Treatment Overview

Your treatment for type 2 diabetes will change over time to meet your needs. But the focus of your treatment will always be to keep your blood sugar levels within your target range. That will help prevent complications from diabetes, such as eye, kidney, heart, blood vessel, and nerve disease.

To help you stay on track with your treatment, you'll need regular tests. For more information, see the Exams and Tests section of this topic.

You play an important role in managing your condition. By learning about diabetes and working with your doctor to create a plan for treatment, you can improve your health and quality of life.

The keys to managing your diabetes are to:

• Make healthy food choices. Eat a balanced diet, and try to manage the amount of carbohydrate you eat by spreading it out over the day. For help, see:

  Quick Tips: Smart Snacking When You Have Diabetes.

  Diabetes: Using a Plate Format for Eating.

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

  Diabetes: Eating a Low Glycemic Diet.

• Be active. Walking is a great way to get started. See:

  Quick Tips: Getting Active at Home.

  Fitness: Adding More Activity to Your Life.

  Fitness: Walking for Wellness.

• Test your blood sugar. Everything in your life affects your blood sugar levels, from what you eat, to how stressed you feel, to how much activity you get. That's why testing your blood sugar regularly is so important. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that you keep your blood sugar levels at:
  • 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) to 130 mg/dL before meals, when using a fingertip blood test.
  • Less than 180 mg/dL 1 to 2 hours after meals, using the fingertip test. For help, see:

  Diabetes: Checking Your Blood Sugar.

  Diabetes: Preventing High Blood Sugar Emergencies.

• Keep high blood pressure and high cholesterol under control. Losing weight and getting plenty of exercise, such as walking at least 2½ hours a week, can help lower blood pressure. But you may also need to take medicines, such as an ACE inhibitor or beta-blocker, to achieve your goal.¹ You may also need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines called statins. See:

  Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) for High Cholesterol.

  High Blood Pressure: Checking Your Blood Pressure at Home.

• Take medicines, such as metformin (Glucophage) or insulin, if you need them. If you're taking 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 more information, see the Medications section of this topic and:

  Diabetes: Dealing With Low Blood Sugar From Medicines.

  Diabetes: Dealing With Low Blood Sugar From Insulin.

  Diabetes: Giving Yourself an Insulin Shot.

• Quit smoking, if you smoke. Quitting smoking can help you reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Pregnancy and diabetes

If you get pregnant, your diabetes treatment may change. For example, some medicines could harm your baby. If your blood sugar gets too high while you're pregnant, your baby might have problems at birth. Talk with your doctor. For more information, see:

Pregnancy and Diabetes: Planning for Pregnancy.

Staying motivated

You've likely already had to make some big changes in the way you live your life. It can be hard to stay motivated when you have diabetes. Just try to focus on one day at a time.

Remember that untreated type 2 diabetes can lead to serious health problems. People with diabetes have a higher risk of dying from heart and blood vessel diseases than people who don't have the disease.⁵

But also remember that you can prevent or delay these problems by taking care of yourself. Eating right, staying active, and keeping your blood sugar under control are all things you can do. You don't have to do it alone. For help and how-tos, see the Home Treatment section of this topic.