are pregnant, aim for a blood sugar level from 60 mg/dL to 99 mg/dL.
• Less than 180 mg/dL 1 to 2 hours after meals, using the home blood sugar test. If you are pregnant, aim for 100 mg/dL to 129 mg/dL for your highest blood sugar level 1 to 2 hours after meals. For help, see:

  Diabetes: Checking Your Blood Sugar.

  Diabetes: Preventing High Blood Sugar Emergencies.

A continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, reports on your blood sugar at least every 5 minutes, day and night. And it sounds an alarm if it sees that your levels are headed out of range.

Having a record of your blood sugar over time can help you and your doctor know how well your treatment is working and whether you need to make any changes. For tools you can use to track your blood sugar, see:

Home Blood Sugar Diary(What is a PDF document?).

High Blood Sugar Record Level(What is a PDF document?).

Take medicines, if you need them

If you're taking type 2 diabetes medicine or insulin, you will need to know how to deal with low blood sugar and how to give yourself an insulin shot. For help, see:

Diabetes: Dealing With Low Blood Sugar From Insulin.

Diabetes: Dealing With Low Blood Sugar From Medicines.

Diabetes: Giving Yourself an Insulin Shot.

Living and coping

Trying to manage your type 2 diabetes isn't easy. Some days you may feel like it's just too much work to do everything you need to do. There will be times when you just don't feel like testing and tracking your blood sugar.

It's normal to feel sad or even angry sometimes when you have a health problem. Even though you've had a while to get used to the idea of having type 2 diabetes, you may still have trouble adjusting. You may find it hard to stay motivated.

When you feel sad, give yourself time to grieve your losses. If you feel overwhelmed, just try to focus on one day at a time. Do the best you can. You don't have to be perfect.

For more help, see:

Depression: Using Positive Thinking.

Get the support you need

If you're having trouble coping with your feelings, try talking with a counselor. A professional may make it easier to say things you wouldn't talk about with friends or family.

If you have symptoms of depression, such as a lack of interest in things you used to enjoy, a lack of energy, or trouble sleeping, talk with your doctor. For more help, see the topic Depression.

You might also want to:

• Talk with friends and family about how you feel and any help you need.
• Ask a friend or family member to come to counseling with you.
• Talk to your spiritual adviser if you belong to a church or spiritual group. He or she will have experience helping people deal with their feelings.
• Join a support group. You can find one through your doctor, your local hospital, or the American Diabetes Association.

Taking care of yourself in other ways

Be aware of other things you can do to help yourself stay healthy.

• Wear medical identification at all times. You can buy medical identification such as bracelets, necklaces, or other kinds of jewelry at your local drugstore.
• Be careful when you are driving.
• Be prepared so that you can prevent problems while you are traveling.
• Get a flu vaccine every year. When you have the flu, it can be harder to manage your blood sugar. It's a good idea to get a vaccine for pneumonia too. You may only need this vaccine once.